< the name of Oscar V. Zerk (born Oscar Zerkowitz; 1878–1968), Austrian-born U.S. inventor.
Meaning & use
I.
Compounds.
I.1.
1926–
attributive. Originally: designating a fitting designed by Oscar Zerk to allow lubrication to be applied directly to bearings or other moving parts of a machine, consisting of a small tapered nipple against which the nozzle of a grease gun is held by the pressure of the lubricant as it is administered. In later use: designating any fitting designed for this purpose.
1926
All Zerk fittings, wheels, etc. greased.
Marion (Ohio) Star 21 August 15/1 (advertisement)
1953
Has swivel type tow bar, heavy duty industrial ball bearing 10x2.75 wheels with zerk grease fittings.
Billboard 8 August 47/1 (advertisement)
1984
Rims have zerk grease fittings for smooth, easy rotation.
Sears, Roebuck Catalogue Spring–Summer 746/2
2011
It is my understanding that the '07 models had ball joints without Zerk fittings to allow lubricating with a grease gun.
Edmonton (Alberta) Journal (Nexis) 27 September d19
II.
Simple uses.
II.2.
1933–
A zerk fitting.
1933
New Zerks.
Hutchinson (Kansas) News 27 June 9/1 (advertisement)
1970
Can I drill and tap these [joints] for zerks?
Popular Mechanics June 64/2
2015
A fitting at the end of a..grease gun fits over the zerk to inject the lubricant.
J. Erjavec & R. Thompson, Automotive Technology (ed. 6) viii. 203/1
Pronunciation
British English
/zəːk/
zurk
U.S. English
/zərk/
zurrk
Consonants
ppea
ttea
kkey
bbuy
ddye
ɡguy
tʃchore
dʒjay
ffore
θthaw
ssore
ʃshore
vvee
ðthee
zzee
ʒbeige
xloch
hhay
llay
ɬrhingyll
rray
wway
jyore
mmay
nnay
ŋsing
Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.
Vowels
iːfleece
ihappy
ɪkit
ɛdress
atrap, bath
ɑːstart, palm, bath
ɒlot
ɔːthought, force
ʌstrut
ʊfoot
uːgoose
əletter
əːnurse
ɪənear
ɛːsquare
ʊəcure
eɪface
ʌɪpride
aʊmouth
əʊgoat
ɔɪvoice
ãgratin
ɒ̃salon
ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)
Other symbols
The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.
Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.
Vowels
ifleece, happy
ɪkit
ɛdress
ætrap, bath
ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
ɑrstart
ɔcloth, thought
ɔrnorth, force
ʊfoot
ugoose
əstrut, comma
ərnurse, letter
ɪ(ə)rnear
ɛ(ə)rsquare
ʊ(ə)rcure
eɪface
aɪpride
aʊmouth
oʊgoat
ɔɪvoice
ɑ̃gratin
æ̃salon
ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)
Other symbols
The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.
Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.
Consonants
b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values