▪ I. sink, n.1
(sɪŋk)
Forms: 5–6 synke (5 cynke), 6 syncke, synk; 6–7 sin(c)ke, sinck, 6– sink.
[f. sink v. Cf. LG. and G. dial. sinke a hollow or depression in the ground; Fris. sink sinker on a net.
Kilian gives ‘Sincke. vetus. Cloaca, latrina. Ang. sincke’; but there is no independent evidence for this, and the citation of the English word renders the entry suspicious.]
I. 1. a. A pool or pit formed in the ground for the receipt of waste water, sewage, etc.; a cesspool; a receptacle for filth or ordure. Now rare.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 456/2 Synke, for water receyvynge,..exceptorium. 1463 Bury Wills (Camden) 20 Y⊇ newe prevy hous ovir the synke. 1515 Barclay Egloges ii. (1570) B iij, Of a trene vesell then must thou nedely drinke, Olde, blacke and rustie, lately taken fro some sinke. 1589 Hay any Work 39 If you would haue a good sauour, you must go to the sincke for it. 1603 H. Crosse Vertues Commw. (1878) 117 A Play is like a Sincke in a Towne, where vnto all the filth doth runne. 1662 J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Amb. 373 He converted..the Sepulchre into a Sink or common House of Ease. 1726 Leoni Alberti's Archit. I. 58/1 Make good large Sinks, and..fill them up with Sand, which will suck up..the superfluous moisture. 1731 Swift To Gay Wks. 1751 X. 204 You want a Hand to clear a filthy Sink; No cleanly Workman can endure the Stink. 1856 Stanley Sinai & Pal. iii. 179 The cave within being the sink described in the Talmud as that into which the blood and offal of the sacrifices were drained off. |
| fig. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 185 The watter of life we gaif thame neuer to drink, Bot stinkand pulis of euerie rottin synk. 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. iii. ii. 19 Against thy hart make thou a hole, That all the teares that thy poore eyes let fall May run into that sinke. |
b. A conduit, drain, or pipe for carrying away dirty water or sewage; an opening specially made for this purpose; a sewer. Now
rare.
| 1499 Promp. Parv. (Pynson), Cynke of Lawere, mergulus. 1509–10 Durh. Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 105 Pro layng le Synkys in lardariis carnium et piscium. 1564 Haward Eutropius i. 3 He builded..sinkes also to avoid the filthe & ordure of the city. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 582 The vaulted sinks also and draughts..which he deuised, by..cutting through the seuen hils. 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing ii. ¶1 The Lye-Trough and Rincing-Trough he places towards some corner of the Room,..and under these he causes a Sink to be made to convey the Water out of the Room. 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. 95 To cut a Hole thro' my new Fortification like a Sink to let Water go out. 1774 Beverley & Hessle Road Act ii. 9 Ditches, watercourses, sinks or drains. 1847 W. C. L. Martin The Ox 96/1 Two sinks, or drains, with iron gratings over them, to catch the fluid refuse from the gutters. |
c. A basin or receptacle made of stone, metal, or other material, and having a pipe attached for the escape of water to a drain, etc.;
esp. such a basin fitted in a kitchen or scullery, and having a supply of water connected with it.
| 1566 Eng. Ch. Furniture (Peacock, 1866) 65, ij alter Stones—One Mr. Sheffield haith made a sinck of in his kitchine. 1611 Cotgr., Aiguier, a sinke, or washing stone, in a kitchin. 1634 in Archaeologia XXXV. 197 In the kitchen..A grate for the sincke. 1726 Leoni Alberti's Archit. I. 95/2 A large Kitchen..with an oven, stove, pump and sink. 1827 Faraday Chem. Manip. i. 17 So advantageous is the unlimited use of water, and a regular sink with its drain. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xiii. 115 Simeon..was washing his hands at a neat sink, in a little back porch. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 759 Attention must be paid to the housemaid's sink. |
| fig. 1893 Sir R. Ball Story of Sun 190 Certain [sun-] spots are, as it were, sinks by which cooler gases descend into the Sun's interior. |
2. fig. a. A receptacle or gathering-place
of vice, corruption, etc.
In common use from
c 1560; sometimes of single persons.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 242 Manasses was as the pyt and synke of all fylth & synne. 1547 J. Harrison Exhort. to Scottes b v b, Afore I will stirre that vnsauery sinke of treson and trecherie. 1684 tr. Bonet's Merc. Compit. vi. 160 Unless that humour be discharged, it will become a sink of many difficult evils. 1707 J. Stevens tr. Quevedo's Com. Wks. (1709) 410 The Man..was the very sink of Fraud and Deceit. 1764 Goldsm. Trav. 359 Where kings have toil'd.., One sink of level avarice shall lie. 1822 Hazlitt Table-T. Ser. ii. x. (1869) 196 The low, dull, level sinks of ignorance and vulgarity. 1855 Motley Dutch Rep. ii. v. (1866) 215 The justice and finance councils were sinks of iniquity. 1879 G. Macdonald P. Faber II. x. 185 What vaults of uncleanness, what sinks of deathful horrors, would not the souls of some of us grow! |
b. A place in which vice or corruption is rank or rampant.
| 1550 Bale Eng. Votaries ii. A ij, Rome hath bene so synnefull a syncke & pernicious puddell. 1587 Golding De Mornay xi. (1592) 160 To toyle it selfe..in this sincke here beneath, I meane this elementall world. 1622 Drayton Poly-olb. xix. 25 A city's but a sink, gay houses gawdy graves. 1647 Fuller Good Th. in Worse T. (1841) 116 This necessary severity doth sweep their state from being the sink of sinners, the rendezvous of rogues. 1691 Norris Pract. Disc. 258 Any good that this World, this Sediment and Sink of the Creation, can afford. 1874 Deutsch Rem. 247 The wanton and absurd insult expressly thrown in the face of London..as compared to Rome, that sink of sinks. 1884 Sharman Hist. Swearing viii. 150 The sinks and hiding⁓places of a great city. |
† c. A collective mass of unsavoury or objectionable matters.
Obs.| 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. III. 1047/1 So manie greeuous faults meeting togither in one sinke. 1589 Nashe M. Marprelate Wks. (Grosart) I. 160 To leaue furder stirring of this stinking sink. 1657 Sanderson Serm. (1674) 29, I irk to rake longer in this sink. |
† d. The scum or dregs
of a place or set of persons.
Obs. (
Cf. L.
sentina.)
| 1573 Baret Alv. s.v. Rascals, The rascall and vile sort of men: y⊇ sinke of the citie.., sentina, colluuies vrbis. 1658 Cleveland Rustic Rampant Wks. (1687) 407 No less than 5000 of the sink of the People meet ill armed. 1692 R. L'Estrange Josephus, Wars of Jews iv. vi. (1733) 702 As to their Quality, they are the very Scum and Sink of Mankind. 1740 in Wordsw. Scholæ Acad. (1877) 313, 2 of King's College..happened to meet with some of y⊇ sink of y⊇ Town. |
e. A place where things are swallowed up or lost.
| 1648 J. Beaumont Psyche vi. cxciv, That dark Cave Where Sorrows find their sink, and Cares their grave. 1789 B. Rush Med. Enquiries 79 Dr. Rush..terms them [sc. hospitals], ‘The sinks of human life in an army,’ and says, ‘they robbed the United States of more citizens than the sword’. 1813 Wellington in Gurw. Desp. (1838) XI. 76 As the Secretary of State's office is a sink of papers, and these are really curious,..I shall be glad to have them [sc. papers] again. |
f. In semi-proverbial
phr. a mind like a sink, an imagination that tends to put an indecent or lewd construction on events.
slang.| 1932 A. Christie Thirteen Problems x. 170 And if one tries to warn them..they tell one that one has a Victorian mind—and that, they say, is like a sink. 1949 Wodehouse Uncle Dynamite viii. 129 He concluded by saying that it was a pity that some people, whose identity he did not specify, had minds like sinks. 1970 S. Taylor Murder grows Roots ii. 16 [She] said he'd probably gone off with some woman. Her mind's like a sink! |
g. Used
attrib. of a (school, estate, etc., in a) socially deprived area.
| 1972 Daily Mail 4 Oct. 25/3 The downward spiral of decline in the ‘sink’ areas could be broken if the school led the way. 1972 Guardian 17 Oct. 17/4 It is a pity..that there is not a ‘sink’ schools conference, like the Headmasters' Conference of the public schools, to act as a general champion of the rights of urban schools. 1976 New Society 18 Nov. 365/2 Somewhere, in every town that has council houses at all, there's a ‘sink’ estate—the roughest and shabbiest on the books, disproportionately tenanted by families with problems, and despised both by those who live there and the town at large. 1981 Observer 8 Feb. 29/4 None of its problems has reduced Callow to a ‘sink’ school: it has great achievements, including children in its first sixth form about to depart bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to university. |
3. transf. a. A receptacle of foul or waste matter.
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 22 She poured forth out of her hellish sinke Her fruitfull cursed spawne of serpents small. 1601 Weever Mirr. Mart. C ij b, The sea [is now] a sinke, and riuers to the same Are rotten pipes. 1655 Culpepper, etc. Riverius xiii. ii. 363 The Mesentery..is as it were the sink into which the Noble Parts do send their superfluous Excrements. 1684 Contempl. State of Man ii. vii. (1699) 206 Hell is the Worlds sink, and the receptacle of all the Filth in this Great Frame. |
† b. the sink(s) of the body, the organs of digestion and excretion.
