Eke

/iːk/ · noun

Meaning

(obsolete except British, dialectal) An addition..

Definitions by Sense

1. (obsolete except British, dialectal) An addition.
2. (beekeeping, archaic) A small stand on which a beehive is placed.
3. (beekeeping) A spacer put between or over or under hive parts to make more space.
4. (transitive) Chiefly in the form eke out: to add to, to augment; to increase; to lengthen.
5. (archaic) Also; in addition to.

Example Sentences

[T]hey [the Catholics and Puritans] encumbered their verſion [of the Bible] with a load of uſeleſs Italics; often without the leaſt neceſſity, and almoſt always to the detriment of the text. In fact, either the words in Italics are virtually implied in the Hebrew, or they are not. In the former caſe they are a real part of the text, and ſhould be printed in the ſame character: in the latter, they are generally ill aſſorted and clumſy ekes, that may well be ſpared; and which often disfigure the narration under pretence of connecting it.

Various have been the contrivances for effecting the separation of storage and breeding departments in a hive. […] An empty box or hive, pushed beneath a full one, is denominated a Nadir,—a mode of practice not always advisable except in the case of swarms of the same year, or towards the latter end of very abundant seasons. A still smaller addition to a common hive consists of merely a few bands of straw, on which it is raised temporarily, and this constitutes an eke. […] The entrance to the stock-hive must be stopped, and one made at the bottom of the eke or nadir.

Is not enough, that thruſt from heauen dew / Here endleſſe penaunce for one fault I pay, / But that redoubled crime with vengeaunce new / Thou biddeſt me to eeke?

Now the reaſons why they teach the calves to drink ſo ſoon are various. […] Secondly, the goodwife ſaves milk by this way of drinking, for ſhe quickly ekes out the milk with pottage, &c.

Pity the hag-ridd'n quiv'rer who contracts / To ſuperſtition's gloom religion's joy, / And humbles adoration into dread. / Who ekeing his inch'd meaſure from within, / Peeps through his narrow ſoul's dim loop-hole wink, / And inſolently by his own ſcale takes / The altitude of heaven.

All ekes [or helps] as the geni-wren said, when she piss'd in the sea. / Many littles make a mickle, the whole ocean is made up of drops.

[T]he author [William Belsham] ekes out his volume with a great many extraneous details, which relate to a ſubſequent period; […] The whole work is ſingularly confuſed and deſultory: and, indeed, the plan which the author adopts, is altogether incompatible with that unity and coherence which is eſſential to hiſtory.

It must be acknowledged, that Mr. [William] Gifford's versification is sometimes unharmonious, and even harsh; that, like almost every other translator, he too often has recourse to eking words in order to complete his measure, and that his rhymes are frequently imperfect and faulty.

Synonyms for eke

Antonyms for eke

Related Words

Word Forms

• ekes
• eking
• ekeing
• eked
• no-table-tags
• glossary
• eke
• ekest
• ekedst
• eketh
• -

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

Practice and Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions