| 释义 |
▪ I. peck, n.1|pɛk|
Forms: 4 pec, 4–6 pek, pekke, (5–6 peke), 5–7 pecke, (7 Sc. pect), 5– peck.
[ME. pek, = OF. pek (13th c. in Godef., only one instance), frequent in AF., also latinized as peccum (or ? -us), pekka; ulterior history unknown.
Godefroy's OF. instance refers to oats for horses, which was also a chief use of pek in ME. In this respect pek was synonymous with F. picotin ‘a pecke or the fourth part of a boisseau..used only in the measuring of oats’ (Cotgr.), a horse's feed of oats (Scheler); in med.L. picotinus. But the latter was evidently a deriv. of med.L. picotus, -ta a liquid measure, in OF. picote a wine-measure (14th c. in Godef.). The radical part of these words may be cognate with pek. The formal resemblances of picote to F. picoter, ‘to prick often, to peck as a bird’, and of pek, peck to pek, pekke, peck v.1, is notable; but peck n. is known long before the vb., and cannot easily be derived from it.]
1. A measure of capacity used for dry goods; the fourth part of a bushel, or two gallons. The imperial peck contains 554·548 cubic inches, that of the United States 537·6.
The Scottish peck was the fourth part of the firlot and contained 4 lippies = 553·5625 cubic inches for wheat, but 807·55 for barley, rye, pulse, salt, and other commodities. In England, the peck formerly varied greatly according to locality and to the commodity measured. See O.C. and Farm. Words (E. Dial. Soc.) 173.
c1300Battle Abbey Custumals (1887) 14 Et debet cariare j ambram, j bussellum, et pek salis. 1338in Dugdale Monasticon (1846) II. 584/1 In j. pekko salis. Ibid. 584/2, xiiij. [equi] quorum quilibet j. pekka. 1351–2Rolls of Parlt. II. 240/1 Soient les Mesures, c'est assaver bussell, demi bussell, & pec, galon, potel, & quarte, en chescun Countee..acordantz a l'estandard. 1352Mem. Ripon (Surtees) I. 236 Cuidam leproso unum pek frumenti. c1386Chaucer Reeve's T. 90 The Millere shold nat stele hem half a pekke Of corn by sleighte. 1390Earl Derby's Exp. (Camden) 6 Pro iijbus bussellis et j pecco auenarum, xixd. ob. Ibid. 29. 1464 Mann. & Househ. Exp. (Roxb.) 545 Paid for a pekke of otemelle, iij.d. c1485Digby Myst. (1882) ii. 30 How, hosteler, how, a peck of otys. 1526Tindale Matt. xiii. 33 Hid in 3 peckes off meele. [So Coverd., Great B., Geneva, Rheims; Wyclif mesuris, 1611 measures.] 1534Ord. Govt. Irel. in St. Papers Hen. VIII, II. 210 They [Irish lords] toke a pecke of ootes of every plough in the sede tyme, called the greatte horse, or chefe horsis pecke. 1537Ibid. 495 Item, that the greate peckes of otes..and suche other nedeles extortions..be clerly abolysheid. 1603in Rec. Old Aberdeen (1899) 33 That na darer draiff be sauld..nor four d. ilk pect. 1725Bradley Fam. Dict. s.v. Gallon, In Liquids two Pottles..make one Gallon..But in dry Measure, two Gallons, which is six Pottles, make one Peck. 1789Burns Happy Trio 1 O, Willie brew'd a peck o' maut. 1846J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) I. 272 Nine imperial pecks to the statute acre, of good and clean Riga seed.
b. In various proverbial expressions.
1603Dekker Grissil (Shaks. Soc.) 6, I think I shall not eat a peck of salt: I shall not live long, sure. 1710Palmer Proverbs lxxix. 221 title, Every man must eat a Peck of ashes before he dies. Ibid., Every man must eat a peck of dirt in his life! 1828Craven Gloss. (ed. 2) s.v., ‘To measure to another a peck out of one's own bushel’, to think or treat others like himself. 1862A. Hislop Prov. Scot. 31 Before ye choose a friend eat a peck o' saut with him. 1901Daily Chron. 23 Aug. 5/2 ‘A dry summer never made a dear peck’, says an old weather proverb.
c. A swarm of bees such as would fill a peck: cf. peck-swarm in 5.