Obs.| 1607 Shakes. Cor. i. i. 126 The Cormorant belly.., Who is the sinke a th' body. 1649 Jer. Taylor Gt. Exemp. iii. 102 From the sinks of our body no such sweet or salutary emanations are observed. 1691 Ray Creation (1714) 230 It is also observable that the Sinks of the Body are removed as far from the Nose and Eyes as may be. |
II. † 4. a. The well or fountain of a lamp.
Obs.—0| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 456/2 Synke, of a lampe (P. holdinge the risshe), mergulus. |
† b. Founding. ? A hole dug in the ground for placing a gun-mould.
Obs. rare.
| 1541 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. VIII. 125 Gevin to v men..making and drying of the mulde and spindill, casting of the sink. 1542 Ibid 126 Clengeing of the sink and rynnyng of the mettell. |
† c. A waxen tube or pipe for carrying off melted wax from the model of a statue.
Obs. rare.
| 1756 Chambers' Cycl. s.v. Foundery, When the wax-work is finished and every part corrected, all these pieces are placed again upon the core, in order to fix hollow pipes of wax in them from every part of the figure,..called sinks. |
† 5. The well of a ship.
Obs. (
= L.
sentina.)
| 1611 Cotgr., Lossec, the sinke, or well, of the pumpe of a ship. 1638 Heywood Descr. Royall Ship 14 Her sinke drew no more water than one man might easily empty by a pumpe. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 270 In the lower Deck they had a very convenient Pump; it is an Iron-Chain..that reaches down to the Sink. 1711 Phil. Trans. XXVII. 365 A stink, much like that of the Sink of a Ship. |
6. Mining.
a. A pit-shaft. Now
rare.
In
quot. 1896 the sense may be ‘process of sinking’.
| 1576 Reg. Privy Council Scot. II. 507 To serche out..leid mynes.., to brek the ground and mak sinkis and pottis thairin. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 316 Ane woman..cuist hir sellff in ane coill sink. 1601 Charter in Dallas Stiles (1697) 769 For..upholding of Sinks, Syers, Gutters, Eyes,..Airholls [etc.]. 1739 Sir J. Clerk in Mem. W. Stukeley (Surtees) II. 91 The sink goes down perpendicularly 80 fathoms below the sea. 1896 Daily News 14 Jan. 2/6 Have struck a rich body of ore in the sink worth 11 ounces of gold. |
b. A well or pool
of water.
| 1834 Medwin Angler in Wales II. 126 If this man had really seen ore in the bottom of a sink of water in a mine. |
c. (See
quot.)
| 1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-mining 224 Sinks, natural cavities met with in iron mines. |
7. a. A flat, low-lying area, basin, etc., where waters collect and form a bog, marsh, or pool, or disappear by sinking or evaporation. Now
U.S.| 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 99 Be thir sinkes [supra certane difficile myres] wil gang no{supt} only the Reiuers selfes.., bot the horses in lyke maner. 1702 E. West Mem. (1865) 186 The way being full of mires, sinks, and snares. [1753 Hanway Trav. (1762) I. iii. xxv. 107 Ghilan is generally esteemed the sink of Persia. 1801 Skrine Rivers Gt. Brit. 68 This may be called the sink of Yorkshire, the country being deep, and occasionally sandy.] 1850 B. Taylor Eldorado xxi. (1862) 223 On the arid plains around the sink of Humboldt's River. 1872 Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 194 Even large rivers, like the Humboldt, spread out into shallow lakes, erroneously called ‘sinks’, and, exposing thus a large area to evaporation, dry up. |
b. = sink-hole 2. Chiefly
U.S.| 1791 W. Bartram Trav. 174 Though the waters of these ponds in the summer and dry seasons, evidently tend towards these sinks. 1854 Bartlett Personal Narr. I. 110 We stopped to look at some limestone sinks near the road. 1885 Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 6 Apr. 2/3 But in some places veins of sand..run through the rock... Water,..percolating through, sometimes causes the entire vein to fall through. When the vein..comprises an acre or two it is called a ‘sink’. |
8. The opposite of
source in any scientific sense; a place where or a process by which energy (
esp. heat) is removed from a system, or some specific component of a system is removed from circulation and either stored or destroyed; a device whose function is to act as a sink.
| 1855 J. C. Maxwell in Trans. Cambr. Philos. Soc. (1864) X. 32 If the origin of the tube or its termination be within the space under consideration, then we must conceive the fluid to be supplied by a source within that space, capable of creating and emitting unity of fluid in unity of time, and to be afterwards swallowed up by a sink capable of receiving and destroying the same amount continually. 1878 W. K. Clifford Elem. Dynamic i. 214 The point ς is called a source of strength µ when the fluid streams out in all directions; when µ is negative, so that the fluid streams inwards, it is called a sink. 1882 Minchin Unipl. Kinemat. 208 The problem to find the velocity..due to the given causes (sources, sinks, etc.). 1885 Electrician 3 July 134/1 There will..be transfer of energy through the medium from sources to sinks of energy. 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVIII. 18/2 In the case of current flow in plane sheets, we have to consider certain points called sources at which the current flows into the sheet, and certain points called sinks at which it leaves. 1951 Jrnl. Brit. Interplanetary Soc. X. 256 The generation of electrical power by means of a heat engine requires that the heat produced at a temperature T1 be conveyed to a ‘sink’ at a temperature T2. 1966 Economist 8 Oct. 180/1 They [sc. power stations] could be used as a ‘sink’ for the gas while the distribution system is geared up to take it elsewhere. 1977 I. M. Campbell Energy & Atmosphere viii. 263 The main sink for hydroperoxy radicals in the troposphere appears, at present, to be identified as reaction with nitrogen oxides. |
III. † 9. A quantity
of hemp sunk in a retting-pit.
Obs.—1| 16.. in N.W. Linc. Gloss. (1889) 485 Drowned in a hempe pitt neare a litle sinke of hempe. |
† 10. Mining.
= chun 1.
Obs.—0| 1747 Hooson Miner's Dict. s.v., A Sink..is the same thing with a Chun. |
11. a. Dancing. (See
quot.)
| 1706 J. Weaver Orchesography 2 Sinkings are the bending of the Knees. Risings are when we rise from a Sink. |
b. A dropping or lowering of the voice.
rare—1.
| 1786 A. M. Bennett Juvenile Indiscr. III. 189 Their ignorance of the subject of the whispering dialogue..was..owing..to a soft sink in the voice of both Henry and Clara. |
c. gen. An instance or act of sinking.
rare.
| 1818 Keats Let. 13 Mar. (1958) I. 240 When a poor devil is drowning, it is said he comes thrice to the surface, ere he makes his final sink. |
d. Aeronaut. Loss of altitude,
esp. in gliding flight; the rate of this.
| 1943 [see rate n.1 7 b]. 1955 A. Welch et al. Soaring Pilot iii. 33 Minimum sink will occur at some lower lift coefficient (i.e. a higher speed). 1962 R. C. S. Allen Theory of Flight for Glider Pilots iv. 28 When the power is a minimum, the sink is a minimum. 1973 Sci. Amer. Dec. 103/3 The effect of the vulture's lower wing loading is that it can turn in much smaller circles at a similar rate of sink. |
12. a. U.S. A kind of oblong boat used in wild-fowl shooting, which becomes submerged to the water-level and serves to conceal the sportsman.
| 1857 E. J. Lewis Amer. Sportsman 284 It is better..to have two or more double-barrelled guns in the Sink. 1859 Bartlett Dict. Amer., Battery, a sort of boat used for duck-shooting... It is also called..a Surface-boat, Sink, or Box. 1874 J. W. Long Amer. Wild-Fowl xxv. 252 When done with, the brush may be thrown off, and the labor of towing about the ‘sink’ avoided. |
b. = sinker n.1 5.
| 1865 Pall Mall G. 17 Aug. 11/1 You want..nothing else but a good rod, with..a lead sink, and an inch of mackerel by way of bait. |
c. Theatr. A part of the stage constructed to sink and rise by means of machinery.
Cf. sinking stage,
s.v. sinking ppl. a. 3.
| 1840 A. Bunn Stage both before & behind Curtain III. viii. 280 The scenery..described, in the glowing language of the stage, under the head of flats, wings, side-pieces, borders, sinks, flies, &c.., has been painted..by a Stanfield and Grieve. 1859 Punch 5 Feb. 58/2 Gorgeous transformations,..scruto work, gas-battens, and all the resources of ‘sink and fly’. 1859 Sala Twice round Clock (1861) 255 The scene-shifters..seeing..the traps greased, and all the ‘sinks’ and ‘flies’, ropes and pullies,..in due working order. |
13. A depression or hollow,
esp. one made in a flat surface.
