Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

beak

/biːk/ noun

In Latin: rostrum Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about beak at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Beaklike mouth of animals other than birds (e.g., turtles).
Horny projecting mouth of a bird.
A beaklike, tapering tip on certain plant structures.

verb

Hit lightly with a picking motion.

Origin

From Middle English bec, borrowed from Anglo-Norman bec, Old French bec, from Latin beccus, from Gaulish *bekkos, from Proto-Celtic *bekkos (“beak, snout”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bak-, *baḱ- (“pointed stick, peg”). Cognate with Breton beg (“beak”). Compare Saterland Frisian Bäk (“mouth; muzzle; beak”); Dutch bek (“beak; bill; neb”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word