1713J. Warder True Amazons (ed. 2) 37 Put a Swarm of Bees of a Peck, in May, into a Hive of Glass. Ibid. vi. (ed. 2) 77 One Peck of Bees in one Hive, will get much more Honey than two half Pecks will do in two Hives.
d. A liquid measure of two gallons. dial.
1886Elworthy W. Som. Work-bk. s.v., Peck is a measure of liquids = two gals. ‘I do hear how Farmer Burge is zillin' o' very good cider vor a shillin' a peck’.
2. A vessel used as a peck measure.
1392–3Earl Derby's Exp. (Camden) 158 Et pro j pecco ligneo pro mensura auenarum, iiijd. 1404Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 397, j pek pro præbenda. 1598Shakes. Merry W. iii. v. 113 Next to be compass'd like a good Bilbo in the circumference of a Pecke, hilt to point, heele to head. 1641Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 109 Yow must take a spade and a pecke,..and goe twice a day to the aunt⁓hills..take up the moules and alltogeather, and putte into the pecke. 1705Hickeringill Priest-cr. iv. Wks. 1716 III. 229 Can a Peck contain all the Water in the Sea? 1878Mackintosh Hist. Civiliz. Scot. I. xi. 458 In 1492 three men were put in the pillory..for having pecks of too small measure.
b. In the Isle of Man: see quot. 1903.
1887Hall Caine Deemster iii. 12 The bread-basket known as the ‘peck’. 1894― Manxman 32 The peck, the parchment oat-cake pan. 1903Eng. Dial. Dict., Peck,..A wooden hoop, about 3 or 4 inches deep, and about 20 inches in diameter, covered with a sheep's skin, and resembling the head of a drum, it is used to keep oaten cakes in.
3. loosely. A considerable quantity or number, a great deal, a ‘quantity’, ‘heap’, ‘lot’. Chiefly fig. in phr. a peck of troubles.
c1535in Archæologia XXV. 97 The said George..told hym that Mr. More was in a pecke of troubles. 1539Aberdeen Regr. (Spald. Cl.) I. 159 Calling of hir commond vyld freris hvyr that scho wes, that hes ane pek of lyiss betuix thi shoulderis. 1664[Scudamore] Homer à la Mode 2 Did bring upon the Græcians, double Foure or five hundred pecks of trouble. 1857Hughes Tom Brown i. viii, A pretty peck of troubles you'll get into.
†4. An ancient measure of land. Obs.
1442Rolls of Parlt. V. 59/1 A pek of Londe, Paster, Hethe and Maresse. Ibid., Half a pek and a nayle of Londe, Pasture and Hethe.
5. attrib. and Comb., as peck loaf, a loaf made from a peck of flour; † peck-swarm, a swarm of bees that fills a hive of the size of a peck: see 1 c.
1599Massinger, etc. Old Law iv. ii, I never durst eat oysters, nor cut *peck-loaves. 1806T. S. Surr Winter in Lond. I. 196 The lord mayor ordered the price of bread to be raised one penny in the peck-loaf.
1609C. Butler Fem. Mon. v. L iv, All *pecke-swarmes, and other single swarmes after Mid-Cancer [are fitted] with the least, or halfe-bushell hiue.
▪ II. peck, n.2 Obs. or local.
[app. a local variant of pick n., peak n.2]
1. A local name of various tools: see quots.
1485Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 72 Gonne hamurs..iij, Gonne pekkes..viij. 1514Lett. & Pap. Hen. VIII, I. 5721 (P.R.O.) xxii pekes for to hewe gounys stonys. 1544Knaresb. Wills (Surtees) I. 47 One Carlille axe, one pekke. 1784Young Ann. Agric. II. 50 (Essex) They cut their beans with a tool they call a peck, being a short handled scythe for one hand, and a hook for the other. 1813― Agric. Essex I. 163 The Flemish scythe is used in Foulness for cutting beans: it is called a bean peck. 1883Hampsh. Gloss., Peck, sb. a pick-axe. 1884Upton-on-Severn Gloss., Pick, or Peck, (1) A pick-axe;..(2) A pointed hammer for breaking coal. Ibid., Peck-shaft, the handle of a pick-axe.
