beck
beck Lexical Profile
beck Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A mute gesture of the hand or nod of the head used as a signal of command or summons, now surviving almost exclusively in the phrase 'at someone's beck and call'.
"The personal assistant was expected to remain at the executive's beck and call throughout the conference."
British A small, fast-flowing mountain stream or brook, especially one with a stony or rocky bed in northern England.
"After the heavy rainfall, the narrow beck tumbled noisily down the Cumbria hillside."
• verb
To make a mute signal or summoning gesture with the hand or head; to beckon (now chiefly archaic or literary).
"The host becked toward the empty chair by the hearth, inviting the traveler to sit."
Word Nuance & Usage
In modern standard English, the sense of a commanding gesture is almost exclusively confined to the fixed idiom 'at someone's beck and call.' As an independent noun, it is primarily used in northern England to refer to a rocky mountain stream.
• Rhymes for beck
Word Origin & Etymology
The sense meaning a gesture or nod dates to Middle English as a shortened form of 'beckon,' from Old English 'bēacnian' (to make a sign). The northern English topographical sense meaning a stream comes separately from Old Norse 'bekkr' (brook or stream).