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2616/2 Trap, a sink or depression in a sewer-pipe. 1884 Britten Watch & Clockm. 94 For making square sinks to receive screw heads and the like, a pin drill is used. 1885 C. G. W. Lock Workshop Rec. Ser. iv. 215/2 [In electrotyping] any depressions or ‘sinks’ must be marked with a pair of callipers. |
IV. 14. attrib. and
Comb. (chiefly in sense 1), as
sink-cleansing,
† sink-house,
sink-pan,
sink-pipe,
sink-top,
sink-trap; also
sink-box U.S. = sense 12 a;
sink-dirt dial. (see
quot.);
sink garden, a miniature garden, comprising a group of small plants (often alpine varieties) grown in an old stone sink or similar container;
sink rate Aeronaut. = sinking speed s.v. sinking vbl. n. 4;
sink-room U.S., a scullery;
sink tidy, a perforated receptacle for kitchen waste, placed on a sink unit;
sink unit, a kitchen unit comprising a sink and draining-board,
usu. with cupboards below.
| 1874 J. W. Long Amer. Wild-Fowl xxv. 252 The usual method of taking canvas-back in the West is by the aid of decoys, shooting..from a *sink-box. |
| a 1661 B. Holyday Juvenal (1673) 37 Such can turn black to white; hire temples, ports, Rivers, *sink-cleansing, bus'ness of all sorts, And gain by't. |
| 1838 Holloway Prov. Dict., *Sink-dirt, channel mud. |
| [1923 Gardeners' Chron. 2 June 306/2 Quite a novel feature of the rock gardens [at Chelsea] were the miniature gardens..in stone sinks.] 1935 C. Elliott Rock Garden Plants 10, I at first intended to devote chapters to the building of rock gardens, the making of screes, to *sink gardens, [etc.]. 1954 R. Pearson Town Gardening xii. 109 (heading) Trough and sink gardens. |
| c 1614 Brasenose Coll. Muniments, Harrowden (MS.), A *sinkehouse with a chamber over it. |
| 1587 Golding De Mornay (1592) 38 Rome became the very *sinckpan of all Idolatries of the Worlde. |
| 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §308 The *sink pipe of lead would convey it to the outside. |
| 1966 National Observer (U.S.) 21 Feb. 9/3 Attention so far has focused on the 727's ‘*sink rate’, or rate of descent as it comes down from its 25,000-foot cruising altitude on an approach to landing. 1978 A. Welch Bk. Airsports vi. 92/2 Most Para-Commander 'chutes..have a sink rate of about 13 feet per second. |
| 1869 Mrs. Stowe Old Town vi. The conversation was interrupted by a commotion in the back *sink⁓room. |
| 1951 Catal. of Exhibits, South Bank Exhib., Festival of Britain 52/1 Deep *sink tidy. 1958 New Scientist 9 Jan. 13/1 Polyethylene..well known in recent years for its use in the manufacture of..sink-tidies, buckets and washing-up bowls. 1981 R. Barnard Mother's Boys v. 52 She took out the sink-tidy, with the rubbish from breakfast, and slapped the contents into the dust-bin. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2188/1 The *sink-top is of cast-iron. |
| Ibid. 2188/2 *Sink-trap, (Hydraulics), a trap for a kitchen sink, so constructed as to allow water to pass down, but not allow reflow of air or gases. |
| 1939 Martin & Speight Flat Bk. 66 Wringer unit which can be fixed permanently to an ‘Easiwork’ *sink unit in an ideal position between the sink and copper. 1971 R. Rendell One across, Two Down v. 45, I would have it painted throughout for you and a sink unit put in. |
▪ II. † sink, n.2 Obs.—0 [app. ad. L. cinct-us girdle.] (See
quot.)
| 14.. Lat.-Eng. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 611 Semicinctorium, a synk or a lace. |
▪ III. sink, v. (
sɪŋk)
Pa. tense
sank,
sunk.
pa. pple. sunk,
sunken. Forms:
inf. 1
sincan, 3, 5
sinken (
Orm. sinnkenn), 5
synken,
-yn,
cynkyn; 3–7
sinke, 4–6
synke (5
synkke), 4, 7
sincke, 6
syncke; 4, 6–
sink (5
senk-), 4–5
synk, 4
sinc, 7
sinck.
pa. tense. α.
sing. 1, 3–4
sanc, 5
sanck; 4–5
sanke, 4–5, 8–
sank.
pl. 5–7
sanke, 6
sancke, 9–
sank. β.
sing. 1
sonc, 4
sonk.
pl. 3–5
sonken, 5–6
sonke, 6
soncke, 6–7
soonke. γ.
pl. 1
suncon, 3
sunken,
sunke, 5
sunkyn; also
sing. 6
suncke, 6–7
sunke,
sunck, 7–
sunk. δ. 5
synked, 7 (9
dial.)
sinked.
pa. pple. α. 1
suncen, 3
i-sunken (
Orm. sunnkenn), 3–
sunken, 4
sunkin,
-yn, 6
suncken; 4–7
sunke, 6–7
sunck(e, 7–
sunk. β. 4–5
sonken, 5
sonkyn;
Sc. 5
sonkine,
-yne, 6
sonkin; 4
i-sonke, 6
son(c)ke,
soonke, 7
soonk. γ. 9
sank,
dial. sinken.
[Comm. Teut.: OE. sincan (sanc, suncon, suncen), = OFris. *sinka (WFris. sinke), MDu. sincken, sinken (Du. zinken), OS. sinkan (MLG. and LG. sinken), OHG. sinchan (MHG. and G. sinken), ON. s{obar}kkva (:—*sinkwan; Icel. sökkva, Norw. s{obar}kka, s{obar}kkja; MSw. sionka, Sw. sjunka; Da. synke), Goth. sigqan (= *sinkwan). In trans. use the form sink takes the place of OE. sencan, ME. senchen sench v. The use of
sunk as the
pa. tense has been extremely common. Johnson (1755) says ‘pret.
I sunk, anciently
sank’. In sense 21 c the
pa. tense was
sinked, which otherwise is very rarely found.]
I. Intransitive uses.
The perfect and pluperfect tenses were formerly
freq. conjugated with the
vb. to be instead of
have.
*
1. To become submerged in water; to go under or to the bottom; (of ships) to founder.
| c 975 Rushworth Gosp. Matt. xiv. 30 Þa [Peter] in-gon sincan, cegde cwęþende ‘hæl mec drihten’. c 1205 Lay. 4582 Scipen þer sunken, þer þreo & fifti scipen feollen to grunde. c 1220 Bestiary 538 in O.E. Misc., Ðe fir he [the whale] feleð and doð hem sinken. a 1300 Cursor M. 2904 Þai sink in þat wele þar neuer man sank þat was o sele. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xiii. xxi. (Bodl. MS.), An egge fleteþ in salt water and sinketh downe in fresche watere. c 1400 Destr. Troy 12525 [Ajax] Hym-seluyn in the sea sonkyn belyue, Swalprit & swam. 1471 Caxton Recuyell (Sommer) I. 279 The boot was full of water and sanck. 1530 Palsgr. 718/2 Some say that a man shall synke thrise or ever he synke to the bottome. 1555 Eden Decades (Arb.) 51 His shyppes were so laden with golde that they soonke. 1641 J. Jackson True Evang. T. iii. 209 The other [emblem] is two pots floting on a pond,..with this word, ‘If we knock together, we sink together’. 1660 F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 64 Leaving his other ship..to the mercy of the water, which in a moment sunk before his face. 1748 Lind Lett. Navy (1757) II. 107 They were resolved to sink rather than to strike. 1767 Sir W. Jones Seven Fountains Poems (1777) 35 The light bark, and all the airy crew, Sunk like a mist beneath the briny dew. 1827 D. Johnson Ind. Field Sports 142 If she sunk, they considered her innocent. 1858 Lardner Handbk. Nat. Phil. 44 Glass sinks in water, but floats in quicksilver; ebony sinks in spirits of wine, but floats in water. |
| fig. 1575 Mirr. for Mag., Induction v, Sithe those..Ofte sooniste sinke, in greatest seas of care. 1611 Cotgr. s.v. Nager, A fauourite..of authoritie, may boldly swimme where another would sinke. |
| Phr. 1825 Ann. Reg., Chron. (1826) 98/2 Dubbed a wizard.., Stebbings..proposed at length, of himself, the old-fashioned ordeal of ‘sink or swim’. |
(
b) In
fig. phr. to sink without trace;
usu. pass. [
tr. Ger.: see spurlos]
| 1925 Fraser & Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 267 Spurlos versenkt, gone entirely. Disappeared. Specifically—sunk without trace, with all on board. 1936 ‘D. Yates’ And Berry came Too viii. 313 ‘That has gone, sir.’..‘Sunk without trace,’ said Berry. ‘What a very beautiful thought.’ 1946 W. S. Churchill Compl. Speeches (1974) VII. 7337 He has departed ‘spurlos versenkt’ as the German expression says—sunk without leaving a trace behind. 1965 A. Fairfax-Lucy in Battiscombe & Laski Chaplet for Charlotte Yonge 92 Kenneth has sunk without a trace, but The Little Duke lives. 1974 ‘J. le Carré’ Tinker, Tailor xii. 104 ‘And the third? Viktorov?’ ‘Sunk without trace... Trained and disappeared.’ |
b. To become partly or completely submerged in quicksand, marshy ground, snow, etc. Also in
fig. context; and in
phr. to sink through the floor, used to express deep embarrassment.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter i. 1 Qwik grauel þat gers him synk þat standis þar on. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 339 Whenne a man synkis in þe myre. c 1511 1st Eng. Bk. Amer. Introd. (Arb.) 28/1 They muste goo vpon brode trenchers that they falle not & synke [in sand]. 1530 Palsgr. 718/2 Foure great peces of artillery be sonke in yonder maresse. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. 529 It is so throughly wet..with waters, that a mans foote is ready to sinke into it. 1686 tr. Chardin's Trav. Persia 242 They sink up to the Belly in the looser snow. 1784 Cowper Task i. 272 We..feel at ev'ry step Our foot half sunk in hillocks green and soft. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. II. 110 Each footstep sinking ankle-deep in moss. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xviii. 127 [The] snow..was yielding enough to permit the feet to sink in it a little way. 1890 ‘Edna Lyall’ Hardy Norseman v, Your feet sank into the softest of carpets. 1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xii. 118 She thought she would sink through the floor when she saw you come in all rigged out like that. 1956 ‘C. Blackstock’ Dewey Death iv. 79 The pause was long enough to make Barbara wish she could sink through the floor. 1969 E. Gébler Shall I eat You Now? 36 The fear he might suddenly say anything—well something really that would make you sink through the floor. |
| Comb. 1632 Lithgow Trav. x. 428 All my dayly solace, was sincke down comfort; whiles Boggy-plunging deepes kissing my horse belly. |
2. † a. To go down, to descend,
into hell. Also without
const. Obs.| c 1200 Ormin 13381 All þatt wannteþþ Cristess hald All sinnkeþþ inntill helle. a 1225 St. Marher. 7 Mi sawle schulde sinken..to sorhen in helle. c 1366 Chaucer A.B.C. 123 Whan j me bithinke Þat j agilt haue boþe him and þee And þat my soule is wurthi for to sinke. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xiv. 80 Þei sonken in-to helle þo citees vchone. 1508 Kennedie Flyting w. Dunbar 552 Spynk, sink with stynk ad Tertara Termagorum. |
b. To subside or go down into, to be swallowed up by, the earth, etc. Also
const. in,
into,
within.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3775 Alle he sunken ðe erðe wið-in, Wið wifes, and childre, and hines-kin. a 1300 Cursor M. 2810 Þou lede þam suith out o þis tun, Are þat hit be sunken don. c 1386 Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. 193 Somme of hem synke in to the ground. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) ix. 101 In to that See sonken the 5 Cytees. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour 13 God had made mani citees to sinke for the synne that thei delited hem inne. 1508 Dunbar Flyting 13 For and I flyt sum sege for schame sould sink. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 99 Amonge other of the euylles of Sodom and Gomor, whiche sanke for synne. 1605 Shakes. Macb. iv. i. 106 Let me know. Why sinkes that Caldron? 1611 Bible Lam. ii. 9 Her gates are sunke into the ground. 1736 Gray Statius ii. 16 The ponderous mass sinks in the cleaving ground. |
3. To descend to a lower plane or level; to slip, drop, or fall
down; to pass
in by falling. Also
spec. (
quot. 1891).
