bec

See also: Appendix:Variations of "bec"

Albanian

Alternative forms

• beç

Etymology

Onomatopoeic. From the bleating sound, with -c/ç suffix.

Noun

bec m (plural beca, definite beci, definite plural becat)

1. lamb

Related terms

• rrunjë

Catalan

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin beccus (“beak”), from Gaulish *beccos, from Proto-Celtic *bekkos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈbek]
• Rhymes: -ek

Noun

bec m (plural becs)

1. beak, bill

Derived terms

• bec d'esclop
• becaina
• becample
• beccurt
• becfí
• becgroc
• becllarg
• becplaner
• bectort
• becvermell
• escaldabec

 

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈbɛk]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈbək]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈbek]

Verb

bec

1. first-person singular present indicative of beure

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French bec, from Latin beccus (“beak”), from Gaulish *beccos, from Proto-Celtic *bekkos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɛk/

  • audio

    (file)

• IPA^(key): /bɛ/, /be/ (obsolete, but retained in béjaune and bédane)

Noun

bec m (plural becs)

1. (anatomy) beak, bill (of a bird)
2. (colloquial, North of France, Belgium, North America, Switzerland) kiss

   Synonyms: bécot, bise, bisou

   Elle m’a fait un bec en partant.

   She gave me a kiss in parting.

3. (slang) mouth

   Certains l’imaginent avec une pépée, un cigare au coin du bec, quelque part sous les cocotiers.

   Some imagined him with a pipe, a cigar in the corner of his mouth, somewhere under the coconut trees.

Derived terms

• à bec
• baleine à bec
• bec Bunsen
• bec et ongles
• bec sucré
• bec verseur
• bec-de-cane
• bec-de-canon
• bec-de-cigogne
• bec-de-cire
• bec-de-corbeau
• bec-de-corbin
• bec-de-crosse
• bec-de-cygne
• bec-de-faucon
• bec-de-grue
• bec-de-hache
• bec-de-héron
• bec-de-jar
• bec-de-lézard
• bec-de-lièvre
• bec-de-mortagnais
• bec-de-perroquet
• bec-de-pigeon
• bec-de-vautour
• bec-dur
• bec-d’âne
• bec-d’argent
• bec-d’oie
• becter
• béquille
• clouer le bec
• flûte à bec
• nez en bec d’aigle
• puer du bec

 

Descendants

• → Portuguese: beque

Further reading

• “bec”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• BCE

Friulian

Etymology

From Latin beccus (“beak”), from Gaulish *beccos.

Noun

bec m (plural becs)

1. beak, bill (of a bird)

Norman

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Norse bekkr (“brook, creek, stream”).

Noun

bec

1. river (cf. English: beck, a stream or small river)

Old English

Alternative forms

• bœ̄ċ

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /beːt͡ʃ/

Noun

bēċ

1. inflection of bōc:
   1. genitive/dative singular
   2. nominative/accusative plural

Old French

Pronunciation

From Latin beccus.

Noun

bec oblique singular, m (oblique plural bes, nominative singular bes, nominative plural bec)

1. beak, bill (of a bird)

Descendants

• French: bec

Old Irish

Alternative forms

• becc

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *biggos (“small”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbʲeɡ/

Adjective

bec (comparative lugu)

1. small

Inflection

o/ā-stem
Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	bec	bec	bec
Vocative	bic* bec**
Accusative	bec	bic
Genitive	bic	bice	bic
Dative	biuc	bic	biuc
Plural	Masculine	Feminine/neuter
Nominative	bic	beca
Vocative	bicu beca†
Accusative	bicu beca†
Genitive	bec
Dative	becaib
Notes	*modifying a noun whose vocative is different from its nominative **modifying a noun whose vocative is identical to its nominative † not when substantivized

Derived terms

• Beccán

Descendants

• Irish: beag
• Manx: beg
• Scottish Gaelic: beag

Adverb

bec

1. almost (followed by the negative particle nach)
   • c. 800–825, Diarmait, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 90^c17

     .i. bec nacham·ralae i nderchoíniud ón

     i.e. that is, it has almost cast me into despair.

Descendants

• Irish: beagnach

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
bec	bec pronounced with /β(ʲ)-/	mbec
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “bec”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French bec (de gaz).

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

bec n (plural becuri)

1. lightbulb

Declension

Declension of bec

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) bec	becul	(niște) becuri	becurile
genitive/dative	(unui) bec	becului	(unor) becuri	becurilor
vocative	becule		becurilor

Descendants

• → Polish: bek