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Meaning & use

kirk

noun, proper noun·AdvancedScottishdialect

Last updated

UK/kɜːk/
US/kɜːrk/

Meanings

  1. nouncountable

    The Scots and northern English word for a church.

    Grammar: Often capitalized in a name: Kirkcaldy, or the Kirk for the Church of Scotland.

    Patterns

    • go to the kirk
    • the parish kirk

    The village kirk stands on a hill above the loch.

    They married in the old kirk where her parents had wed.

    On Sundays, the whole family walked to the kirk.

  2. proper nounproperreligion

    The Church of Scotland, usually written with a capital K.

    Grammar: Used with the: the Kirk.

    Patterns

    • the Kirk

    The Kirk has a long tradition of electing its ministers.

    A minister of the Kirk gave the opening prayer.

    Her grandfather served as an elder in the Kirk.

Word forms

pluralkirks

Common combinations

parish kirk
The parish kirk has a bell tower.
kirk session
The kirk session met on Tuesday.
kirk bell
The kirk bell rang across the glen.
kirkyard
He was laid to rest in the kirkyard.
the Kirk of Scotland
She is a member of the Kirk.

Synonyms and how they differ

church
Church is the standard English word, whereas kirk sounds distinctly Scottish.
chapel
Chapel is a small place of worship, which may be part of a bigger building.

Word family

kirkyard noun
a churchyard
kirking noun
a Scottish ceremony of a newly married couple's first church attendance
church noun
the standard English cognate

Commonly confused: kirk or Kirk?

kirk vs Kirk

With a capital K and no article it can be a surname, as in Captain Kirk; with the, it is the Church of Scotland.

Practice

In Scotland, where would you go to attend a Sunday service?

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