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 218 Ȝif þæt sie omihte wæte innan onburnenu tyhte hie mon ut mid liþum mettum sincendum. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 251 Þe coupe ful out of his hond, & anon to grounde sonk. 13.. Seuyn Sages 212 (W.), Other ich am of wine dronke, Other the firmament is i-sonke. c 1425 Abraham's Sacr. in Non-Cycle Myst. Plays 42 A! Lord of Heuyn, thy grace let synke. 1563 Fulke Meteors (1640) 47 Clouds..by their heavinesse doe by little and little sinke downe lower into the lowest region. 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. iv. iii, With that her head sunk down upon her brest. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. iv. xlvi. 374 Some kind of bodies sink naturally downwards toward the Earth. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 8 Feb. 1645, This subterranean grott..is in some places obstructed by the earth which has sunk in. 1711 Addison Spect. 159 ¶6 Their Footing failed and down they sunk [from the bridge]. 1831 Scott Ct. Rob. xxxii, Birds, incapable of sustaining themselves, sunk down exhausted out of their native element. 1852 M. Arnold Empedocles ii. 73 He lets his lax right hand..Sink upon his mighty knees. 1891 Cent. Dict., Sink, to swim deep, as a school of fish; specifically, to pass below a net. |
| transf. 1878 Browning La Saisiaz 59 Power that sinks and pettiness that soars. |
b. To subside; to give way and go
down, to fall
away; to be beaten
in.
| 1530 Palsgr. 718/2, I synke in, as a mans harnesse synketh by vyolence of strokes, je me efondre. 1563 Fulke Meteors (1640) 21 When some part of the land sinketh downe, and in stead thereof arise Rivers, Lakes [etc.]. 1776 Semple Building in Water 3 The Cause of this West Side sinking more than the East Side. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xix. 189 If the whole country would sink, and hide all this injustice,..I would willingly sink with it. 1897 Watts-Dunton Aylwin iv. iv, The very airth under your feet seems to be a-sinkin' away. |
c. Of the sun or moon: To descend in the sky; to move toward or pass beneath the horizon.
| 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. v. iii. 61 O setting Sunne: As in thy red Rayes thou doest sinke to night [etc.]. 1637 Milton Lycidas 168 So sinks the day-star in the Ocean bed. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho i, Sweeter still, when the sun sinks to rest. 1801 Southey Thalaba xi. xxxix, The Moon is sunk; a dusky grey Spreads o'er the Eastern sky. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. vii. 57 The sun sank behind the neighbouring peaks. |
| transf. 1821 Shelley Ginevra 106 The day sinks fast, the sun is set. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. cvi[i], A bitter day that early sank Behind a purple-frosty bank Of vapour. |
d. To pass out of sight, to be lost to view; to disappear.
| 1521 in Bradshaw's St. Werburge (1887) 201 Make hym domestique Within the heuyns, in whiche that thou art sonke. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones v. x, Caught a view of the lovers just as they were sinking out of sight. 1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad xxxvii, Low in the forsaken west Sank the high-reared head of Clee. |
e. Of land, etc.: To have a downward lie or slope; to descend gradually; to dip.
| 1726 Leoni Alberti's Archit. II. 10/2 If the plain be smooth.., not rising or sinking on any side. 1747 Gentl. Mag. 208/1 His belly hangs low, being not far from the ground, as it sinks much in the middle. 1825 Scott Betrothed iv, The hill sinks downward to an extensive plain. 1873 Burton Hist. Scot. I. i. 25 Descending and ascending as the country sinks and swells. |
f. Of the eye: To glance or look downwards; to droop.
| 1834 Whittier Mogg Megone 374 The eye of Boniton Sinks at that low, sepulchral tone. |
4. a. Of water, etc.: To go down; to fall to a lower level; to subside. Also
transf.| a 1000 Cædmon's Gen. 1437 (Gr.), Þa fandode forðweard scipes, hwæðer sincende sæflod þa ᵹyt wære under wolcnum. a 1400 Theophilus ix. in Engl. Studien XXXII. 6 Al his wisdam & his good, Ryȝt as doth þe salte flood, It sanc doun to grounde. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus, Flumina subsidunt, the riuers sinke. 1741–3 Pococke Descr. East I. 199 That the water may have a fall from them [sc. the higher parts] to all other parts, when the Nile sinks. |
b. Of flames, etc.: To die down; to burn less strongly; to go out.
| 1611 Bible Numb. xi. 2 When Moses prayed.., the fire was quenched [marg. sunke]. 1728 Pope Dunc. i. 260 Down sink the flames, and with a hiss expire. 1827 Scott Chron. Canongate i, A flash of intelligence seemed to revive in the invalid's eye—sunk again. |
5. To drop or fall gradually down to the ground, on a seat, etc., from want of power to remain erect;
† to faint
away.
to be sinking, to be ready to drop (with fatigue, etc.).
| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xviii. 67 Þe ded bodye..sank with þat til erthe. 1470–85 Malory Arthur i. xvi. 59 The knyght sanke doune to the erthe dede. Ibid. xx. xxii. 838 Syr Gauwayn synked doun vpon hys one syde in a swounde. 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 593 She trembles at his tale, And..sinketh down, still hanging by his neck. 1608 Chapman Duke Byron v. iii, As a savage boar that..keeps off the baying hounds, Though sunk himself. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 735 The Victim Ox, that was for Altars prest,..Sunk of himself. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) II. 159, I reached [the house] with much difficulty, and then sunk away on the threshold. 1782 F. Burney Cecilia ii. iv, If he gets a seat, he never offers to move, if he sees one sinking with fatigue. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. xxxiii, Jeanie sunk down on a chair, with clasped hands, and gasped in agony. 1837 P. Keith Bot. Lex. 274 If the stem of a balsam sinks down for lack of moisture till it touches the earth. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 95/2 He was sinking with hardship, fatigue, and hunger. |
b. To fall down, fall
in ruin; to give way through weakness or fatigue. Also of soil: To be soft or yielding.
| 1535, 1597 [see sinking ppl. a. 1 a]. 1608 Shakes. Per. iv. vi. 128 Your house, but for this virgin that doth prop it, Would sink and overwhelm you. 1700 T. Brown tr. Fresny's Amusem. 13 The Ground is Hard in some Places and Sinks in others. 1770 Goldsm. Des. Vill. 47 Sunk are thy bowers in shapeless ruin all. 1843 R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. iii. 403 When the patient attempted to stand up or walk, he was totally unable to do either, his legs sinking under him. |
c. To drop down in a slow or easy manner into a lying or sitting posture.
| 1825 Scott Betrothed xiii, The hound sunk down to his couchant posture. 1831 Society I. 267 ‘Will you let me repay myself thus,’ added he, sinking into the seat beside her and taking her hand. 1885 ‘E. Garrett’ At Any Cost x, Mrs. Brander.. sank down on a billowy chair, and took possession of Tom. |
6. Of water or other liquids: To pass into or penetrate a substance, to be soaked up or absorbed. Const.
in,
into,
through, etc.
† Also, to ooze
out of something.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 535 In to þe see all watres sinkes. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxxiii. 150 Þir flodez sinkez doune in to þe erthe. c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. i. 37 The watir out of gaseyn or of myre Be not ybrought, ner out of metal synke. 1535 Coverdale Isaiah xix. 4 Nilus shal synke awaye, & be dronke vp. 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, v. vi. 62 Will the aspiring blood of Lancaster Sinke in the ground? 1662 J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Amb. 412 The continual Rains had..sunk through our Tents and cloaths. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 655 In muddy Pools, the Water sinks. 1738 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Paper, Blotting Paper is paper..in which..ink readily sinks or spreads. 1745 P. Thomas Voy. S. Seas 247 This Ink is..extremely black, and..sinks when the Paper is fine. 1843 Way Promp. Parv. 78 The drain..which allowed the water..to sink into the earth. 1859 Gullick & Timbs Painting 222 The tendency some colours have, in certain circumstances, to what is called ‘sink-in’. |
| fig. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 5, I with love am so bethrowe, And al myn herte is so thurgh sunke, That I am verraliche drunke. 1567 Satir. Poems Reform. vii. 120 Gif the poysone in hir hart be sonkin, That sho will not consent he puneist be. 1844 Mrs. Browning Drama of Exile 1977 Those sins Have sunken to all Nature's heart. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus c. 7 Into my inmost veins when love sank fiercely to burn them. |
† b. Of paper: To cause ink to spread or ‘run’ on being applied to it; to absorb ink.
