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eke (iou)



eke verb. .
[Old English eacan, -ian (v.i.), ecan (v.t.), = Old Frisian aka, Old Saxon okian, Old Norse auka, Gothic aukan rel. to Latin augere increase, Greek aukhein. Partly from the noun.]
verb trans. & intrans. Increase, lengthen. Now chiefly Scot. OE.
b. verb trans. Add to by way of repair, patch. Scot. E18.
verb trans. Add (to). Now Scot. OE.
verb trans. Foll. by out: cause to last longer by economical use or by expedients; make up for deficiencies in, supplement, (with). L16.
J. K. Jerome His German was easy to understand and he knew a little English with which to eke it out. G. Greene Spending a little love at a time, eking it out here and there, on this man and that. A. Blond Bookshops..eke out their turnover with stationery.
verb trans. Contrive to make (a living) or to support (an existence) by makeshifts. Usu. foll. by out. E19.
Discovery The settlers eked out a bare existence from such poor land.