▪ I. beek, n. Sc.
[f. beek v.1]
A warming or basking in the heat, a bask.
| 1725 Ramsay Wks. 1848 II. 133 Glaud by his morning ingle takes a beek. 1788 Picken Poems 88 (Jam.) Life's just a wee bit Sunny beek, That bright, and brighter waxes. |
▪ II. beek, v.1 Now only Sc. or north. dial.
(biːk)
Forms: 3–6 beke, 5–6 beyke, 6 Sc. beik, 6–7 beak, 6– beek.
[Chiefly northern: of uncertain origin. The analogy in form and sense of bake, beek, to bathe, beathe, suggests possible connexion with bake. An OTeut. *bôkian f. bôk, pa. tense of bakan would have given an OE. *bóecen, bécen, and ME. beke, beek; but no trace of the older forms is found. Another suggestion would refer beke to the stem of bæwen to foment (in Ormin) with suffixal k: cf., in same sense, dial. G. bächeln, bächern, which Grimm refers to bähen to foment.]
1. trans. and refl. To suffuse with genial warmth; to expose (oneself, one's limbs, etc.) to the pleasurable warmth of sun, fire, etc.
| c 1230 [see beeking ppl. a.2] 1375 Barbour Bruce xix. 552 Ane ynglish man, that lay bekand Hym by a fyre. c 1400 Bone Flor. 99 A gode fyre..To beyke hys boones by. 1553 Brende Q. Curtius ii. 11 Diogenes..was beking of himself in y⊇ sunne. 1627 H. Burton Bait. Pope's Bull 26 The foolish fish, which beaking hir selfe neere the banke, suffereth the fisher to tickle..her. a 1774 Fergusson Cauler Oysters Poems (1845) 8 How aften at that ingle cheek Did I my frosty fingers beek. (In modern Scotch.) |
b. To season (wood) by exposure to heat.
| 1483 Cathol. Angl. 26 To beke wandes, explorare. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §24 A good husbande hath his forkes and rakes made redye in the winter before..and beyked..and than they wyll be harde, styffe and drye. 1641 Best Farm. Bks. (1856) 122 After that we have cutte our wilfes and saughs..wee sette our foreman and another to beakinge of them. |
2. intr. To expose oneself to, or disport in, pleasurable warmth; to bask.
| c 1400 Ywaine & Gaw. 1459 That Knyght es nothing to set by That..ligges bekeand in his bed. ? a 1568 Wife Auchterm. in Bannatyne Poems 215 (Jam.) He saw the wif..sittand at ane fyre, beikand bawld. 1730 Ramsay Gent. Sheph. Wks. II. 95 She and her cat sit beeking in her yard. a 1801 Macneill Poet. Wks. (1844) 54 To sport on fancy's flowery brink, And beek a wee in love's warm blink. |
▪ III. † beek, v.2 Obs.
A term of the chase: see quot.
| c 1470 Hors Shepe & G. (1822) 31 A herte, yf he be chasid, he wil desire to haue a ryuer..yf he take agayn the streme, he beteth or els he beeketh. |