Obs.| 1594 Plat Jewell-ho. 46 If the paper should happen to sinke, which is an especiall fault in many of our late yeere bookes. 1688 Miège Gt. Fr. Dict. ii. s.v., This Paper sinks, or blots,..ce Papier boit. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XIII. 715/2 To hinder paper from sinking, take..rock alum, dissolve it in..water, and apply it to the paper. |
c. Of an oil painting: to develop dull spots on the surface where the pigments have sunk into the ground. Also
const. in.
Cf. sinking vbl. n. 1 e.
| 1939 H. Hubbard Materia Pictoria 231 During the process of painting, and after completion, Oil Paintings are liable to sink-in and become dull in parts. 1968 M. Noakes Prof. Approach to Oil Painting ii. 12 Linseed oil can be used for ‘oiling out’ when a picture shows signs of sinking... Varnish seals and protects the surface of a painting, as well as reviving any areas that have sunk. |
7. a. Of a weapon or blow: To make way
into or
through some part, etc. Also with
advb. complement.
| c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 5310 (Kölbing), Wawain on þe helme him smot, Þe ax sank depe. Ibid. 9352 Arthour on þe helme him smot, Þe dent sanke þurch. a 1400 Sir Beues (Kölbing) p. 212 Hit [sc. a stroke] sanke þrouȝ helm and basnette. 1611 Bible 1 Sam. xvii. 49 The stone sunke into his forehead. |
b. To recede, be depressed,
into something.
| 1530 Palsgr. 718/2 As a mans eyes sinke in to his heed for thought, or sycknesse. |
**
8. a. To penetrate
into (
† to,
unto,
through), enter or be impressed
in, the mind, heart, etc.
In
quot. 1612 it is not clear whether the meaning is ‘to enter into the mind’, or ‘to find acceptance’.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 15170 Mani sari sight, i-wiss, þar sanc vn-til his hert. Ibid. 25997 Sua sar þin sakes to for-thingk þat soru thoru þin hert sink. c 1374 Chaucer Anel. & Arc. 8 Hit ful depe is sonken in my mynd. c 1422 Hoccleve Learn to Die 604 In-to thyn herte let my wordes synke. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xxi. xi. 858 There kyndenes and myn vnkyndenes sanke so to myn herte that I myȝt not susteyne my self. 1508 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 115 Quhen that the sound of his saw sinkis in my eris, Than ay renewis my noy. a 1548 Hall Chron., Edward IV, 18 These reasons..so sancke in the Dukes stomacke, that he promised [etc.]. 1612 T. Taylor Comm. Titus iii. 3 Very fewe assent vnto the truth we teach; it hardly sinketh with men that God should become man. c 1645 Howell Lett. i. vi. I, That which sinks deepest into me is the Sense I have of the common Calamities of this Nation. 1814 Shelley Stanza written at Bracknell 1 Thy dewy looks sink in my breast. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xix. 185 These things sink into my heart, Tom. 1884 J. Quincy Figures of the Past 250 Then a pause, that the absurdity of the position of his antagonist might sink in and be vividly realized. |
b. To press or weigh
on one.
| 1764 Goldsm. Hist. Eng. in Lett. I. 337 The sense of his subjection to his own vassals, sunk deep on his mind. 1858 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. x. iv. (1872) III. 250 This misadventure sank heavily on the spirits of Luiscius. |
c. To descend or fall (
up)on a person or place; to settle down
over a district.
| 1808 Scott Marm. iii. xii, Silence sunk on all around. 1814 ― Ld. of Isles v. xv, Over Carrick..Had sunk dejection's iron sleep. 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam i. 638 With clinging charm Sinking upon their hearts. 1865 Swinburne Poems & Ballads Ded. xiii, Night sinks on the sea. |
9. a. To be immersed or plunged deeply
in something; to dip deep
in; to be absorbed
in thought, etc. Chiefly in
pa. pple.| a 1300 Cursor M. 29037 Quat bote for-bere bath mete and drink, And saul in sulwines to sink? c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxxiv. (Pelagia) 179, I..þat has nocht anerly my-selfe sonkyne in syne vnhapely. c 1400 Rom. Rose 5113 In gret myscheef and sorwe sonken Ben hertis that of love arn dronken. c 1460 Vrbanitatis 55 in Babees Bk., To depe in þy cuppe þou may not synke Thowȝ þou haue good wylle to drynke. c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. xii. 2 When I..see the braue day sunck in hidious night. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 262 ¶4 No Man is so sunk in Vice and Ignorance, but [etc.]. 1731–8 Swift Polite Conv. Introd. 24 A great Variety of new Terms, which are annually changed, and those of the last Season sunk in Oblivion. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xlv, He pursued his way through the woods sunk in deep thought. 1814 Scott Ld. of Isles v. xiii, In night the fairy prospects sink. 1842 Borrow Bible in Spain vi, Where, sunk in dreamy rapture, I sat during a bright sunny hour. c 1850 Arab. Nts. (Rtldg.) 2 They..were both sunk in the deepest sleep. 1877 L. Morris Epic of Hades i. 9 The young dear body bathed And sunk in its delight. |
† b. To fall away
from one.
Obs.| c 1430 How the Good Wijf, etc. 79 in Babees Bk., Þo þat ben ofte drunke, Þrift is from hem sunke. a 1660 Contemp. Hist. Irel. (Ir. Archæol. Soc.) II. 174 The well affected would either joine with them..or sincke from them. |
10. Contrasted with
swim (or
† flete), to denote success, prosperity, etc., in contrast to failure or adversity, or (in later use) determination to do something without regard to consequences.
| c 1368 Chaucer Compl. Pite 110 Ye rekke not whethyr I flete or sinke. c 1386 ― Knt.'s T. 1539 She..reccheth neuere wher I synke or fleete. 1538 Starkey England i. iii. 85 They care not (as hyt ys commynly sayd) ‘whether they synke or swyme’. 1553 Becon Reliques of Rome (1563) 53 Our Recluses neuer come out of their lobbeis, sincke or swimme the people. 1637 Gillespie Eng. Pop. Cerem. Ep. A 2 b, If the Court swimme, he cares not though the Church sinke. 1668 R. Steele Husbandman's Calling iii. (1672) 29, I will be just and honest, sink or swim. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. xxvi, Sink or swim, I am determined to gang to Lunnon. 1889 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms xxiii, It's sink or swim with all of us. |
11. To fall, lapse, or degenerate
into some inferior or unsatisfactory state or condition. Also
const. from (a better state).
| c 1310 in Wright Lyric P. x. 37 Betere is were thunne boute laste, then syde robes ant synke into synne. 1642 Rogers Naaman To Rdr. 4 Those that are not sunke into a prophane way, yet may be sunke from a zealous. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 55 ¶2 The Republick sunk into those two Vices.., Luxury and Avarice. 1775 Johnson Tax. no Tyr. 28 The constitution sunk at once into a chaos. 1839 Thirlwall Greece II. 190 The nation sank into that state of utter corruption and imbecility which Xenophon..has painted. 1859 Geo. Eliot A. Bede xxxi, She could better bear something quite new than sinking back into the old everyday round. |
b. To pass
into oblivion, insignificance, etc. Also
const. from (notice).
| 1704 Swift Tale Tub Author's Apol., Such treatises..which are already sunk into waste paper and oblivion. 1783 F. Burney Diary 6 Apr., I..catch at the first chair in my way, and take possession of it, merely to sink from notice. 1834 Macaulay Ess., Pitt (1897) 302 The favourite of the people rose to supreme power, which his rival sank into insignificance. 1877 Brockett Cross & Crescent 286 The songs..are so ancient that their authors have sunk into oblivion. |
c. To change, turn, be transformed
into some lower form.
| a 1770 Jortin Serm. (1771) IV. ix. 187 Prudence without piety sinks into knavish craft. 1849 Ruskin Sev. Lamps ii. §xx. 50 It is, indeed, possible..for men to sink into machines themselves. 1888 ‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Childr. i, The afternoon was just sinking into dusk. |
12. To pass or fall gently
into (or
to) sleep, rest, peace, etc.
| 1718 Free-thinker No. 82. 190, I have observed above Half of his Hearers sunk into Slumbers. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxxvi, She at length sunk to repose. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. xxxiv, 'Twere best at once to sink to peace, Like birds the charming serpent draws. 1868 Holme Lee B. Godfrey xlvi, He..seemed to sink into a doze. |
| fig. 1743 Francis tr. Hor., Odes iii. iii. 29 Since the long War now sinks to Peace. 1845 Browning How they brought the Good News i, Behind shut the postern, the lights sank to rest. |
b. To lapse or fall
into reverie, contemplation, etc.
| 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxvii, She was soon recalled from the reverie into which she sunk. 1831 Scott Ct. Rob. vi, The officer at once reassumed his superiority, and the soldier sunk back..into his wonted silence and reserve. 1891 E. Peacock N. Brendon I. 121 He turned away from her and sunk into reverie. |
13. To give way
under (or
beneath) misfortune, affliction, etc.; to be weighed down or crushed.
