ek
Afrikaans
Etymology
From Dutch ik, from Middle Dutch ic, from Old Dutch ik, from Proto-Germanic *ek, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂om (“I”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɛk/
Pronoun
- I (subject)
- 1976, in Tydskrif vir Letterkunde, page 19.
- Hy het na my geskop, maar ek het dit verwag en het vinnig my been gelig en dwars gedraai.
- He kicked towards me, but I expected this and quickly lifted my leg and turned it sidewards.
- 1994, in Annemarié Van Niekerk, Vrouevertellers. 1843-1993, Tafelberg-Uitgewers (publ.), page 308.
- " […] Ek is jou vader. Ek sal jou doodslaan as jy nie luister nie!"
- " […] I am your father. I shall beat you to death if you do not listen!"
- 2011, Kashiefa, Sedick, Zakeer & Sedeeqa Jacobs, "Die pad is toe", in No Land! No House! No Vote! Voices from Symphony Way, Pambazuka Press (publ.), page 132.
- Ek het nog nooit 'n huis gehad nie, my ouers het ook nog nooit een besit nie
- I have never owned a house, my parents also have never possessed one either.
- 1976, in Tydskrif vir Letterkunde, page 19.
See also
subjective | objective | possessive | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
singular | 1st | ek | my | |||
2nd | jy | jou | ||||
2nd, formal | u | |||||
3rd, masc | hy | hom | sy | |||
3rd, fem | sy | haar | ||||
3rd, neut | dit | sy | ||||
plural | 1st | ons | ||||
2nd | julle | julle / jul1 | ||||
3rd | hulle | hulle / hul1 | ||||
1. In the second and third persons plural, the usual possessive forms are julle and hulle (like the subjective and objective forms), but jul and hul are sometimes used instead when the sentence would otherwise be ambiguous. |
Fiji Hindi
Etymology
From Hindi एक (ek), from Sanskrit एक (éka) (or a closely related Old-Indo-Aryan language, through Prakrit), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Háykas, from Proto-Indo-European *(H)óykos (“one, single”).
References
- Fiji Hindi Dictionary
- Siegel, Jeff (1977) Say it in Fiji Hindi, Australia: Pacific Publications, →ISBN, page 28
Icelandic
Etymology 1
From Old Norse ek, from Proto-Norse ᛖᚲ (ek), from Proto-Germanic *ek, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂.
Declension
Icelandic personal pronouns | ||||||
singular | first person | second person | third person masculine | third person feminine | third person neuter | |
nominative | ég, eg†, ek† | þú | hann | hún, hon†, hón† | það, þat† | |
accusative | mig, mik† | þig, þik† | hann | hana | það, þat† | |
dative | mér | þér | honum, hánum† | henni | því | |
genitive | mín | þín | hans | hennar | þess | |
plural | first person | second person | third person masculine | third person feminine | third person neuter | |
nominative | við | þið, þit† | þeir | þær | þau | |
accusative | okkur | ykkur | þá | þær | þau | |
dative | okkur | ykkur | þeim | þeim | þeim | |
genitive | okkar | ykkar | þeirra | þeirra | þeirra |
Etymology 2
Inflected form of aka (“to drive”).
Ido
Etymology
Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐκ (ek). Also seen as a borrowing from Latin ex, with the x changed to just k so not to interfere with ex-, which shares the same origin.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɛk/
Preposition
ek
- (general sense) out
- (indicating motion) out, out of, out from, from
- Adportez stulo ek ta chambro ― Bring a chair out of that room.
- Lu prenis ca folio ek la tir-kesto ― He took this leaf from the drawer.
- (of materials) of, made from, made of
- Ek quon esas ta tasi? ― What are the cups made of?
- Li esas ek porcelano. ― They are made of china.
- (mathematics) (indication fractional parts) out of
- Nonadek ek cent. ― Ninety out of a hundred (90%).
- En ca armeo, 5 ek 100 esas ocidita, 10 ek 100 vundita.
- In this army, five out of (every) 100 were killed, and ten per cent were wounded.
Derived terms
Kalasha
Marshallese
Noun
ek
- fish.
Min Nan
For pronunciation and definitions of ek – see 億 (“hundred million; hundred thousand; etc.”). (This character, ek, is the Pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 億.) |
For pronunciation and definitions of ek – see 厄 (“adversity; difficulty; distress; etc.”). (This character, ek, is the Pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 厄.) |
For pronunciation and definitions of ek – see 啞 (“laughter; sound of laughing”). (This character, ek, is the Pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 啞.) |
For pronunciation and definitions of ek – see 憶 (“to remember; to reminisce; to reflect upon; memory”). (This character, ek, is the Pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 憶.) |
For pronunciation and definitions of ek – see 扼 (“grasp, clutch; choke, strangle”). (This character, ek, is the Pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 扼.) |
For pronunciation and definitions of ek – see 抑 (“to press down; to keep down; to repress; to suppress; to restrain; to restrict; etc.”). (This character, ek, is the Pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 抑.) |
For pronunciation and definitions of ek – see 溢 (“to [[overflow; to [[flood; etc.”). (This character, ek, is the Pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 溢.) |
For pronunciation and definitions of ek – see 益 (“profit; benefit; advantage; etc.”). (This character, ek, is the Pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 益.) |
For pronunciation and definitions of ek – see 臆 (“chest; breast; bosom; thought; etc.”). (This character, ek, is the Pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 臆.) |
North Frisian
Old Norse

Etymology
From Proto-Norse ᛖᚲ (ek), from Proto-Germanic *ek, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂.
