To avoid or evade a responsibility, duty, or task; to shirk.
This is an archaic or dialectal variant of 'shirk,' which originated in 17th-century England, possibly from German or Dutch roots. The meaning shifted from avoiding work to more broadly avoiding any unpleasant obligation.
This word is basically extinct in modern English, but seeing it reminds us that languages are constantly losing words—for every word that becomes trendy, several older ones fade away, which is why historically accurate fiction can sound so alien to modern ears.
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