peepn.1int.
/piːp/, U.S. /pip/ A. n.1
I. Senses relating to birds or groups of birds.
1. A flock of chickens. historical.One of many alleged group names found in late Middle English glossarial sources, but not otherwise substantiated. Apparently revived in the 20th cent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Galliformes (fowls) > family Phasianidae (pheasants, etc.) > genus Gallus (domestic fowl) > [noun] > member of (fowl) > young or chicken > brood
peep1486
cletch1691
clutch1721
1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. fvii (MED) A Pepe of chykennys.
1975 I. Sparkes Dict. Collective Nouns & Group Terms 121 Chicken, a brood, cletch, clutch, hatching, nest, parcel, peep.
2003 Centre Daily Times (Pa.) (Nexis) 30 Aug. c1 (list) A skulk of foxes. A dissimulation of birds. A peep of chickens.
2.
a. A young chicken. Cf. pee-pee n.1, peeper n.1 1. Now U.S. regional.
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the world > animals > birds > order Galliformes (fowls) > family Phasianidae (pheasants, etc.) > genus Gallus (domestic fowl) > [noun] > member of (fowl) > young or chicken
chickenOE
chicka1398
poulta1425
chicken birdc1450
peepera1586
peepling1594
game chicken1674
peep1688
spring chicken1765
clucker1779
chickabiddy1785
chicklet1836
chickie1851
wing-chick1885
pee-pee1890
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. 311/1 A Cock [is called] first a Peep, then a Chicken, then a Poot.
1931 Amer. Speech 7 20 Peeps. Little chickens.
1943 Sun (Baltimore) 10 Aug. 10/3 The Boonsboro Times reports the birth there of a ‘peep’ with no eyes and no sign of an eye.
1993 Pittsburgh (Pa.) Post-Gaz. (Nexis) 10 Apr. b1 After a few weeks, the cute little pastel peeps would start turning into not-so-cute chickens.
2003 Intelligencer Jrnl. (Lancaster, Pa.) (Nexis) 23 Apr. b6 Companies that contract with Meck to raise chickens from peeps to full-grown layers wanted him to be able to produce at least 100,000 birds at a time.
b. U.S. Any of several small sandpipers. Formerly also: † the clapper rail, Rallus longirostris (obsolete).
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the world > animals > birds > order Gruiformes > [noun] > family Rallidae (rail) > genus Rallus
peep1794
the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > family Scolopacidae (snipes, etc.) > [noun] > member of
sandpiper1674
stone-runner1681
sand bird1709
piper1793
tattler1831
water junket1833
tip-up1848
kitty-needy1850
weet-weet1852
peep1864
sand-runner1894
1794 J. Morse Amer. Geogr. 168 Peep, Rallus Carolinus.
1838 T. Nuttall in J. J. Audubon Ornithol. Biogr. IV. 183 The Peeps, as they have been called, are seen in the salt marshes around Boston, as early as the 8th of July.
1864 Daily Tel. 27 July A ‘Peep’ is a very abject and idiotic little bird found in New England... He is given to staggering about in an imbecile and helpless manner... The..New England mind..has long since endorsed the locution ‘as tight as a peep’, to express an utter state of tipsification.
1873 H. W. Longfellow Prel. in Aftermath i. 5 The plover, peep, and sanderling.
1940 I. N. Gabrielson & S. G. Jewett Birds Oregon 262 Like other small sandpipers, these little ‘peeps’ are consummate masters of the art of synchronized motion.
1990 Birder's World Aug. 45/1 Several small Sandpiper species, known as ‘peeps’, Pectoral Sandpipers, and Wilson's Phalaropes are common as well.
c. British regional. A pipit; esp. the meadow pipit, Anthus pratensis. Now rare.
