keek
English
Etymology
From Middle English kyken, kiken, keken (“to look, peep”), probably from Middle Dutch kiken, kieken or Middle Low German kîken (“to look, peep”), from Old Saxon *kīkan (“to look”), from Proto-Germanic *kīkaną (“to look”). Cognate with Dutch kijken (“to look”), German Low German kieken (“to look”), Estonian kiikama (“to look, to peek”), German kucken, gucken (“to look”), Danish kigge, kikke (“to look, peep”), Swedish kika (“to peep, peek, keek, pry”), Icelandic kíkja (“to look, check”). Perhaps related to kick.
The words peek, keek and peep were used more or less synonymously in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /kiːk/
- Rhymes: -iːk
Verb
keek (third-person singular simple present keeks, present participle keeking, simple past and past participle keeked)
Noun
keek (plural keeks)
References
- “keek” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- “keek” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2019.
Dutch
Pronunciation
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -eːk
- IPA(key): /keːk/
Scots
Etymology 1
Possibly from Middle English kiken.
Verb
keek (third-person singular present keeks, present participle keekin, past keeked, past participle keeked)
Related terms
- keeker: a black eye
References
- “keek” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.