querken

transitive verb

querk·​en

-kən

-ed/-ing/-s

dialectal, chiefly England

: to cause to gasp : choke

Word History

Etymology

Middle English querkenen; akin to Old Frisian querka, quertza to choke, Middle Low German querken, Old Norse kyrkja, kvirkja; denominatives from the root of Old Norse kverk throat

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