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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > non-arboreal (larks, etc.) > [noun] > family Motacillidae > genus Anthus > anthus pratensis (titlark)
titlingc1550
linget1552
lark1602
chit1610
meadowlark1611
cucknel1655
titlark1666
cheeper1684
moss-cheeper1684
old-field lark1805
ling-bird1814
tit-pipit1817
meadow pipit1825
meadow titling1828
furze-lark1854
peep1859
1859 Zoologist 17 6596 Both these birds [sc. Meadow Pipit and Rock Pipit] are known here only by the name of ‘peep’.
1885 C. Swainson Provinc. Names Brit. Birds 45 Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis)... Peep (Forfar.).
II. Senses relating to sounds or utterances.
3.
a. A feeble, high-pitched sound made by a young bird, mouse, etc.; a cheep, a faint squeak.
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the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > other vocal sounds > [noun] > squeak
peep?a1500
peeping1552
squeak1700
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Paddock & Mouse l. 2783 in Poems (1981) 103 Scho [sc. the mouse] ran, cryand with mony pietuous peip.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1959) vi. v. 106 The todir ansueris with a petuus peip.
1562 J. Heywood Epigr. i. xxviii I neuer heard..So muche as one peepe of one mouse.
1861 G. W. Henry Tell Tale Rag I. 174 The chickens gave one faint peep as they came out.
1884 E. P. Roe Nature's Serial Story vi The first faint peep that should announce the senior chick.
1986 Chicago Tribune (Nexis) 4 May 9 c A 400-foot chicken house that soon will hear the peeps of game birds.
2003 Philadelphia Inquirer (Nexis) 27 May When they made barely a peep, the solicitor commented that the chickens were ‘quieter and better-behaved than many children’.
b. Chiefly in negative contexts: a slight sound or utterance; a single remark or communication; an expression of complaint. (not) to play peep (Scottish): (not) to utter a sound.
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the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > quality of voice > [noun] > power or range of voice > small or weak voice > utterance in
peep1808
pipsqueak1927
1808 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. at Pepe He dares na play peep... He dares not mutter.
1894 P. H. Hunter James Inwick p. iii The verra weans dursna play peep till he was düne.
1908 R. W. Chambers Firing Line xxiv. 411 Nobody's heard a peep from you. What on earth do you mean by this?
1928 S. Lewis Man who knew Coolidge i. 13 I'd never made a peep about how maybe it'd be a good stunt for him to go out and maybe earn a little money on the side.
1954 Picture Post 2 Jan. 34/3 One more peep out of you, Mister, and I'll get the boys to push you and your b—— stall in the oggin.
1992 R. H. Limbaugh Way Things ought to Be xvii. 191 The feminists came in to meet with the management, and they rolled over without a peep.
c. A brief, high-pitched sound produced mechanically or electronically; a beep.
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the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > shrill quality > [noun] > thin and shrill sound > bleep or pip
pip-pip1909
meep1927
beep-beep1929
pip1929
bleep1953
bleeping1957
peep1957
wheep1984
1957 Electronic Engin. 29 127/1 It is a blocking oscillator of simple design, and makes a ‘peep’ each time the heart beats.
1971 Times 20 Dec. 2/5 The pips of the BBC time signal are to be joined by a peep at midnight on December 31.
1995 Miami Herald (Nexis) 20 Oct. 1 b The friendly peeps of the car horns are sounding almost constantly.
2002 BusinessWorld (Philippines) (Nexis) 30 Aug. The contraptions [sc. radio pagers] were capable of emitting only two types of sound (as in peep-peep-peep-peep or a long peep).
B. int.
Representing the feeble, high-pitched sound or cheep typically made by a young bird, mouse, etc. In later use also: representing a high-pitched mechanical or electronic beep. (Frequently reduplicated).
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the world > animals > by noises > voice or sound made by animal > [noun] > whistle or chirp
peepa1500
cheepa1758
whistle1784
chirp1801
chip1808
a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (BL Add. 9066) (1879) 364 A mouse on a tyme felle into a barell of newe ale..The Cate come beside, and herde the mouse Crie in the barme, ‘pepe! pepe!’ for she myght not come out.
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Two Mice l. 308 in Poems (1981) 15 How fair ȝe, sister? Cry peip, quhair euer ȝe be!
c1500 (?a1437) Kingis Quair (1939) lvii (MED) Now, suete bird, say ones to me ‘pepe’ [rhyme slepe].
