nork

See also: Nork and nõrk

English

Etymology

Unknown, originally used in Australia, attested since the 1960s. One theory suggests that the source is Norco Co-operative, a butter manufacturer that featured a cow's udder on package labels,^[1] but this is considered dubious.^[2]

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /nɔːk/
(General Australian) IPA^(key): /noːk/
Audio (General Australian): (file)

Noun

nork (plural norks)

(slang, chiefly in the plural) A woman's breast.
- 1983, Robert Drewe, The Bodysurfers, Penguin, published 2009, page 91:
  I lay there so close I could've reached out in any direction and just grabbed a nork.
- 1999, Louis Nowra, The twelfth of never:
  Ernie constantly badgered me to get her to talk to him but I suspected she would throttle him if he merely glanced in the direction of her norks.
- 2002, Kate Atkinson, Not the end of the world:
  And her norks! Like a hundred times bigger than his sister's. Why was he thinking about his sister's norks? Gross.

References

^ “norks n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present
^ James Lambert (2013) “nork”, in Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor, editors, The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 2nd edition, volumes I–II, Abingdon, Oxon., New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 1592.

Anagrams

Kron, N. Kor., NKRO, Ronk, knor

Basque

Etymology

From nor (“who”) +‎ -k (ergative suffix).

Pronunciation

Audio: (file)

IPA^(key): /nork/ [nork]
Rhymes: -ork
Hyphenation: nork

Pronoun

nork

ergative indefinite of nor; who

Usage notes

Both nor and nork are both translated as "who", but nork refers to the subject of a transitive verb:

Nork ikusi du? ― Who saw her?

To ask about the object of a transitive verb or the subject of an intransitive verb, nor is used:

Nor ikusi du? ― Who did she see?

Nor dator? ― Who's coming?

Derived terms

nork daki (“who knows”)
nork esan (“who would have guessed”)
nork jakin (“who knows”)

[1] “norks n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present

[2] James Lambert (2013) “nork”, in Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor, editors, The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 2nd edition, volumes I–II, Abingdon, Oxon., New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 1592.

[1]

[2]