bleat

English

Alternative forms

• blate, blait (Scotland)

Etymology

From Middle English bleten, from Old English blǣtan (“to bleat”), from Proto-Germanic *blētijaną (“to bleat”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlē- (“to howl, cry, bleat”). Cognate with Scots blete, bleit (“to bleat”), Saterland Frisian blēte, blētsje (“to bleat”), Dutch blaten, bleten (“to bleat”), Low German bleten (“to bleat”), German blaßen, blässen (“to bleat”); cf. Greek blekhe, Old Church Slavonic blejat, and also Latin fleō (“cry, weep”).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -iːt

Noun

bleat (plural bleats)

1. The characteristic cry of a sheep or a goat.

Synonyms

• (sheep's cry) baa, baaing, bleating

Translations

cry of a sheep or a goat

• Bulgarian: блеене (bg) (bleene)
• Dutch: geblaat (nl) n
• Finnish: määkiminen (fi), määintä (fi)
• French: (sheep's cry) bêlement m, (goat's cry) bêlement, béguètement m
• German: Blöken n
• Greek: βέλασμα (el) (vélasma) n
• Icelandic: jarmur (is) m

• Italian: belato (it) m
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: باع (ku) (baa), باڵاندن (ku) (balandin)

• Malay: embek (ms)
• Russian: блеянье (ru) (bléjanʹje) n / блеяние (ru) (bléjanije) n
• Spanish: (sheep's bleat) balido m
• Swedish: bräkande (sv) n

Verb

bleat (third-person singular simple present bleats, present participle bleating, simple past and past participle bleated)

1. Of a sheep or goat, to make its characteristic cry.
2. (informal) Of a person, to complain.

   The last thing we need is to hear them bleating to us about organizational problems.

Synonyms

• (1): baa
• (2): kvetch (US), moan, whinge (British), whine

Translations

to make the cry of a sheep or goat

• Bulgarian: блея
• Dutch: blaten, blè·ren
• Finnish: määkiä (fi) (sheep), päkättää (fi) (goat)
• French: (sheep or goat) bêler (fr), (goat) bégueter (fr), chevroter (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: blöken (de)
• Greek: βελάζω (el) (velázo)

• Icelandic: jarma (is)
• Italian: belare (it)
• Latin: bālō (la)
• Malay: mengembek (ms)
• Russian: блеять (ru) (bléjatʹ)
• Spanish: balar (es)
• Swedish: bräka (sv)

informal: to complain

• Finnish: marista (fi)
• French: rouspéter (fr)
• German: blöken (de)

• Greek: βελάζω (el) (velázo)
• Russian: блеять (ru) (bléjatʹ)

Anagrams

• ablet
• blate
• table

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Old English

Etymology

Proto-Germanic *blautaz, whence also Old High German blōz (“naked”), Old Norse blautr. More at blouse.

Adjective

blēat

1. wretched