Shirks
/ʃɜːrks/noun
Third-person singular present tense of shirk, meaning to avoid work, duty, or responsibility.
Did you know?Shirk is first recorded in English in the 17th century and is generally traced to a Germanic root meaning to move hastily or turn aside, not to any occult source—yet it became a perfect word for evasion.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*skurjaną
“to move quickly, dart away, or avoid”
Old English
OE
scirnan / scyrtan
“to hasten or move aside; possibly related forms of quick movement or avoidance”
Early Modern English
English
shirk
“to avoid work, duty, or responsibility”
Modern English
English
shirks
“avoids or evades duty, work, or responsibility”