n. & v.
n. 1 a a coloured fluid used for writing with a pen, marking with a rubber stamp, etc. b a thick paste used in printing, duplicating, in ball-point pens, etc. 2 Zool. a black liquid ejected by a cuttlefish, octopus, etc. to confuse a predator.
v.tr. 1 (usu. foll. by in, over, etc.) mark with ink. 2 cover (type etc.) with ink before printing. 3 apply ink to. 4 (as inked adj.) Austral. sl. drunk. ink-blot test = RORSCHACH TEST. ink-cap any fungus of the genus Coprinus. ink-horn hist. a small portable horn container for ink. ink out obliterate with ink. ink-pad an ink-soaked pad, usu. in a box, used for inking a rubber stamp etc. ink-well a pot for ink usu. housed in a hole in a desk. inker n.
[ ME enke, inke f. OF enque f. LL encau(s)tum f. Gk egkauston purple ink used by Roman emperors for signature (as EN-(2), CAUSTIC) ]