beck
1[bek]
- a gesture used to signal, summon, or direct someone.
- Chiefly Scot. a bow or curtsy of greeting.
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- Archaic. beckon.
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- at someone's beck and call, ready to do someone's bidding; subject to someone's slightest wish: He has three servants at his beck and call.
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Origin of beck
1Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
beck
1- a nod, wave, or other gesture or signal
- at someone's beck and call ready to obey someone's orders instantly; subject to someone's slightest whim
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Word Origin for beck
C14: short for becnen to beckon
beck
2- (in N England) a stream, esp a swiftly flowing one
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Word Origin for beck
Old English becc, from Old Norse bekkr; related to Old English bece, Old Saxon beki, Old High German bah brook, Sanskrit bhanga wave
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for at someone's beck and call
beck
c.1300, shortening of beckon. (v.).
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beck
late 14c., "mute signal," from noun use of bekken (v.), variant of becnan "to beckon" (see beckon). Transferred sense of "slightest indication of will" is from late 15c.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with at someone's beck and call
at someone's beck and call
Required to comply with someone's requests or commands, as in The boss expects the entire staff to be at his beck and call. The noun beck, now obsolete except in this idiom, meant “a gesture or signal of command, such as a nod or hand movement,” whereas call signifies “a vocal summons.” Also see dance attendance on.
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beck
see at someone's beck and call.
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.