sulk

• IPA^(key): /sʌlk/

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• Rhymes: -ʌlk

Back-formation from sulky, of uncertain origin. Probably from Middle English *sulke, *solke (attested in solcenesse (“idleness; laziness”), from Old English āsolcennys (“idleness; slothfulness; sluggishness; laziness”), from āsolcen (“sulky, languid”), from past participle of Old English āseolcan (“be slow; be weak or slothful; languish”), from Proto-Germanic *selkaną (“to fall in drops; dribble; droop”), from Proto-Indo-European *sélǵ-o-nom, from *selǵ- (“to let go, send”). Cognate with several Indo-Iranian words deriving from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sarȷ́-[1] (such as Sanskrit सृजति (sṛjáti), सर्जति (sarjati), सर्जन (sárjana), सृक (sṛká)), possibly Hittite 𒊭𒀠𒀝𒍣 (ša-al-ak-zi /⁠šalkzi⁠/, “knead, mix”), although the semantic connection is weak.[2]

sulk (third-person singular simple present sulks, present participle sulking, simple past and past participle sulked)

1. (intransitive) To express ill humor or offence by remaining sullenly silent or withdrawn.
   • 1886 May 1 – July 31, Robert Louis Stevenson, Kidnapped, being Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour in the Year 1751: […], London, Paris: Cassell & Company, published 1886, →OCLC:

     Mr. Riach, who had been to the college, spoke to me like a friend when he was not sulking, and told me many curious things, […]

   • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 1]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

     You crossed her last wish in death and yet you sulk with me because I don’t whinge like some hired mute from Lalouette’s.

Not to be confused with skulk.

• mope

• sulker
• sulkily
• sulkiness
• sulky

sulk (plural sulks)

1. A state of sulking.
   • 1986, John le Carré, A Perfect Spy:

     He thanks our miserable Liberal agent, an unbeliever called Donald Somebody, see the caption, who since the court's arrival on his territory has retired into a fuming sulk from which he has only tonight emerged.

   • 2012, Harriet S. Caswell, Walter Harland Or, Memories of the Past, tredition, →ISBN:

     " […] home during the holidays," said the Doctor with a good-humoured laugh, "but a fit of the sulks is no very uncommon thing for him;" and then he added, […]

   Leo has been in a sulk all morning.

2. (in the plural, preceded by definite article) A fit of sulking; a sulking mood.
   • 1918, Norman Lindsay, The Magic Pudding, page 82:

     The Puddin', who had got the sulks over Sam's remark that fifteen goes of steak and kidney were enough for any self-respecting man, protested against the singing, which, he said, disturbed his gravy.

3. A person who sulks

   Don't be such a sulk, Leo!

Latin sulcus.

sulk (plural sulks)

1. A furrow.

• “sulk”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, →ISBN.
• “sulk”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• "sulk" in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.

• Lusk, lusk