2. A peak.
1481–90Howard Househ. Bks. (Roxb.) 139 For ij. coschyn clothis with peckkes xxiiij.s. 1884Upton-on-Severn Gloss., Peck, a point (peak): ‘The peck of the shou'der’.
▪ III. peck, n.3|pɛk|
Also 6 pekke, 6–7 pecke.
[f. peck v.1]
1. An act of pecking; a stroke with the beak or bill; (humorously) a snappy kiss: cf. pecky a.2 2.
1611Cotgr., Becquade, a pecke, iob, or bob with a beake. 1824Miss Mitford Village Ser. i. (1863) 17 The robin red⁓breast and the wren..would stop for two pecks. 1859M. Napier Life Visct. Dundee I. ii. 314 Argyle's..audacious but feeble peck at the throne in Scotland. 1893Saltus Madam Sapphira 84 Bending toward his wife he received from that lady a rapid and noiseless peck.
2. The impression or mark made by pecking; a prick, hole, or dint; a dot; a slight surface injury.
1591Percival Sp. Dict., Picado, a pricke, a pecke, morsus, punctura. 1676J. Beaumont in Phil. Trans. XI. 727 These [Trochites] have also a small peck in the middle making but very little impression in the stone, and seldom passing through it. 1740Dyche & Pardon s.v., A little hole made in fruit as it hangs upon trees, is called a bird peck. 1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) VI. 671/1 In engraving the flesh, the effect may be produced in the lighter parts and middle tints by long pecks of the graver, rather than by light lines. 1852J. Wiggins Embanking 15 Raising a bank of great bulk, turfing or gravelling the sea face, and mending every little ‘peck’ or injury as it occurs.
3. slang, orig. Thieves' Cant. Food, meat, ‘grub’; provender.
peck-alley, the throat. peck and perch, board and lodging. peck and tipple (booze), meat and drink.
1567Harman Caveat 86 She hath a Cacling chete, a grunting chete, ruff Pecke, cassan, and popplarr of yarum. 1641Brome Joviall Crew ii. Wks. 1873 III. 388 Here, safe in our Skipper, let's cly off our Peck. 1706S. Centlivre Basset Table Prol., Poor House-keeping, where Peck is under Locks. 1732Mrs. Delany in Life & Corr. I. 346 We went to supper, and had a profusion of peck and booz. 1828Lights & Shades II. 206 What's peck and perch, and a pound a-week? 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. iv. vii, The serving of the ‘peck’ was the affair of a moment. 1893Kennel Gaz. Aug. 221/2 He [a dog] wants a little more peck.
4. peck-right, in a group of birds, the way in which those of higher rank are able to attack those lower in the hierarchy, without provoking an attack in return; cf. peck-order, pecking-order.
1931W. C. Allee Animal Aggregations xix. 344 Hens with this power [of pecking inferiors] are said to have the ‘peck-right’ over those submitting to the pecking. 1954Fisher & Lockley Sea-Birds vii. 170 There is [among gulls], as in domestic hens, a definite order of precedence, or peck-right. 1962J. C. Welty Life of Birds x. 184/2 The dominant bird is said to possess a peck right over the subordinate bird.
▪ IV. peck, n.4|pɛk|
Abbrev. peckerwood b. U.S. Black slang.
1932Evening Sun (Baltimore) 9 Dec. 31/5 Peck, a white person. 1964O. Harrington in J. H. Clarke Harlem 96 Every member loved old Snakes and every school-child knew that he'd once been caught in a Texas mob which was joyously barbecuing another Negro. And when old Snakes began laughing the pecks stared in amazement and let him walk right through. 1969C. Brown in A. Chapman New Black Voices (1972) 183 A poor white peck will cuss. A poor white peck will cuss worse'n a nigger. I am talking about white men who ain't poor like them pecks. 1970C. Major Dict. Afro-Amer. Slang 90 Peck, white person.
