Sank

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /sæŋk/

Definitions

1. Moved downward below the surface of a liquid or soft substance, especially water ; became lower in amount, level, or intensity
2. Descended or dropped beneath a surface, often fully submerged ; declined in value, quantity, or strength
3. Went down under a fluid's surface, typically by gradual or sudden motion ; underwent a reduction or fall in degree or status

Etymology: The past tense "sank" is an inflected form of "sink," so its history is really the history of that verb's past forms. The surprising detail is that "sank" was once a minority choice. In Middle English, "sink" had past forms like "sank" alongside "sunk" and "sonk," and "sank" only became the standard simple past in the modern language. Its verb ultimately descends from Old English "sincan," which goes back to a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to fall" or "sink," and it has cognates across the Germanic languages, such as German "sinken" and Swedish "sjunka." Old English also had a separate verb for the causative sense, "make sink." That was "senċan," from a Proto-Germanic form with a different suffix, and it was eventually replaced by "sink" itself, so "sink" came to mean both "go down" and "cause to go down."

Synonyms: dove, descended, plummeted

Antonyms: rose, ascended, floated