creek

See also: Creek

WOTD – 18 October 2008

English

Alternative forms

• crick (dialectical US)
• crik (eye dialect)

Etymology

From Middle English crēke, from Old Norse kriki. Early British colonists of the Americas used the term in the usual British way, to name inlets; as settlements followed the inlets upstream and inland, the names were retained and creek was reinterpreted as a general course for a small waterway.. Compare Dutch kreek, and French crique, both from the same source.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: krēk IPA^(key): /kɹiːk/
• (US) IPA^(key): /kɹik/, (Appalachia) /kɹɪk/

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (US)

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• Audio (AU)

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• Audio (AUS)

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• Rhymes: -iːk, -ɪk
• Homophones: creak, crick

Noun

creek (plural creeks)

1. (Britain) A small inlet or bay, often saltwater, narrower and extending farther into the land than a cove; a recess in the shore of the sea, or of a river; the inner part of a port that is used as a dock for small boats.
2. (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, US) A stream of water (often freshwater) smaller than a river and larger than a brook.
3. Any turn or winding.

Synonyms

• beck, brook, burn, stream
• (regional US terms:) run (Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia), brook (New England), branch (Southern US), bayou (Louisiana and Southeastern Texas)

Derived terms

• Clear Creek
• creekless
• creekside
• Cripple Creek
• dry creek
• Pryor Creek
• up the creek

 

Descendants

• Broome Pearling Lugger Pidgin: kriki
• Sranan Tongo: kriki

Translations

small inlet or bay

• Bulgarian: бухта f (buhta), тясно заливче (tjasno zalivče)
• Catalan: cala (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 小灣,小湾 (xiǎowān)

• Dutch: kreek (nl) m or f, slenk (nl) m
• Finnish: poukama (fi)
• French: crique (fr)
• Galician: cala f, caleiro m, doca (gl) f, anco m, abra (gl) f, angra f, enseada f, seo (gl) m
• German: Bucht (de) f

• Hungarian: öböl (hu)
• Italian: calanca (it) f
• Limburgish: krieëk m
• Malay: serokan
• Portuguese: enseada (pt) f
• Russian: бу́хточка (ru) f (búxtočka), бу́хта (ru) f (búxta), зали́в (ru) (zalív)
• Spanish: caleta (es) f
• Swedish: bukt (sv)
• West Frisian: sleat

stream of water

• Armenian: գետակ (hy) (getak)
• Bulgarian: поток (bg) (potok)
• Catalan: rierol (ca) m, riera (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 小溪 (zh) (xiǎoxī)

• Czech: potok (cs) m
• Eastern Bontoc: kinnaw, arog-og
• Finnish: puro (fi)
• French: ruisseau (fr) m
• Galician: regato m, bullón m, barbaña (gl) f, regueiro (gl) m, dioivo (gl) m, doira f, bioca f, enxurrada (gl) f
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Bach (de) m
• Hungarian: patak (hu), csermely (hu)
• Ilocano: waig
• Italian: ruscello (it), rivo m
• Lubuagan Kalinga: wain, ewagit, suɏong

• Malay: anak sungai
• Northern Ohlone: núm̄ei'
• Norwegian: bekk (no), liten (no) elv (no)
• Ojibwe: ziibiins
• Pennsylvania German: Krick, Grick
• Portuguese: riacho (pt) m
• Russian: руче́й (ru) m (ručéj)
• Southern Kalinga: wail
• Spanish: arroyo (es) m, riachuelo (es)
• Swedish: bäck (sv) c
• Tagalog: sapa, ilat
• Turkish: çay (tr)
• Ugaritic: 𐎊𐎁𐎍𐎚 (yblt)
• Vietnamese: lạch (vi)
• Yagara: pilla
• Yiddish: טײַכל‎ n (taykhl), ריטשקה‎ (ritshke)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Irish: ^{(please verify)} aircín m, ^{(please verify)} camlinn f, ^{(please verify)} caolán m, ^{(please verify)} casla f, ^{(please verify)} crompán m, ^{(please verify)} cuas m, ^{(please verify)} gabhal m, ^{(please verify)} gabhlán m, ^{(please verify)} góilín m

• Maori: ^{(please verify)} manga

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