nidan verb (upper class) with 'ku' ending (archaic), yodan verb with 'ku' ending (archaic), intransitive verb
Archaic intransitive verb meaning 'to live' or 'to exist'. It is the older form of modern 生きる. Found in classical Japanese texts.
See also: 生きる
昔の人は「生く」と言ったが、今は「生きる」と言う。
People in the past said 'iku' for 'to live', but now they say 'ikiru'.
nidan verb (lower class) with 'ku' ending (archaic), transitive verb
to bring to life
Archaic transitive verb meaning 'to bring to life' or 'to make alive'. It is the older form of modern 生ける. Used in classical contexts.
See also: 生ける
古典では「花を活く」のように使われた。
In classical literature, it was used like 'hana wo iku' (to bring flowers to life).
Archaic verb form. The intransitive 生く (iku) is the older form of modern 生きる (ikiru), and the transitive 活く (iku) is the older form of modern 生ける (ikeru). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but they belong to the classical verb conjugation classes.