You missed the part where MW explained the evolution of the term to a more general meaning of “of that kind or sort”. Learn to read more proficiently.
If we all would strive to became more knowledgeable and stopped assuming that what we know is all there is to know, we’d probably communicate a lot better.
G’Nite!
“It is used chiefly in reference to the names of land-owning families and their eponymous estates, as in “the Guthries of that ilk,” which means “the Guthries of Guthrie.”
So it does not mean what is above? I cannot pick the “chief” definition.
So one just picks the part of an extensive definition that one wants a word to mean, and then expects the reader to pick the same meaning.
Good nite.