/ bek; NAmE / noun
( BrE , dialect ) a small river
SYN stream
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IDIOMS
- at sb's beck and call
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WORD ORIGIN
noun Middle English : from Old Norse bekkr , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch beek and German Bach . Used as the common term for a brook in northern areas, beck often refers, in literature, to a brook with a stony bed or following a rugged course, typical of such areas.
idsym. Middle English : from archaic beck , abbreviated form of beckon .