A benefit or advantage given to someone, especially as part of a job or membership; also means to become more alert or lively.
Originally from 'perquisite' (a benefit beyond regular pay), shortened in the 1930s; the verb form comes from the idea of perking up or becoming perkier, like coffee 'perking' as it brews.
The word 'perk' cleverly jumped from meaning an employee's extra benefit to describing coffee bubbling in a percolator, then became slang for any little advantage—one word capturing how people get excited about free stuff!
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