A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1937 (DOST Vol. I).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1420-1513, 1569-1610
[0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
Beke, Beik, n. Also: bek, beike, beyk. [ME. beeke, beke, bek, early bec, OF. bec. late L. beccus.]
1. The beak of a bird. c1420 Wynt. i. 419.
The dow … broucht in hyr beke … A brawnche agayne of greyne olywe c1450-2 Howlat 66; c1450-2 Ib. 357.
Sum bird will bay at my beike & sum will me byte a1500 Henr. Fab. 460.
With that the Cok … Kest vp his beik, & sang with all his micht 1513 Doug. iii. x. 44.
Ane horribil sort, with mony camscho beik 1513 Ib. vi. ix. 135.
Ane hydduus grype, with … bowland beyk 1570 Satirical Poems xv. 45.
Thow pelican, prepair thy beik
2. A projecting point of Dumbarton rock. 1569-73 Bann. Memor. 106.
We thocht it best to assay it at the same part. … which is the last pairt, called the Beike 1580 Inv. Wardrobe 300.
Item, on the beik ane singill falcoun of found markit with the armes of Bartanye
b. A projection from the pier of a bridge. 1610 Aberd. B. Rec. II. 300.
The wast bow of the said brig … , and the beak and found of the mid piller betuixt the tua bowis
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Beke n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 20 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/dost00052781>
