eke1

[eek] /ik/
verb (used with object), eked, eking.
1.
to increase; enlarge; lengthen.
Verb phrases
2.
eke out,
  1. to make (a living) or support (existence) laboriously:
    They managed to eke out a living by farming a small piece of land.
  2. to supplement; add to; stretch:
    to eke out an income with odd jobs.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English eken, Old English ēac(i)an (intransitive), derivative of ēaca (noun) increase; Middle English echen, Old English ēcan, variant of īecan (transitive) < West Germanic *aukjan; both akin to Old Norse auka, Gothic aukan, Latin augēre, Greek auxánein to increase, amplify
British Dictionary definitions for eke out

eke out

verb (transitive, adverb)
1.
to make (a supply) last, esp by frugal use: they eked out what little food was left
2.
to support (existence) with difficulty and effort
3.
to add to (something insufficient), esp with effort: to eke out an income with evening work

eke1

/iːk/
verb
1.
(transitive) (archaic) to increase, enlarge, or lengthen
Word Origin
Old English eacan; related to Old Norse auka to increase, Latin augēre to increase

eke2

/iːk/
sentence connector
1.
(archaic) also; moreover
Word Origin
Old English eac; related to Old Norse, Gothic auk also, Old High German ouh, Latin autem but, aut or
Word Origin and History for eke out

eke

v.

c.1200, eken "to increase, lengthen," north England and E. Midlands variant of echen from Old English ecan, eacan, eacian "to increase," probably from eaca "an increase," from Proto-Germanic *aukan (cf. Old Norse auka, Old Frisian aka, Old High German ouhhon, Gothic aukan), from PIE *aug- "to increase" (see augment).

Now mainly in phrase to eke out (1590s). It means "to make something go further or last longer;" you can eke out your income by taking a second job, but you can't eke out your existence. Related: Eked; eking.

adv.

"also" (obsolete), from Old English eac, cognate with Old Saxon, Old Dutch ok, Old Norse and Gothic auk, Old Frisian ak, Old High German ouh, German auch "also;" probably related to eke (v.).

Idioms and Phrases with eke out

eke out

.
Supplement, make last, as in The survivors eked out their food and water until they were rescued. [ Late 1500s ]
.
Get with great difficulty or effort, as in The soil was terrible but they managed to eke out a living by rotating crops. [ Early 1800s ]