reek
Contents
English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Middle English rek, reke (“smoke”), from Old English rēc, rīec, from Proto-Germanic *raukiz (compare West Frisian reek, riik, Dutch rook, Low German Röök, German Rauch, Danish røg, Norwegian Bokmål røyk), from Proto-Indo-European *rowgi- (compare Lithuanian rū̃kti (“to smoke”), rū̃kas (“smoke, fog”), Albanian regj (“to tan”)).[1]
Noun[edit]
reek (countable and uncountable, plural reeks)
- A strong unpleasant smell.
- (Scotland) Vapour; steam; smoke; fume.
- 1623, William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor
- Thou mightst as well say, I loue to walke by the
Counter-gate, which is as hatefull to me, as the reeke of
a Lime-kill.
- Thou mightst as well say, I loue to walke by the
- Helenore; or, the fortunate Shepherdess: a Poem in the Broad Scoth Dialect, Alexander Ross (poet), 1768:
- Now, by this time, the sun begins to leam,
- And lit the hill-heads with his morning beam;
- And birds, and beasts, and folk to be a-steer,
- And clouds o’ reek frae lum heads to appear.
- 1623, William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor
Translations[edit]
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Etymology 2[edit]
From Middle English reken (“to smoke”), from Old English rēocan, from Proto-Germanic *reukaną (compare Dutch ruiken, Low German rüken, German riechen, Danish ryge, Swedish ryka), from Proto-Indo-European *rougi-. See above.
Verb[edit]
reek (third-person singular simple present reeks, present participle reeking, simple past and past participle reeked)
- (intransitive) To have or give off a strong, unpleasant smell.
- You reek of perfume.
- Your fridge reeks of egg.
- (intransitive, figuratively) To be evidently associated with something unpleasant.
- The boss appointing his nephew as a director reeks of nepotism.
- (archaic, intransitive) To be emitted or exhaled, emanate, as of vapour or perfume.
- (archaic, intransitive) To emit smoke or vapour; to steam.
Translations[edit]
Etymology 3[edit]
Probably a transferred use (after Irish cruach (“stack (of corn), pile, mountain, hill”)) of a variant of rick, with which it is cognate.
Noun[edit]
reek (plural reeks)
References[edit]
- A Dictionary of North East Dialect, Bill Griffiths, 2005, Northumbria University Press, →ISBN
- Northumberland Words, English Dialect Society, R. Oliver Heslop, 1893–4
- A List of words and phrases in everyday use by the natives of Hetton-le-Hole in the County of Durham, F.M.T.Palgrave, English Dialect Society vol.74, 1896, [1]
- The New Geordie Dictionary, Frank Graham, 1987, →ISBN
- Notes:
- ^ Vladimir Orel, A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, s.vv. “*raukiz”, “*reukanan”(Leiden: Brill, 2003), 299:303.
Anagrams[edit]
Scots[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English rek, reke (“smoke”), from Old English rēc, rīec, from Proto-Germanic *raukiz.
Noun[edit]
reek (plural reeks)
- Vapour; steam; smoke; fume
- A morning mist rising out of the ground.
- The act of smoking a pipe or cigarette, a whiff, puff.
Verb[edit]
reek (third-person singular present reeks, present participle reekin, past reekt, past participle reekt)
- Of a chimney: to emit smoke, to fail to emit smoke properly, sending it back into the room.
- To smoke a pipe etc. To emit vapour or steam.
- To show anger or fury, to fume, pour out one's spleen.
West Frisian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Old Frisian rēk, from Proto-Germanic *raukiz.
Noun[edit]
reek c (no plural)
Alternative forms[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- “reek”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with homophones
- English terms with audio links
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- Scottish English
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with archaic senses
- Irish English
- Northumbrian English
- Geordie English
- en:Combustion
- en:Smell
- Scots terms inherited from Middle English
- Scots terms derived from Middle English
- Scots terms inherited from Old English
- Scots terms derived from Old English
- Scots terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Scots terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Scots lemmas
- Scots nouns
- Scots verbs
- West Frisian terms inherited from Old Frisian
- West Frisian terms derived from Old Frisian
- West Frisian terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- West Frisian terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- West Frisian lemmas
- West Frisian nouns