1636 W. Prynne Unbishoping of Timothy & Titus To Rdr. 8 As a Poppet, which springeth up and downe, and cryeth Peepe, Peepe.
1823 C. Lamb Praise of Chimney-sweepers in Elia 249 Their little professional notes sounding like the peep peep of a young sparrow.
1880 R. Jefferies Round about Great Estate 91 Then the hedge-sparrows..cry ‘peep-peep’ mournfully.
1981 B. Head Serowe p. ix It is always one bird that starts the day for me, outside my window,..just a kind of hesitant ‘peep-peep’.
2004 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 3 Jan. 29 Peep, peep, peep, peep, peep! The alarm interrupts Tatworld's training for the big sleepover.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
peepn.2
/piːp/, U.S. /pip/ 1.
a. The first appearance of daylight or of the sun; esp. in peep of dawn, peep of the morning. Also (occasionally): a tiny speck of light.Cf. also peep of day n.Recorded earliest in day-peep n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > day and night > day or daytime > dawn > [noun]
aristc825
dawingc900
dayeOE
day-rimOE
day-redOE
mornOE
lightOE
lightingOE
dawning1297
day-rowa1300
grekinga1300
uprista1300
dayninga1325
uprisingc1330
sun arisingc1350
springc1380
springingc1380
day-springa1382
morrowingc1384
dayingc1400
daylighta1425
upspring1471
aurora1483
sky1515
orienta1522
breaking of the day1523
daybreak1530
day-peep1530
morrow dayc1530
peep of the morning1530
prick of the day?1533
morning1535
day-breaking1565
creek1567
sunup1572
breach of the day1579
break of day or morn1584
peep of day1587
uprise1594
dawna1616
day-dawn1616
peep of dawn1751
strike of day1790
skreigh1802
sunbreak1822
day-daw1823
screech1829
dayclean1835
sun dawn1835
first light1838
morning-red1843
piccaninny sun1846
piccaninny daylightc1860
gloaming1873
glooming1877
sparrow-fart1886
crack1887
sun-spring1900
piccaninny dawn1936
the world > matter > light > light emitted in particular manner > [noun] > spark or glittering light
sprankle1398
sparkle1490
spunkc1540
sparka1542
scintil1599
glitter1602
star1609
stricture1628
spinther1641
scintillation1646
fanglea1657
scintilla1661
sparkleta1687
twinkle1689
spangle1821
spink1829
crown jewel1851
twink1870
peep1882
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 804/1 At daye pype, a la pipe du jour.
1579 G. Fenton tr. F. Guicciardini Hist. Guicciardin xiii. 743 He came by the peepe of the morning to the toppe of the mounteine.
1616 J. Lane Contin. Squire's Tale viii. 101 From morninges peepe till high midd noone.
1751 T. Gray Elegy xxv. 10 Oft have we seen him at the peep of dawn.
1790 W. Sotheby Poems i. 12 At the peep of dawn The traveller bounds with active spirits light.
1827 W. Taylor Poems 95 The lav'rock by the morning peep May wake his brithers frae their sleep.
1882 R. L. Stevenson New Arabian Nights II. 106 There was no light..but a little peep from a lamp.
1950 Times 25 May 6/5 Almost at peep of dawn R. D. Chapman..had murdered Whitelaw with a score of three under 4s.
1996 Canad. Jewish News (Nexis) 19 Dec. 11 I used to see from the roof of my house every day at the peep of dawn, the Brook Arnon in which I used to bathe.
b. An act of peeping; a quick look or glance, esp. through a narrow opening or out of a place of concealment; a surreptitious or furtive glance.In quot. 1677 referring to the game of peekaboo.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > other children's games > [noun] > bo-peep
bo-peep1528
bo-keik1535
peekaboo1600
hity-tity1609
titbore tatbore1614
peep-bo1660
peep1677
teet-boa1774
hide-and-peep1832
peep-eye1887
teetie-bo1892
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > a look or glance > [noun] > peep or keek
peek1636
peep1730
pry1750
keeka1774
deek1833
skeet1844
toot1865
1677 R. Gilpin Dæmonol. Sacra iii. xviii. 153 When Satan makes nice with Men..He Plays at Peep with them, that he may make them more earnest to follow him.
