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beak

[beek] Origin

beak

[beek]
noun
1.
the bill of a bird; neb.
2.
any similar horny mouthpart in other animals, as the turtle or duckbill.
3.
anything beaklike or ending in a point, as the spout of a pitcher.
4.
Slang. a person's nose.
5.
Entomology. proboscis (def. 3).
EXPAND
6.
Botany. a narrowed or prolonged tip.
7.
Nautical. (formerly) a metal or metal-sheathed projection from the bow of a warship, used to ram enemy vessels; ram; rostrum.
8.
Typography. a serif on the arm of a character, as of a K.
9.
Also called bird's beak. Architecture. a pendant molding forming a drip, as on the soffit of a cornice.
10.
Chiefly British Slang.
a.
a judge; magistrate.
b.
a schoolmaster.
COLLAPSE

Origin:
1175–1225; Middle English bec < Old French < Latin beccus < Gaulish

beaked [beekt, bee-kid] , adjective
beak·less, adjective
beak·like, adjective
beak·y, adjective
un·der·beak, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Beak is always a great word to know.
So is brown-nose. Does it mean:
an obnoxious or contemptible person
to seek favors from a person in an obsequious manner, to fawn over
Collins
World English Dictionary
beak1 (biːk)
 
n
1.  the projecting jaws of a bird, covered with a horny sheath; bill
2.  any beaklike mouthpart in other animals, such as turtles
3.  slang a person's nose, esp one that is large, pointed, or hooked
4.  any projecting part, such as the pouring lip of a bucket
5.  architect the upper surface of a cornice, which slopes out to throw off water
6.  chem the part of a still or retort through which vapour passes to the condenser
7.  nautical another word for ram
 
[C13: from Old French bec, from Latin beccus, of Gaulish origin]
 
beaked1
 
adj
 
'beakless1
 
adj
 
'beaklike1
 
adj
 
'beaky1
 
adj

beak2 (biːk)
 
n
judge magistrate headmaster a Brit slang word for schoolmaster
 
[C19: originally thieves' jargon]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

beak
early 13c., "bird's bill," from O.Fr. bec (Fr. bec) "beak," figuratively "mouth," also "tip or point of a nose, a lance, a ship, a shoe," from L. beccus, said by Suetonius ("De vita Caesarum" 18) to be of Gaulish origin, perhaps from Gaulish beccus, possibly related to Celt. stem bacc- "hook." Or there
EXPAND
may be a link in O.E. becca "pickax, sharp end." Jocular sense of "human nose" is from 1854.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

beak definition


  1. n.
    a nose. : What a beak on that guy!
  2. in.
    to gossip; to chatter. : Stop beaking and get to work.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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