layk

n.

Gaw pl. laykez; Cl pl. laykeʒ; WA laike, layke, pl. laikis, lakez

'sport, entertainment; fighting; conduct, practice, sin'

(Modern English lake)

Etymology

cp. OIcel leikr ‘game, play, sport’ < PGmc *laikaz; cp. OE lāc, Go láiks ‘dance’, OFris. lēk, OS lēk, OHG leih ‘melody’

PGmc Ancestor

*laikaz

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

leikr ‘game, play, sport’ 
(ONP leikr (1) (sb.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

Far leikur, Icel leikur, Norw leik, Dan leg, OSw leker, Sw lek

OE Cognate

lāc 'play, sport'

Phonological and morphological markers

ON /ei/ &lt; PGmc */ai/

Summary category

A1*bc

Attestation

In ME (Orrm onwards) primarily N and  E, and elsewhere in alliterative verse  (see further Kolb: 131-3, Thorson 35) and on n. in place-names in Cum., see EPNE. Survives in MnE dial in compounds e.g. lake-day, lake-lass (see further OED and EDD).

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

Gaw 262, 1023, 1125 etc.; Cl 122, 274, 1053 etc.; Pat 401; WA 385, 655, 1761 etc.

Bibliography

MED leik (n.) , OED lake (n.2) , HTOED , EDD lake (v.1 and sb.3), Dance layk, Bj. 46, de Vries leikr (1), Mag. leikur (1), Bj-L. leik, Orel *laikaz ~ *laikiz, AEW lāc (1), EPNE leik