Pronoun
ek
- I (first-person singular pronoun)
- 150–350, inscription on the Lindholm amulet:
- ᛖᚳᛖᚱᛁᛚᚨᛉᛋᚨᚹᛁᛚᚨᚷᚨᛉᚺᚨᛏᛖᚳᚨ
- ek erilaz sa[w]ilagaz hateka
- I [am an] earl, Sawilagaz hight I
- ek erilaz sa[w]ilagaz hateka
- ᛖᚳᛖᚱᛁᛚᚨᛉᛋᚨᚹᛁᛚᚨᚷᚨᛉᚺᚨᛏᛖᚳᚨ
- 200–475, inscription on the Kragehul I spear-shaft:
- ᛖᚳᛖ⁀ᚱᛁᛚᚨ⁀ᛉ...
- ek e⁀rila⁀z asugisalas m⁀uh⁀a h⁀aite […]
- I, earl of Asugisalaz, hight Muha, […]
- ek e⁀rila⁀z asugisalas m⁀uh⁀a h⁀aite […]
- ᛖᚳᛖ⁀ᚱᛁᛚᚨ⁀ᛉ...
- circa 1000, Vǫluspá, verse 1, line 1:
- Hliods bið ec allar... (Codex Regius, circa 1270)
- Hlioðs bið ek allar... (Hauksbók, circa 1306)
- Hljóðs bið ek allar... (normalised orthography)
- For silence I ask all...
- 1220-1240, Egils saga, chapter 3, line 16:
- "Þótt þetta vandræði hafi nú borit oss at hendi, þá mun eigi langt til, at sama vandræði mun til yðvar koma, því at Haraldr, ætla ek, at skjótt mun hér koma, þá er hann hefir alla menn þrælkat ok áþját, sem hann vill, á Norðmæri ok í Raumsdal." (Norse)
- translation by William Charles Green:
- Though this danger now touches us, before long the same will come to you; for Harold, as I ween, will hasten hither when he has enthralled and oppressed after his will all in North Mæra and Raumsdale.
- translation by Hallvard Lie:
- Though this trouble have now lighted on our hand, 'twill not be long ere the same trouble shall come upon you; for Harald, I ween, will shortly hither come, soon as he hath all men thralled and enslaved, according to this will, in Northmere and Raumsdale.
- translation by William Charles Green:
- "Þótt þetta vandræði hafi nú borit oss at hendi, þá mun eigi langt til, at sama vandræði mun til yðvar koma, því at Haraldr, ætla ek, at skjótt mun hér koma, þá er hann hefir alla menn þrælkat ok áþját, sem hann vill, á Norðmæri ok í Raumsdal." (Norse)
- 150–350, inscription on the Lindholm amulet:
Declension
number | first person | second person | reflexive | third person | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
case | singular | singular masculine | singular feminine | singular neuter | ||
nominative | ek | þú | hann | hon, hón | þat | |
accusative | mik | þik | sik | hann | hana, hána | þat |
dative | mér | þér | sér | hánum, honum, hónum | henni | því |
genitive | mín | þín | sín | hans | hennar | þess |
case | dual | |||||
nominative | vit | it, þit | ||||
accusative | okr, okkr | ykr, ykkr | sik | |||
dative | okr, okkr | ykr, ykkr | sér | |||
genitive | okkar | ykkar | sín | |||
case | plural | plural masculine | plural feminine | plural neuter | ||
nominative | vér | ér, þér | þeir | þær | þau | |
accusative | oss | yðr | sik | þá | þær | þau |
dative | oss | yðr | sér | þeim | þeim | þeim |
genitive | vár | yðar, yðvar | sín | þeirra | þeirra | þeirra |

Descendants
References
- ek in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Old Saxon
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *aiks.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɛːk/
Declension
Swedish
Etymology
From Old Norse eik, from Proto-Germanic *aiks, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyǵ- (“oak”).
Pronunciation
audio (file)
Tocharian B
Etymology
From Proto-Tocharian *ëk, from Late Proto-Indo-European *okʷs, from *h₃okʷ-, *h₃ekʷ- (“eye; to see”). Compare Tocharian A ak.
Noun
ek
- eye
- eśane klausane ṣeycer-me kartstse yolo lkātsi klyaussisa
- "you had eyes and ears to see and hear good and evil"
Turkish
Declension
Inflection | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominative | ek | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Definite accusative | eki | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Singular | Plural | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nominative | ek | ekler | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Definite accusative | eki | ekleri | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dative | eke | eklere | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locative | ekte | eklerde | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ablative | ekten | eklerden | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Genitive | ekin | eklerin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hyponyms
Volapük
West Frisian
Etymology
From Old Frisian āk, from Proto-Germanic *auk.
Further reading
- “ek”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011