beck

See also: Beck and béck

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛk

Etymology 1

From Middle English bek, bekk, becc, from Old Norse bekkr (“a stream or brook”), from Proto-Germanic *bakiz (“stream”). Cognate with Low German bek, beck, German Bach, Dutch beek, Old English bæc, bec, bæċe, beċe (“beck, brook”). More at beach.

Noun

beck (plural becks)

1. (Norfolk, Northern England) A stream or small river.
   • Drayton

     The brooks, the becks, the rills.

Synonyms

• brook
• burn
• creek
• stream

Etymology 2

From Middle English bekken, a shortened form of Middle English bekenen, from Old English bēcnan, bēacnian (“to signify; beckon”), from Proto-Germanic *baukną (“beacon”). More at beacon.

Noun

beck (plural becks)

1. A significant nod, or motion of the head or hand, especially as a call or command.

   To be at the beck and call of someone.

Translations

A significant nod, or motion of the head or hand, especially as a call or command

• German: Wink (de) m

• Russian: мановение (ru) n (manovenije)

Verb

beck (third-person singular simple present becks, present participle becking, simple past and past participle becked)

1. (archaic) To nod or motion with the head.
   • Shakespeare

     When gold and silver becks me to come on.

   • 1896, Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr, Winter Evening Tales‎^[1]:

     "I'll buy so many acres of old Scotland and call them by the Lockerby's name; and I'll have nobles and great men come bowing and becking to David Lockerby as they do to Alexander Gordon.

   • 1881, Various, The Best of the World's Classics, Vol. V (of X) - Great Britain and Ireland III‎^[2]:

     The becking waiter, that with wreathed smiles, wont to spread for Samuel and Bozzy their "supper of the gods," has long since pocketed his last sixpence; and vanished, sixpence and all, like a ghost at cock-crowing.

Etymology 3

See back.

Noun

beck (plural becks)

1. A vat.

Etymology 4

Noun

beck (plural becks)

1. Obsolete form of beak.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Spenser to this entry?)

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Portuguese

Noun

beck m (plural becks)

1. Alternative spelling of beque

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Swedish

Pronunciation

• Homophone: bäck

Noun

beck n

1. pitch; A dark, extremely viscous material remaining in still after distilling crude oil and tar.

Declension

Declension of beck
	Uncountable
	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	beck	becket	—	—
Genitive	becks	beckets	—	—

Related terms

• becksvart