| 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. iv. 22 Vnder loues heauy burthen doe I sinke. 1602 Marston Ant. & Mel. iv. Wks. 1856 I. 54 Courage, sweet boy, sinke not beneath the weight Of crushing mischiefe. 1681 Dryden Abs. & Achit. 822 But sinking underneath his master's fate: In exile with his godlike prince he mourned. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 163 ¶7 If we sink under such little Stroaks of Fortune. 1737 Gentl. Mag. VII. 570/2 Harissa with triumphant smile..left him sinking in despair. 1802 E. Parsons Myst. Visit II. 69 Such as many with weak spirits must have sank under. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xx. IV. 433 That France had at length made overtures to him was a sufficient proof that she felt herself spent and sinking. a 1862 Buckle Civiliz. (1873) III. iv. 274 Under this accumulated pressure, we shall assuredly sink, if we imitate the credulity of our forefathers. |
b. To become depressed or dejected; to droop or languish.
| 1605 1st Pt. Jeronimo iii. ii. 170 Iust at this instant her hart sincks and dies. 1655 in Nicholas Papers (Camden) III. 221 My heart as well as pursse being quite sunck. 1727 Boyer Fr. Dict. ii. s.v., His Courage sinks or lowers,..son Courage s'abbat, le Cœur lui manque. 1773 Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. v. iii, My spirits are so sunk with the agitations I have suffered. 1835 Thirlwall Greece I. ix. 350 Their spirit began to sink, and they sought advice from Delphi. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. xx, So much the vital spirits sink To see the vacant chair. 1873 Black Pr. Thule xi. 167 While she was outwardly calm,..her heart sank within her. |
c. To decline rapidly; to fail in health or strength;
† also, to die. Freq.
const. under (some trouble or ailment).
| 1718 Hickes & Nelson Life Kettlewell iii. 457 He sunk all of a sudden; for being raised to take some Chocolate for his Re-freshment, he Died in a Moment in that Posture. 1780 Mirror No. 106, His health began to sink under the vexations of his mind. 1804 Abernethy Surg. Obs. 65 The patient being previously much exhausted, sunk under this last complaint. 1829 Cooper Good's Study Med. (ed. 3) I. 385 The patient..did not sink till his stomach became disordered. 1892 Academy 13 Feb. 161/1 He sank quietly and died on the 1st February. |
14. To go downwards in the scale of fortune, success, or relative position.
| 1599 B. Jonson Ev. Man out of Hum. iv. vi, It was his heauie fortune to sinke;..therefore talke no more of him. 1607 Shakes. Timon ii. ii. 240 Neu'r speake, or thinke, That Timons fortunes 'mong his Friends can sinke. 1640 Brome Sparagus Gard. iv. xi, Now for a trick to rid us of this Clowne, Or our trade sinks. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 16 May 1681, Lord Sunderland was much sunke in his estate by gaming. a 1715 Burnet Own Time (1766) II. 200 Who was sinking in his business and began to think that of a witness would be a better trade. 1829 Sporting Mag. XXIV. 125 The Clubs appear to be sinking. 1859 Habits of Gd. Society iii, The sight of decayed gentility..may call forth our pity..: ‘You have evidently sunken,’ we say to ourselves. 1887 Jessopp Arcady i. 17 It would be an immense calamity to the rural population if the clergy were to sink in the social scale. |
b. To descend to a lower level or type; to degenerate. Also
const. to.
| 1678 Cudworth Intell. Syst. 269 Such as are..grosly sunk and debauched in their Lives. 1763 J. Brown Poetry & Music xii. 194 Thus the musical and poetic Arts sunk along with the Roman Empire. a 1770 Jortin Serm. (1771) I. iii. 57 An understanding sunk beneath the capacity of a brute. 1868 J. H. Blunt Ref. Ch. Eng. I. 427 Intellect as well as holiness had sunk down to a level of low mediocrity. 1894 Sir E. Sullivan Woman 29, I don't want to see the morality of women sink to the morality of men. |
c. To diminish, decrease, or fall in estimation; to decline in value or appreciation. Also
const. to.
| 1685 Burnet More's Utopia 11 The Reputation of their Wisdom would sink. 1746 Francis tr. Horace, Epist. ii. i. 58 Shall he..sink with Moderns to Contempt and Shame? 1780 Mirror No. 70, He sunk in his own esteem, in being reduced to use the language of solicitation. 1780 Ibid. No. 71, Former services..sunk to nothing. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral Tales (1816) I. v. 32 Flora soon sunk many degrees in his opinion. 1852 Thackeray Esmond ii. xv, He had sunk by this time to the very worst reputation. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xv. III. 516 The Whigs, conscious that they had lately sunk in the opinion both of the King and of the nation. |
15. To fall low; to diminish or decrease; also, to disappear, to vanish.
| 1655 in Nicholas Papers (Camden) 221 My..pursse being quite sunck. 1776 Adam Smith W.N. i. xi. iii. (1904) I. 218 The value [of superfluities]..sinks in times of poverty and distress. 1801 Farmer's Mag. Jan. 85 Towards the beginning of Harvest, prices sunk much. 1812 Scott Let. in Lockhart (1837) III. i. 7 While my trees grow and my fountain fills, my purse, in an inverse ratio, sinks to zero. 1826 Art of Brewing (ed. 2) 1 The abstruseness and difficulty of such research..sink before the mind capable of valuing the importance of general laws. |
b. Of sounds: To become gradually fainter; to die away.
| 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxxiii, The sound of her steps soon sunk in distance. 1820 Shelley Prometh. Unb. ii. i. 195 How the notes sink upon the ebbing wind! 1873 Browning Red Cotton Night-Cap Country 169 Chatting and chirping sunk inconsciously To silence. |
II. Transitive uses.
***
16. To cause (a vessel, etc.) to plunge or go down beneath the water; to submerge by rendering incapable of floating; to destroy in this way.
† Also with
up (
quot. 1591).
| a 1300 E.E. Psalter lxviii. 3, I come in heghnes of þe see, And þe storme it sanke me. a 1300 Cursor M. 26846 A thirl sinkes þe schipp to grund. 1471 Caxton Recuyell (Sommer) II. 677 Many [ships] were drowned and sonken into the see. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. V, 54 After long fight..they toke and sonke almost all the whole nauy of Fraunce. 1591 Spenser Vision Bellay xiii, The storme impetuous Sunke vp these riches..Within the gulfe of greedie Nereus. 1623 Bingham Xenophon 126 If I take any of you vpon the Sea, I will sinke you. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 17 They hinder any Ship..to pass them without leave, else they would run a danger of being sunk. 1726 Swift Gulliver ii. vii, The largest balls, thus discharged, would..sink down Ships..to the Bottom of the Sea. 1839 Thirlwall Greece xxvi. III. 429 Seven were so disabled, yet none went down, and they sank three of the Corinthians. 1884 Manch. Exam. 21 Oct. 5/4 A single well-directed shot would have sunk them because of the absence of watertight bulkheads. |
| fig. and in fig. context. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, ii. i. 131 Those you make friends..fall away Like water from ye, neuer found againe But where they meane to sinke ye. a 1658 Cleveland On a Fly 14 Wks. (1687), 'Twas bravely aim'd,..Th' hast sunk the Fable o'er and o'er. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas i. xvii. ¶4 There is no sinking me; I always float on the surface of ill-luck. Ibid. iv. vii. ¶11 If you catch any relation..sneaking about him,..trust me for sinking, burning, and destroying him in less than no time. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lvii, I think Miss O'Dowd would have done for me,..and when she had sunk me she would have fallen upon you. |
b. To submerge; to put or thrust under water.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 12292 Ilka tyme þat y him se, Y wilde be sonken, for y ne may fle. 1530 Palsgr. 718/2 Sythe we must nedes be taken, let us synke our letters. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 406 b, The Archebyshop, fyrste synkynge hys great Artylarie in the Rhyne,..fled awaye, to save hym selfe. 1578 in N.W. Linc. Gloss. (1877) 224/1 That no man synke anie hempe..in the North more. a 1687 Petty Pol. Arith. (1690) 66, I have heard Wise Men..wish that..that Island were sunk under Water. 1856 ‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Rur. Sports 251/2 The line is shotted so as just to sink it. |
17. To cause (a thing) to descend or fall to a lower plane or level; to force, press, or weigh down in any way.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 754 Ðus it is..brent wið brimfir, sunken and shent. Ibid. 1108 Siðen loth wente ut of hine, brende it ðhunder, sanc it erðe-dine. c 1386 Chaucer Frankl. T. 345 Prey hire to synken euery Rok adoun In to hir owene dirke Regioun Vnder the ground. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 71 Thus the .viij. citeez were sonken and brent. 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 11, I would Haue suncke the Sea within the Earth. Ibid. ii. i. 201 Doth it not then our eye⁓lids sinke? 1678 Moxon Mech. Exerc. iv. 71 Keep the Iron in this Posture, without either mounting, or sinking its ends. 1712 J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 65 The Rain forcing down the Earth, and sinking the Seed. 1787 Phil. Trans. LXXVIII. 44 The blast from an air-gun was repeatedly thrown on the bulb of a thermometer, and it uniformly sunk it about two degrees. 1814 Scott Ld. of Isles v. xxx, He raised the page, where on the plain His fear had sunk him with the slain. 1836–41 Brande Chem. (ed. 5) 169 Mr. Walker succeeded in sinking the spirit-thermometer to -91°. 1889 Welch Text Bk. Naval Archit. i. 11 Finding the weight necessary to sink the ship one inch from the assigned water line. |
| fig. 1670 in Caldwell Pap. (Maitland) I. 140 The dead weight of his brethrein..sunk him into his grave. |
| refl. 1833 Penny Cycl. I. 66/1 Air-vessels, by means of which the animals can raise or sink themselves in the water. |
b. To send, let, or push, down from a higher plane or level. Also with
down.
| 1632 Lithgow Trav. v. 229 We found this auncient Well so wondrous deepe, that scarcely all our ropes could sinke our bucket in the water. 1648 Herrick Hesper., Oberon's Palace 103 A Spinners circle is bespread, With Cob-web-curtains: from the roof So neatly sunck [etc.]. 1663 Gerbier Counsel 33 A compleat form..which the Grecians and Romans have found to be a Dimension sunk down from above. 1851–4 Tomlinson's Cycl. Arts (1866) I. 168/1 The bore-hole is apt to become crooked, so that it is often impossible to sink the pipes required to protect the hole. |
c. To allow (the hand, etc.) to fall lower.
| 1680 Moxon Mech. Exerc. xii. 213 Then sink your Right hand somewhat below the Level of the Rest. 1829 Scott Anne of G. vi, The two combatants sunk the points of their swords. 1831 ― Ct. Rob. iii, Each sentinel sunk his weapon. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. lxvii[i], When in the down I sink my head, Sleep, Death's twin-brother, times my breath. |
d. Golf. To hole a ball from (a putt); to hole (a ball) by putting.
| 1916 Travers & Rice Winning Shot i. 23 After coming up in three and then sinking a ten or a fifteen putt for a four, the situation had suddenly changed. 1933 F. Ouimet Game of Golf xiv. 203, I murmured a few mild prayers before putting again, and this time I succeeded in sinking the ball. 1955 Keeler & Rice Bobby Jones Story xxi. 119 Mrs. Vanderbeck did sink that putt of 25-feet,..and..Alexa did sink hers for a win. 1971 ‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Doctor Bird xv. 215 Arrived on the green, he pursued the ball round the pin..and finally sank it at nine. |
e. To consume (an alcoholic drink); to drink down (
esp. rapidly);
= down v.
2 1 c.
colloq.| 1932 G. Holt Drums beat at Night ii. 30 Let's go out and sink a few beers. We can talk at the pub. 1947 L. MacNeice Dark Tower 157 I'll sink a pint in The Dog Returns. 1953 A. Neave They have their Exits xii. 144 Each man spoke of what he would do first on arrival in England. ‘I shall sink three pints of mild and bitter,’ said one. 1962 L. Deighton Ipcress File ii. 19, I..sank a quick grappa. 1977 M. Kenyon Rapist xiv. 182 Get a couple of cups, Sergeant, we'll sink a fast one. |
f. Basketball. To score a goal or basket from (a shot). Also
absol.| 1935 N.Y. Times 24 Feb. iii. 4/1 O'Donnell sank a long field goal and Kozloff threw a foul to give Penn a 4–1 lead. 1950 N. Holman Holman on Basketball 50 With Norm Mager sinking five and Floyd Layne making four set shots..the City College five won. 1962 Sports Illustr. Bk. Basketball iv. 83 Cousy..leaped into the air and sank a left-hander that won the game. 1972 Sports Illustr. 3 Jan. 51/1 The Rainbows' John Pennebacker sank from free throws. |
18. To excavate (a well, pit-shaft, etc.) by digging vertically downwards; to bore; to lower (ground, etc.) by excavation.
| 1358 Durh. Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 561 In uno puteo de novo sinkando in campo de Fery. 1571 Digges Pantom. i. xxxi. K j, If a well bee soonke. 1680 Boyle Scept. Chem. vi, They dig up iron in the fields by sinking ditches two foot deep [etc.]. 1708 J. C. Compl. Collier (1845) 15 To Sink a Pit, we must have a stock of Timber prepared. 1776 Semple Building in Water 42 The Men went on with their sinking that Floor. 1863 Mrs. Gaskell Sylvia's L. xxxiii, She saw that the last tenants had had a pump sunk for them. 1879 Froude Cæsar xxiii. 404 Fresh water was happily found by sinking wells. |
| absol. 1862 Ansted Channel Isl. iv. xx. 471 Water is obtained by sinking..to the surface of the granite. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2757/2 This rock was sunk through for 273½ feet. |
19. a. To excise or cut out; to form (a cavity, etc.) in this way, or by heavy pressure.
| 1632 in E. B. Jupp Carpenters' Co. (1887) 297 Carved workes either raised or Cutt through or sunck in with the grounde taken out. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 253 On either side the Head produce an Ear, And sink a Socket for the shining Share. 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Dock, Any Place in the Ouze, out of the Tide's Way, where a Ship may..dock herself, or sink herself a Place to lie in. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §331 Words..were sunk into the Moorstone with the point of a pick. 1814 Scott Ld. of Isles v. xxi, See yonder oak, within whose trunk Decay a darken'd cell hath sunk. |
b. To lower by cutting away; to cut patterns or designs in (a die, etc.).
Implied much earlier in
sinker n.1 1.
| 1679 Moxon Mech. Exerc. ix. 157 Hew away the under⁓side of that Board.., and so sink it to a flat superficies to comply with the first Board. 1683 Ibid., Printing i, The Founder [would] not sinck the Matrices. 1825 Jamieson Suppl., To Sink, to cut the die used for striking money. |
c. To let in or insert into the substance of a thing by scooping, hollowing, or cutting.
| 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 596 The holes for sinking the heads of..screws. 1834 L. Ritchie Wand. by Seine 84 There is a stone sunk in the wall containing a sculpture in bas-relief. 1884 Britten Watch & Clockm. 122 Hollow Fusee,..a fusee in which the upper pivot is sunk into the body of the fusee. |
20. To lower the level of (ground, water, etc.).
| 1627 Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. ii. 6 To sinke a Decke is to lay it lower. 1712 J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 68 Rolling the Surface of it with great Cilinders..to sink and level it as much as possible. 1713 Addison Cato iii. v, You sunk the river with repeated draughts. |
b. To lose sight of (an object on the horizon) by sailing away.
| 1762 Falconer Shipwr. ii. 227 Sunk were the bulwarks of the friendly shore. 1810 Naval Chron. XXIV. 313 This island was sunk from the deck. 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast iv, They were..far off.., and in a few hours we sank them in the northeast. 1888 Clark Russell Death Ship I. 191 At dusk we had sunk the Englishman to his lower yards. |
c. To descend, move down (a slope, etc.).
| 1862 Collyns Chase Wild Deer 199 She now sank the bottom for Exford and crossed just above the village. 1892 Field 27 Feb. 299/1 Captain Helmes' first gorse, which he skirted, to sink the hill for the gorses above Bigbury. |
d. Hunting.
to sink the wind: to move downwind of another;
spec. of a fox: to pass below the line of scent.
Cf. wind n.1 4.
| 1778 G. Cartwright Jrnl. 26 Sept. (1792) II. 374, I saw a large stag upon the south hill..and I let him pass; crossing his route and sinking the wind, I made all possible speed to the foot of Gravel Hills, where I headed him. 1847 R. S. Surtees Hawbuck Grange v. 96 We..found a hare by Clipstone Clump, who went as straight as an arrow to Gatley Coppice, from whence, sinking the wind all the way, she ran to Silverspring. 1896 T. Smith Life of Fox 299 When men go down wind to hear the cry, it is called sinking the wind of the hounds. 1948 F. Pitt Hounds, Horses & Hunting 271 Sink the Wind, to go downwind. |
****
21. To reduce or bring to ruin or a low estate; to overwhelm, destroy; to weigh down.
| 1599 B. Jonson Ev. Man out of Hum. Prol. 9 Black rav'nous ruine,..Readie to sinke us downe, and cover us. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, ii. i. 60 If I haue a Conscience, let it sincke me,..if I be not faithfull. 1637 R. Ashley tr. Malvezzi's David Persecuted 5 The same action which at one time hath reared up a Prince, should at another sink him. 1725 Pope Odyss. xxii. 451 Fate, and their crime, have sunk them to the dust. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones xiv. vii, Whether he will sink these wretches down for ever, or..raise them all from the brink of misery and despair. 1850 Scoresby Cheever's Whalem. Adv. ii. 22 The king was taking huge morsels that would almost sink a common man. 1865 Ruskin Arrows of Chace (1880) II. 72 Such another article would sink the Gazette. |
| absol. 1718 Prior Solomon ii. 943, I raise or sink, imprison or set free; And Life or Death depends on My Decree. |
| Comb. 1600 W. Watson Decacordon (1602) 7 [The Jesuits] had discouered themselues..to be..shelues of sinke-downe to all princely regalitie. 1688 Bunyan Heavenly Footm. Wks. 1851 III. 385 The..soul-entangling flatteries of such sink-souls as these are. |
b. Used as an imprecation. Now
arch. Freq.
