beck

C2+ Topic:Register & Style

US /bɛk/ UK /bɛk/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like back /ɛ/ vs /æ/ Sounds like bake /ɛ/ vs /eɪ/

Meanings

1

noun
a gesture of command or summons; a small stream (dialectal)

The servants came and went at their master's every beck.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a gesture of command or... gesture nod signal summons brook stream rivulet

Word family

Related forms beckonbeck and call

Simplified etymology

Beck in the expression beck and call is a Middle English shortening of beckon, a Germanic word whose core sense is “sign” and which is related to beacon. The northern English beck meaning “stream” is unrelated and comes from an Old Norse word for a stream.

Etymology

In the 'gesture' sense, a shortening of Middle English beken, from beckon (Old English bēacnian). In the 'stream' sense, a Northern dialect word from Old Norse bekkr ('brook'), cognate with German Bach.

bēacnian Old English bekkr Old Norse

View etymology graph ->

Topics

External links

# beck

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /bɛk/
**IPA (UK):** /bɛk/

## Meanings
1. a gesture of command or summons; a small stream (dialectal)

## Examples
- The servants came and went at their master's every beck.

## Synonyms
- gesture
- nod
- signal
- summons
- brook
- stream
- rivulet

## Related Forms
- beckon
- beck and call

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: bēacnian
- Root: bekkr

## Etymology
In the 'gesture' sense, a shortening of Middle English beken, from beckon (Old English bēacnian). In the 'stream' sense, a Northern dialect word from Old Norse bekkr ('brook'), cognate with German Bach.

## AI Etymology
Beck is a noun meaning "a gesture of command or summons; a small stream (dialectal)". Historically, it is in the 'gesture' sense, a shortening of Middle English beken, from beckon (Old English bēacnian). In the 'stream' sense, a Northern dialect word from Old Norse bekkr ('brook'), cognate with German Bach. The visible construction is part of the etymology: beck is not just an unanalyzed simple word. The semantic history matters here: the earlier use is the starting point, and the modern sense, "a gesture of command or summons; a small stream (dialectal)", is the later or specialized English value. The historical chain links Old English bēacnian with Old Norse bekkr. Close English family members include beckon, and beck and call.

## Topics
- Register & Style
- General Vocabulary

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