Bleat comes from Old English blǣtan ('to bleat'), of imitative origin, echoing the cry of a sheep; cognate with Dutch blaten and German blöken. The historical trail runs through blǣtan in Old English and bleat in onomatopoeic. Its formation is sound-symbolic rather than a regular transparent compound, with the older form echoing the sound named in the history. Used as a verb and noun, bleat now means "make the wavering cry of a sheep or goat; to complain feebly", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as bleating and bleater. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.