Eken

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An archaic verb meaning to increase something or make it larger by adding more to it
2. An old-fashioned word for adding to something so that it grows or becomes greater in amount
3. A dated English verb describing the act of augmenting or supplementing something to enlarge it

Etymology: "Eken" is an older spelling of "eke," and it means to increase or add to something. It comes from Old English "ēcan," which meant "to increase," and it is related to the Latin "augere," meaning "to increase," which gave English "augment." The two words share an ancient Indo-European root but are cognates, not borrowings of one another. The verb's most lasting sense grew from that idea of adding. To eke out a supply was to stretch a scanty amount by adding to it, which is why people still eke out a living or eke out a few more days from the last of the flour. The spelling "eken" was common in Middle English, and the form survived in some northern and dialect speech into the modern period, while "eke" became the standard spelling. A related Old English word, "ēac," meant "also" or "moreover," and its sense of addition connects it to the same family.