peck-order
(ˈpɛkɔːdə(r))
[f. peck n.3+ order n., tr. G. hackliste (T. J. Schjelderup-Ebbe 1922, in Zeitschr. für Psychologie LXXXVIII. 227).]
= pecking order, sense 1.
| 1931 W. C. Allee Animal Aggregations xix. 344 The ‘peck-order’ decides which birds may peck others without being pecked in return. 1939 G. K. Noble in Auk LVI. 264 A peck order..does not appear unless the birds [sc. night herons] are crowded together in a strange area. 1955 Brit. Jrnl. Animal Behaviour III. 94/2 It is now recognized that the peck-order forms the basis of all group behaviour in adult chickens. 1966 New Scientist 26 May 536/1 Wolves live in groups, in which certain individuals are dominant: that is, they have prior access to food, females and other amenities. This sort of arrangement may be called a peck order. |
2. transf. = pecking order, sense 2.
| 1953 A. Upfield Murder must Wait xvi. 138 Amid the lower Australian peck order..wines are imbibed from the bottle. 1962 A. Sampson Anat. Brit. i. x. 150 The Inns [of Court] have their own elaborate snobberies and peck⁓order. 1965 Punch 17 Mar. 389/1 Dons have always had an instinctive feeling for prestige, not to say ‘peck-order’. 1971 W. J. Burley Guilt Edged ix. 149 The human peck⁓order is far more subtle than that of the hen-house. |