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Added 8 October 2026

lick

/lɪk/ verb

In Latin: lambō, lingō Wiktionary

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about lick at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To stroke with the tongue.
The cat licked its fur.
To lap; to take in with the tongue.
She licked the last of the honey off the spoon before washing it.
To beat with repeated blows.

noun

The act of licking; a stroke of the tongue.
The cat gave its fur a lick.
The amount of some substance obtainable with a single lick.
Give me a lick of ice cream.
A quick and careless application of anything, as if by a stroke of the tongue.
a lick of paint

noun

An instance or opportunity to earn money fast, usually by illegal means, thus a heist, drug deal etc. or its victim; mostly used in phrasal verbs: hit a lick, hit licks

Origin

From Middle English likken, from Old English liccian, from Proto-West Germanic *likkōn, from Proto-Germanic *likkōną (“to lick”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyǵʰ- (“to lick”). Sense evolution towards violence unclear; not paralleled in any other Germanic language.

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

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