▪ V. peck, v.1|pɛk|
Also 4–5 pekke, 4–7 pek, pecke.
[app. a collateral form of pick v.1, with which it formerly often interchanged, as it still does dialectally. Cf. MLG. pekken, to peck with the beak.]
I.
1. trans. To strike with the beak, as a bird; to indent or pierce by thus striking. Often with advb. extension; esp. peck out, to put or pluck out by pecking.
1382Wyclif Prov. xxx. 17 The eȝe that scorneth the fader, and that dispiseth the birthe of his moder, pecken hym out crowis of the stremes [1388 crowis of the stronde picke out thilke iȝe]. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. viii. (Bodl. MS.), Þe rauen..fondeþ wiþ his bille to pecke oute his iȝen. [Ibid., Smal briddes þat reseþ on hym to picke out his iȝen.] 1567J. Maplet Gr. Forest 71 b, She flieth and flacketh about his eies and face, and pecketh and scratcheth out his eien. 1690Dryden Don Sebastian i. i, These parrots peck the fairest fruit. 1795Cowper Pairing Time Antic. 57 Soon every father-bird and mother Grew quarrelsome, and pecked each other. 1863Kingsley Water-Bab. vii, All the other scaul-crows set upon her, and pecked her to death.
b. To make (a hole, etc.) by pecking: cf. pick v.1
1768–74Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) I. 640 The beetle..lies sprawling upon his back; until the little tit-mouse comes, pecks a hole in his side. 1815Sporting Mag. XLVI. 160 A truce to pecking holes in the coat of this gentleman's book.
c. To kiss perfunctorily; to give a peck (peck n.3 1) to.
1969New Yorker 11 Oct. 53/1 They pecked the hostess farewell. 1977C. McCullough Thorn Birds xv. 343 Meggie leaned over to peck her brothers on their cheeks self-consciously.
2. intr. To strike with or use the beak, as a bird.
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. viii. (Bodl. MS.), Ȝife þe asse haue a sore..þe sparowes lepiþ þeron & peckeþ wiþ here billes. 1567J. Maplet Gr. Forest 71 b, They neuer leaue off pecking til they haue made it verie sore. 1588Greene Pandosto (1607) 27 He that striueth against Loue,..with the Cockatrice pecketh against the steele. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VI. 15 They peck and combat with their claws.
transf.1901in Publ. Circ. 7 Sept. 227/2 The modern printer merely pecks on a key-board.
b. peck at: to aim at with the beak, to try to peck; also transf.
1604Shakes. Oth. i. i. 65 'Tis not long after But I will weare my heart vpon my sleeue For Dawes to pecke at. 1676Hobbes Iliad xv. (1677) 229 Better in close fight to die..Than..peck in vain at a weak enemy. 1687Lond. Gaz. No. 2251/4 Finding we slighted him, [he] stretched to Wind⁓ward, and there lay pecking at us. 1831Carlyle in Froude Life (1882) II. 175 The more the Devil pecks at me, the more vehemently do I wring his nose. 1874L. Stephen Hours in Library (1892) I. i. 9 It was..the greatest of triumphs when birds..pecked at the grapes in a picture.
c. peck at (fig.): To try to ‘pick holes’ in, or ‘pick to pieces’; to carp, cavil, or nag at.
1641‘Smectymnuus’ Vind. Answ. v. 70 The Scripture hee pecks at. 1768–74Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) II. 475 Without pecking at the Bible, they can find matters to joke upon elsewhere. 1872Besant & Rice Ready Money Mortiboy viii, She had pecked at him so long, he could not have digested his dinner without his usual dessert.
3. trans. Of birds: To take (food) with the beak; esp. in small bits at a time. Often with up.
c1386Chaucer Nun's Pr. T. 147 Pekke [v.rr. pek, peke, Camb. pikke, Harl. pike] hem vp right as they growe and ete hem yn. 1623–4Middleton & Rowley Sp. Gipsy ii. i. 50 Grain pecked up after grain makes pullen fat. 1798Wordsw. Old Cumbld. Beggar 20 The small mountain birds Not venturing yet to peck their destined meal. 1804J. Grahame Sabbath 460 Where little birds..Light on the floor, and peck the table-crumbs. 1883S. C. Hall Retrospect II. 324 The fowls were left to peck up anything they might find.
fig.1669F. Vernon in A. Lang Valet's Trag. etc. (1903) 51, I fear you can peck but little satisfaction out of it.
b. intr.