sink me, used in
quot. 1666 as a
quasi-n.| 1630 J. Taylor (Water P.) Dog of Warre Wks. ii. 229 Who make (God sinke 'em) their discourse [etc.]. 1642 R. Andrewes Decl. A j b, The Cavalliers swore ‘Damme me and sinke me if we doe not kill all the Puritans..in the towne’. 1666 M. M. Solomon's Prescr. 28 Who can scarce speak a sentence without their Dammee's and Sinkmee's. 1710 S. Centlivre Bickerstaff's Burying 7 Estate! sink the Estate! 1768 Goldsm. Good-n. Man ii. i, Sink the public, Madam, when the fair are to be attended. 1821 Scott Pirate xxxiv, I had rather you tried your saw..upon the ship's knee timbers than on mine, sink me! 1855 Trollope Warden iv. 58 Sink them all for parsons. |
c. absol. To use profane language; to imprecate, swear. Now
dial. or
arch.| 1663 Proposal to use no Conscience 6 We swear like Gentlemen of Rank, Curse, Damn, Sink. 1681 Trial S. Colledge 132 'Tis a strange sort of thing to believe..that he should fall a damning and sinking against Colledge. 1704 Trapp Abra-Mulé Prol. 37 Fools..think All Wit and Valour is to damn and sink. 1750 H. Walpole Lett. (1846) II. 311 He has constantly been damming and sinking. 18.. Rakes of Mallow i, Breaking windows, damning, sinking. 1882 Jamieson's Sc. Dict. IV. 225/2 To Sink and Graem, to curse, to imprecate; Shetl[and]. |
22. To lower; to make of less repute or estimation.
| 1601 Shakes. All's Well v. iii. 181 Let your highnes Lay a more noble thought vpon mine honour, Then for to thinke that I would sinke it heere. 1707 Addison Pres. State of the War Wks. 1721 IV. 301 They catch at all opportunities of..ruining our trade, and sinking the figure which we make among the nations of Europe. 1779 Mirror No. 60, Far from sinking their dignity in our estimation, it adds to it. 1815 Jane Austen Emma xlvi, I cannot say how it has sunk him in my opinion. |
b. To debase or degrade (a person).
| 1706 De Foe Jure Divino iii. 2 Why..the Rewards of Vertues are possess'd By him that sinks the Man to raise the Beast. 1779 Mirror No. 18, To sink the lower orders of men far beneath that station to which by nature they are entitled. 1781 Burns Stanzas Prosp. Death 15 Again I might..exalt the brute and sink the man. |
c. To reduce
to, lose
in, something lower.
| 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 103 ¶9 The necessity of doing something, and the fear of undertaking much, sinks the historian to a genealogist. 1781 Cowper Table T. 415 When a country..In prostitution sinks the sense of shame. |
23. a. To reduce the inflexibility of (a bow).
| 1634 Markham Art of Archerie vii, Take your Bow into the Field, shoote in it, sinke it with dead heavy shaftes. 1875 Encycl. Brit. II. 378/2 Sinking a Bow, reducing its force. |
b. To cause (a person, the mind, spirits, etc.) to become dejected or depressed.
| 1630–50 Bradford Hist. Plymouth Plantation (Mass. Hist. Soc.) 208 It is a marvell it did not wholy discourage them, and sinck them. 1665 Bunyan Holy Citie (1669) 65 The Walls of the Canaanites..did even sink the Hearts of those that beheld them. 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 177 The Thoughts of this sometimes sunk my very Soul within me. 1730 Shenstone Ode to Health 52 Nor growing cares could sink my cheerful mind. 1782 F. Burney Cecilia iv. ii, I hate a solo; it sinks, it depresses me intolerably. |
c. To reduce, weaken, or exhaust the strength of (a person). Now
rare.
| a 1715 Burnet Own Time iii. (1724) I. 523 All these things, together with a load of age.., sunk Duke Lauderdale so that he died. 1782 Med. Comm. I. 32 Bleeding sunk the patient much. 1818 Hennen Princ. Milit. Surg. (1820) 217 Repeated and copious venous bleedings now came on, which rapidly sunk the patient. |
24. To reduce in amount, value, or price.
| a 1700 Evelyn Diary 31 Oct. 1645, We invited all..to a feast, which sunk our excellent wine considerably. 1727 Pope & Gay What passed in London Swift's Wks. 1751 VI. 261 It being by our greatest Dealers in Stocks, thought only a Court-Artifice to sink them. 1757 Wesley Wks. (1872) IX. 228 Who would have sunk his own market, by telling his customers there would be plenty the next day? |
| Comb. 1822 W. Irving Braceb. Hall (1823) II. 312 I've been a complete sink-pocket, that's the truth of it. |
b. To drop or lower (the voice) in speaking; to render less audible.
| 1821 Scott Kenilw. xxvi, He..sunk what he had to say in a whisper. 1882 Besant Revolt of Man vi. (1883) 140 She sank her voice, although they were not within earshot of any one. 1889 Conan Doyle Micah Clarke 261 ‘It was in this way,’ he went on, sinking his voice. |
25. a. To abandon or cease to use; to give up; to allow to be merged
in something else.
| 1705 Addison Italy 23 He took upon him the Title of Duke of Suffolk, which had been sunk in the Family. 1776 Sir J. Reynolds Disc. vii. (1876) 407 [It] must..disqualify him for the practical part of his profession and make him sink the performer in the critic. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas iii. vii, I..have not sunk the lover in the husband. 1840 Marryat Poor Jack iii, She sunk her assumed rank. 1854 Thackeray Wolves & Lamb (1899) 11 When I come into the property I shall sink the name of Milliken. |
b. To avoid mentioning or alluding to (a person or matter); to pass over in silence;
spec. in
Piquet (see
quot. 1885). Also
const. upon the person or persons spoken to.
| 1749 Fielding Tom Jones vi. xi, Mr. Allworthy,..out of modesty, sunk everything that related particularly to him⁓self. 1772 Johnson in Boswell 21 Mar., He sunk upon us that he was married; else we should have shewn his lady more civilities. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas viii. iii. ¶10, I dined at a cheap ordinary, and sunk the secretary upon my mess-mates. 1849 Robertson Serm. Ser. i. xiv. (1866) 240 A certain courtly willingness to sink obnoxious truths. 1860 G. J. Whyte-Melville Mkt. Harb. (1861) 43 Too small to be put in training, he had fallen into the hands of a steeple⁓chasing horse-dealer, who sank his pedigree. 1885 Encycl. Brit. XIX. 116/1 Experienced players not unfrequently omit to call some small score..in order intentionally to mis⁓lead you. This manœuvre (called sinking a score) is especially resorted to [etc.]. |
| Comb. 1887 T. A. Trollope What I remember I. 301 He, as well as I, utterly scouted the stupid sink-the-shop rule of conversation. |
c. To suppress in pronouncing.
| 1742 Pope Dunc. iv. 221 To sound or sink in cano, O or A. 1760–1 Gray Eng. Metre Wks. 1884 I. 328 To sink the vowel and abridge it, as was usual, according to the necessity of their versification. |
d. To deduct (the offal) when reckoning the weight of a carcass.
| 1798 Monthly Mag. Apr. 307 Mutton from 3s. 6d. to 4s. per stone of 8 lb. sinking the offal. 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm II. 470 A calf..weighs from 10 to 11 stones imperial, sinking the offal, as it is called in London. 1895 Times 28 Jan. 13/2 This custom of ‘sinking the offal’ is very old, and originated in the days when this part of the beast possessed comparatively little value. |
| ellipt. 1801 Farmer's Mag. Nov. 481 Lean cattle.., if they had been killed immediately, would have come to 10s. per stone (of 14 lib.) sink. |
e. To set aside; to leave out of consideration.
| 1860 F. W. Robinson Grandmother's Money vi. i, He was sinking self so much, and struggling so hard towards one noble action,..that [etc.]. 1884 L'pool Mercury 18 Feb. 5/2 A happy knack of sinking individual opinion. 1888 Times (weekly ed.) 17 Feb. 2/1 Sinking minor differences, all parties ought to unite [etc.]. |
26. To make away with; to appropriate (money, etc.) for one's own use. Also
spec. (
quot. 1819).
| 1713 Addison Trial of Ct. Tariff Wks. 1721 IV. 324 That the said Count had either sunk or mis-laid several books, papers, and receipts. 1727 Boyer Dict. Royal ii. s.v., To sink or keep part of a Sum of Mony. 1760 C. Johnston Chrysal (1822) I. 32 By sinking the greatest part of her fortune to my own use. 1819 J. H. Vaux Mem. II. 57, I took up..the broaches, and immediately ‘sunk’ a very handsome one..in my coat-sleeve. |
27. To pay up or wipe out (a debt, etc.).
| 1727 Boyer Dict. Royal ii. s.v., To sink a Fund, éteindre, supprimer, amortir un Fond. 1740 W. Douglass Disc. Curr. Brit. Plant. Amer. 16 Their Bills became of less Value than those of New-York; but being yearly in good Faith, sunk, they became equal. 1787 Jefferson Writ. (1859) II. 102 That impost will suffice to..sink the principal in a very few years. 1895 Daily News 18 Apr. 3/1 This windfall should properly go to sink the unfunded debt. |
28. = invest v. 9.
| 1727 Boyer Dict. Royal ii. s.v., In..Annuities, the Capital is sunk for the Lender. 1789 Brand Newcastle II. 197 The revenue of the Corporation..including the sums that had been sunk with them for lives. 1797 Burke Reg. Peace iii. (1892) 243 The Grand Junction Company,..having sunk half a million,..applied to your House, for permission to subscribe half as much more. 1831 Society I. 139 It is in my power to add to my own income by sinking my small principal. 1848 Mill Pol. Econ. i. vi. §1 (1876) 57 Capital sunk (as the expression is) in permanent improvements of land. 1866 Rogers Agric. & Prices I. xxviii. 672 To these we must add the capital sunk in the mills. |
29. To invest or spend unprofitably; to lose (money) in unfortunate investment, war, etc.
| 1777 J. Reed in Sparks Corr. Amer. Rev. (1853) I. 388, I found that in two or three years I should probably sink my little fortune. 1780 J. Howard Prisons Eng. & W. 263 There is an account of several..bequests to prisoners. Whether they be now totally sunk,..I cannot say. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. xxxv, Some stock sunk in the South-Sea funds. 1847 De Quincey Sp. Mil. Nun Wks. 1853 III. 16 The unknown amounts of cash, that had been sunk in that unhappy speculation! 1872 Yeats Growth Comm. 310 The enormous sums sunk in war. |
▪ IV. sink obs. form of
cinque.
▪ V. sink var. sync.