bleat

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /blit/ UK /bliːt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to make the wavering cry of a sheep or goat; to complain feebly

The lambs began to bleat for their mothers at dusk.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make the wavering cry of... baa cry whine whimper complain moan grumble gripe

Word family

Derived forms bleatingbleater

Etymology

From Old English blǣtan ('to bleat'), of imitative origin, echoing the cry of a sheep; cognate with Dutch blaten and German blöken.

blǣtan Old English bleat onomatopoeic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# bleat

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /blit/
**IPA (UK):** /bliːt/

## Meanings
1. to make the wavering cry of a sheep or goat; to complain feebly

## Examples
- The lambs began to bleat for their mothers at dusk.

## Synonyms
- baa
- cry
- whine
- whimper
- complain
- moan
- grumble
- gripe

## Derived Forms
- bleating
- bleater

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: blǣtan
- Root: bleat

## Etymology
From Old English blǣtan ('to bleat'), of imitative origin, echoing the cry of a sheep; cognate with Dutch blaten and German blöken.

## AI Etymology
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.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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