1798Sporting Mag. XI. 220 The pigeon..is still alive, and pecks as well as usual.
4. trans. and intr. Of persons:
a. To eat, to feed. colloq. (orig. Thieves' Cant).
b. To bite, to eat daintily or in a nibbling fashion.
a1550Hye Way to Spyttel Hous 1050 in Hazl. E.P.P. IV. 69 Thou shalt pek my jere In thy gan for my watch it is nace gere. 1610Rowlands Martin Mark-all (Hunter. Cl.) 39 Pecke is taken to eate or byte: as the Buffa peckes me by the stampes, the dogge bites me by the shinnes. 1665Head Eng. Rogue i. iv. (1680) 33 Most part of the night we spent in Boozing, pecking rumly. 1703Levellers in Harl. Misc. (ed. Park) V. 454 So they all fell heartily to pecking till they had consumed the whole provision. 1824Byron Juan xv. lxx, The ladies with more moderation mingled In the feast, pecking less than I can tell. 1884Cheshire Gloss. (E.D.S.), Peck for one's self, to gain one's own livelihood. 1893Baring-Gould Mrs. Curgenven liii, Thanks, I'll peck a bit.
II.
5. trans. To strike (something) with a pick or other pointed tool, so as to indent, pit, pierce, or break it up; also, to mark with short strokes. Often with advb. complement, as peck down, peck in, peck up, etc.
a1530Heywood Weather (Brandl) 752, I haue peckt a good peckynge yron to naught. 1573–80Baret Alv. P 219 A stone pecked, or dented in as a millstone. 1666J. Smith Old Age 79 Because they cannot make their mills grow, as they daily decay by grinding; they are fain to supply that want by often pecking their milstones. 1702S. Sewall Diary 20 Jan., The Father was pecking Ice off the Mill⁓wheel. 1848Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. IX. ii. 537 [Soil] stony or gravelly, so as to require..to be pecked with a mathook or pick. 1854Bartlett Mex. Boundary II. xxix. 195 Boulders covered with rude figures of men, animals &c. all pecked in with a sharp instrument. 1874Wood Out of Doors 213 The best way to dig for insects is to peck up a circular patch about eighteen inches in diameter, throw aside the frozen clods, and then to work carefully downwards. 1894J. K. Fowler Rec. O. Country Life xvii. 204 Part of a wall was pecked down and carted away.
†b. intr. To strike with a pick or the like; to pick. Also fig. Obs. or dial.
1633T. James Voy. 78 A happy fellow,..pecking betwixt the Ice, strooke vpon it. 1691Wood Ath. Oxon. I. 379 His Genie being more prone to easier and smoother studies, than in pecking and hewing at Logick. 1883Folk-Lore Jrnl. I. 317 Away they pecked at it hard and fast.
†6. trans. To dig or root up with something sharp. Obs. or dial.
1764Mus. Rust. III. lxxvi. 338 When harvest is done, the stubble may be got up at one shilling per acre,..this is called pecking the haulm, from the method of performing the work. 1898G. W. E. Russell Collect. & Recoll. xxiii. 298 He..wandered about the lanes..pecking up primroses with a spud.
III. 7. Phrases: † to peck mood, to change one's tune (obs.). to peck a quarrel: see pick v.1
13..Seuyn Sag. (W.) 262 And sone sche gan to pekke mod. c1412Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 4347 But or þei twynned þens, þei pekkid moode.
¶ For other occasional obs. uses: see pick v.1
Add:[2.] d. transf. To type at a typewriter or similar device, esp. with an irregular, tapping sound; freq. const. at (a typewriter), along. Also trans., to type (something) out in this way.
