What does "calk" mean?
Calk: To make an indentation in the edge of a metal plate, as along a seam in a steam boiler or an iron ship, to force the edge of the upper plate hard against the lower and so fill the crevice.
Additional senses
- 2.To copy, as a drawing, by rubbing the back of it with red or black chalk, and then passing a blunt style or needle over the lines, so as to leave a tracing on the paper or other thing against which it is laid or held. [Writting also calque]
- 3.A sharp-pointed piece or iron or steel projecting downward on the shoe of a nore or an ox, to prevent the animal from slipping; -- called also calker, calkin.
- 4.An instrument with sharp points, worn on the sole of a shoe or boot, to prevent slipping.
- 5.To furnish with calks, to prevent slipping on ice; as, to calk the shoes of a horse or an ox.
- 6.To wound with a calk; as when a horse injures a leg or a foot with a calk on one of the other feet.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00