beck

1 [bek]
noun
1.
a gesture used to signal, summon, or direct someone.
2.
Chiefly Scot. a bow or curtsy of greeting.
verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
3.
Archaic. beckon.
Idioms
4.
at someone's beck and call, ready to do someone's bidding; subject to someone's slightest wish: He has three servants at his beck and call.
Origin:
1325–75; Middle English becken, short variant of becnen to beckon

Dictionary.com Unabridged

beck

2 [bek]
noun North England.
a brook, especially a swiftly running stream with steep banks.
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English becc < Scandinavian; compare Old Norse bekkr; akin to Old English bece, Dutch beek, German Bach brook, MIr bual flowing water < Indo-European *bhog-lā

00:10
Beck is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

beck

3 [bek]
verb (used with object) Metalworking.
to form (a billet or the like) into a tire or hoop by rolling or hammering on a mandrel or anvil.
Origin:
v. use of beck (noun), shortening of beck-iron, variant of bick-iron

Beck

[bek]
noun
Dave, 1894–1993, U.S. labor leader: president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters 1952–57.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To beck
Collins
World English Dictionary
beck1 (bɛk) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  a nod, wave, or other gesture or signal
2.  at someone's beck and call ready to obey someone's orders instantly; subject to someone's slightest whim
 
[C14: short for becnen to beckon]

beck2 (bɛk) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
(in N England) a stream, esp a swiftly flowing one
 
[Old English becc, from Old Norse bekkr; related to Old English bece, Old Saxon beki, Old High German bah brook, Sanskrit bhanga wave]

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

beck
late 14c., "mute signal," from bekken (v.), var. of becnan "to beckon" (see beckon). Transferred sense of "slightest indication of will" is from late 15c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

beck

see at someone's beck and call.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
Beck, by contrast, is an alarmingly incoherent personality.
The stars were dancing, wheeling and glancing, dipping with smirk and beck.
At the same time, he wanted the five-star hotel and the limo at his beck and
  call.
As time goes by, he finds enormous satisfaction in living as his own master and
  at the beck and call of only his work.
Idioms & Phrases
at someone's beck and call
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