Etymology

Either derived from ON, cp. the OIcel wk. v. myrkna 'grow murky', or simply formed within English on the adj. (see further merk). Points in favour of Old Norse derivation are circumstantial: a v. on this base is not attested before the 14c. and only occurs with the -en suffix in N texts in ME (as McGee 405 notes). ME mirken/MnE murk is formed on the same base without the -en suffix, cp. the OIcel str. v. myrkja, myrkva 'grow dark'.

PGmc Ancestor

*merkwa-

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

myrkna 'grow murky'
(ONP myrkna (vb.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

Far myrkna, Icel myrkna, Norw myrkna, Dan mørke, Sw mörkna, Shetl mirk(e)n

OE Cognate

cp. mirce (adj.) 'murky, dark, black, uncanny, evil', mirce (n.) 'murkiness, darkness'

Phonological and morphological markers

[absence of palatalization of */k/] (possibly diagnostic)

Summary category

CC1c

(CCC2c)

Attestation

MED and OED only have citations from a handful of N and N Midlands texts, incl. Cursor, DT, SJ and Cl. But cp. also the more widely attested ME mirken.

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

Cl 1760

Bibliography

MED mirkenen (v.) , MED mirken (v.) , OED3 mirken (v.) , HTOED , Bj. 146, de Vries myrkna, myrkja, Mag. myrkna, myrkva