1901in Publ. Circ. 7 Sept. 227/2 The modern printer merely pecks on a key-board. 1954Granta 6 Nov. 21/1 My boss is disconsolately pecking out a story on King's Road, Chelsea. 1957Wodehouse in Pick of Punch 9/1 As I take typewriter in hand and start to peck out these words. 1965M. Bradbury Stepping Westward i. 40 He sat down at the typewriter which she had bought him as a wedding present and pecked out his note of acceptance. 1976C. Weston Rouse Demon xxi. 96 Doggedly he kept pecking at the typewriter, scowling at the triplicate form rolled in the platen. 1977Askov (Minnesota) American 31 Mar. 8/5 Because of a leg injury..Ernest Hemingway did a large portion of his writing standing up and pecking away at his typewriter. 1977A. Cooke Six Men iii. 108 There he sat,..pecking out incomparably saucy sentences on his typewriter. 1985G. Keillor Lake Wobegon Days (1986) 253 The pure pleasure of sitting down to the keyboard and tapping letters, the brass matrices clicking into their carriage, then whirring off to take the molten lead as you peck along.
▪ VI. peck, v.2 Now chiefly dial.
Also 6 peke, 7 pecke.
[Variant of pick v.2 = pitch v.1]
1. trans. To pitch, cast, fling, throw; to jerk, move suddenly. Obs. exc. dial.
1611Cotgr., Vergette,..a boyes play with rods or wands pecked at a heape of points. 1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, v. iii. 94 You i' th' Chamblet, get vp o' th' raile, Ile pecke you o're the pales else. 1667Dryden Maiden Queen v. i, I can..walk with a courant slur, and at every step peck down my head. 1753Hogarth Anal. Beauty xvi. 217 ‘Pecking back’ her elbows (as they call it) from the waist upwards. 1890Gloucs. Gloss., Peck..2 To pitch, fling.
†2. intr. To have a pitch, to incline. Obs.
1639Ld. Digby, etc. Lett. conc. Relig. (1651) 118 He that would reduce the Church now to the form of Government in the most primitive times..would be found pecking toward the Presbytery of Scotland. 1696Lorimer Goodwin's Disc. vii. 50 Such a Man seems to be pecking towards the Socinians.
3. intr. To pitch forward; esp. of a horse: to stumble in consequence of striking the ground with his toe instead of coming down on the flat of his foot. dial. and colloq.[When said of a horse, often associated with peck n.2, v.1 5.] c1770MS. Addit. in Grose Provinc. Gloss. (1790) (E.D.D.). 1847–78Halliwell, Peck..(4) To stumble. Yorksh. 1881G. F. Jackson Shropsh. Word-bk., Peck, pick..to pitch forward, to go head first; to over-balance. ‘Mind the child dunna peck out on 'is cheer’. 1881Mrs. P. O'Donoghue Ladies on Horseback i. iii. 42 Your horse..might be apt to peck, and so give you an ugly fall. 1898A. Hope Rupert of Hentzau vi, The horse pecked and stumbled, and I fell forward on his neck. 1899Prevost Cumbld. Gloss. (E.D.D.) s.v., A horse that goes rather ‘close to the ground’ with his fore feet, will frequently touch the ground with his toe and make a stumble—such an one pecks from want of vigour.
†4. peck over the perch: see peak v.1
▪ VII. peck, v.3 U.S. regional (now chiefly hist.).
Brit. |pɛk|, U.S. |pɛk|
[‹ German regional (chiefly Austria) pecken, variant of picken to peck (see pick v.1). Compare pick v.3]
trans. = pick v.3 Also occas. intr.
1835A. B. Longstreet Georgia Scenes 77 It was a common custom of those days with boys, to dye and peck eggs on Easter Sunday. 1897Evening Times (Cumberland, Maryland) 16 Apr. 2/1 Good Friday. All hail the day. This is the time to peck eggs. 1924Washington Post 20 Apr. (Mag. section) 11/2 Before you began pecking, you had to show the whole egg, to show that you didn't have a china egg, or a wooden egg, or just half an egg, filled with lead, or anything like that. 1948Bedford (Pa.) Gaz. 15 Apr. ii. 2/3 They were seated on the bridge railing Easter morning, pecking eggs, when one lost his balance. |