beak
oxford
views updated May 21 2018beak / bēk/ •
n. a bird's horny projecting jaws; a bill. ∎ the similar horny projecting jaw of other animals, e.g., a turtle or squid. ∎ inf. a person's nose, esp. a hooked one: she can't wait to stick her beak in.DERIVATIVES: beaked adj. [in comb.] a yellow-beaked alpine chough. ORIGIN: Middle English: from Old French bec, from Latin beccus, of Celtic origin.
The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English
beak
oxford
views updated May 23 2018beak 1. A rigid cylindrical or conical projection on the tip of a
fruit (as in
Geranium).
2. A projection in Orchidaceae that separates the
anther from the stigmatic surface below it in the flower.
A Dictionary of Plant Sciences MICHAEL ALLABY
beak
oxford
views updated May 17 2018beak 1. The bill of a bird.
2. See
SHELL BEAK.
A Dictionary of Zoology MICHAEL ALLABY
beak
oxford
views updated Jun 11 2018beak XIII. ME.
bec,
bek (
beck continuing till XVIII; the form with the lengthened vowel arose from the obl. form
beke) — (O)Fr.
bec :- L.
beccus.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD
beak
oxford
views updated May 08 2018 A Dictionary of Earth Sciences AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY
