Source etymology 1
Original entry ↗A rigid structure projecting from the front of a bird's face, used for pecking, grooming, foraging, carrying items, eating food, etc. · A similar pointed structure forming the nose and mouth of various animals, such as turtles, platypuses, whales, etc. · The long projecting sucking mouth of some insects and other invertebrates, as in the Hemiptera. · The upper or projecting part of the shell, near the hinge of a bivalve.
To strike with the beak. · To seize with the beak. · To play truant.
From Middle English bec, borrowed from Anglo-Norman bec, Old French bec, from Latin beccus, from Gaulish *bekkos, from Proto-Celtic *bekkos (“beak, snout”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bak-, *baḱ- (“pointed stick, peg”). Cognate with Breton beg (“beak”). Compare Saterland Frisian Bäk (“mouth; muzzle; beak”); Dutch bek (“beak; bill; neb”).
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
This page abbreviates 11 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
{
"templates": [
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "bec"
},
"expansion": "Middle English bec"
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{
"name": "der",
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"3": "bec"
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"expansion": "Anglo-Norman bec"
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{
"name": "der",
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},
{
"name": "der",
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"2": "la",
"3": "beccus"
},
"expansion": "Latin beccus"
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{
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"3": "*bekkos"
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{
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"4": "",
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},
"expansion": "Proto-Celtic *bekkos (“beak, snout”)"
},
{
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"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *bak-"
},
{
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"3": "",
"4": "beak"
},
"expansion": "Breton beg (“beak”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "stq",
"2": "Bäk",
"3": "",
"4": "mouth; muzzle; beak"
},
"expansion": "Saterland Frisian Bäk (“mouth; muzzle; beak”)"
}
],
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[
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[
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"Reconstruction:Gaulish/bekkos"
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"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/bak-"
],
[
"*baḱ-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/baḱ-"
],
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"beg#Breton"
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{
"pos": "noun",
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"A rigid structure projecting from the front of a bird's face, used for pecking, grooming, foraging, carrying items, eating food, etc.",
"A similar pointed structure forming the nose and mouth of various animals, such as turtles, platypuses, whales, etc.",
"The long projecting sucking mouth of some insects and other invertebrates, as in the Hemiptera.",
"The upper or projecting part of the shell, near the hinge of a bivalve."
],
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{
"pos": "verb",
"glosses": [
"To strike with the beak.",
"To seize with the beak.",
"To play truant."
],
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"Northern-Ireland",
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