1730 J. Swift Traulus II 6 Hence that wild suspicious Peep, Like a Rogue that steals a Sheep.
1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 779 He contrives A peep at Nature, when he can no more.
1786 F. Burney Diary & Lett. (1842) III. i. 8 When I come to town I shall never get a peep at you.
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby iv. 27 His companion took another peep at the little boy on the trunk.
1887 H. Caine Deemster I. xi. 234 When we're lying at anchor,..and the stars just makin' a peep, and the moon, and the mar-fire.
1938 T. H. White Sword in Stone i. x. 157 The giant gave him a sly peep out of the corner of his eye.
1997 Church Times 9 May 14/2 I could..charge a fiver a peep at an effigy of Edward, King of the East Saxons.
c. A glimpse; a momentary or partial view of something.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > sight of something > [noun] > glimpse
sightc1275
gliff1570
glemish1576
glent?1577
glimpse1580
interview1610
catch1775
styme1776
vizy1785
peep1793
snatch1816
waff1818
glint1838
1793 J. Farington Diary 11 Aug. (1978) I. 10 The stage from Canterbury to Dover is in many parts Hilly, with a few distant peeps of the Sea and Dover Castle.
1803 J. Boaden Maid of Bristol i. i. 2 We..strain our eyes for a month together, to catch even the first peep of his vessel.
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin II. xix. 8 You've only seen a peep through the curtain.
1873 H. B. Tristram Land of Moab vii. 124 The nearer gorge..afforded a magnificent peep.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xv. [Circe] 506 The scanty, daringly short skirt, riding up at the knee to show a peep of white pantelette, is a potent weapon.
1975 M. Duffy Capital iii. 123 The houses look so much better for it, re-plastered and painted with coy peeps of Habitat curtaining at the windows.
2001 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 8 Sept. 3 Back then, men were excited by the glimpse of an ankle and a peep of frilly bloomer.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > dice-playing > [noun] > cheating
cogc1555
coggingc1555
slura1643
knapa1658
topping1663
petard1664
prick-penny1664
knapping1671
palming1671
gammoning1700
top1709
eclipse1711
peep1711
waxing1726
sightingc1752
1711 J. Puckle Club 22 Gamesters have the top, the peep, eclipse, thumbing. Note. Shaking the dice so forward in the box, that by an apparent face, they know when to clap down, so as to throw the reverse.
3.
a. slang (also English regional in early use). An eye. Cf. peeper n.2 3.
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the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > eye > [noun]
eyeeOE
the fleshly eyec1175
balla1400
window1481
glazier1567
light1580
crystal1592
orb1594
glass1597
optic1601
twinkler1605
lampa1616
watchera1616
wink-a-peeps1615
visive organa1652
ogle1673
peeper1691
goggle?1705
visual orb1725
orbit1727
winker1734
peep?1738
daylights?1747
eyewinker1808
keeker1808
glimmer1814
blinker1816
glim1820
goggler1821
skylight1824
ocular1825
mince pie1857
saucer1858
mince1937
?1738 Moll King (engraving) (Yale Univ., Lewis Walpole Libr. 738.00.00.03+) (caption) I'll derrick, my Blood, if I tout my Mort, I'll tip her a Snitch about yePeeps and Nasous.
1847 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words II. 612/1 Peep, an eye. Somerset.
1848 ‘N. Buntline’ Mysteries & Miseries N.Y. ii. x. 64 They does keep their peeps purty vide hopen.
1903 A. H. Lewis Boss 222 They'll be right, while Gothecore's got his peeps on 'em.
1989 D. Okrent & S. Wulf Baseball Anecd. i. 30 The disease never robbed him of his batting eyes, his ‘lamps’ or ‘peeps’ as he alternately called them.
b. A small opening through which to peep or look; spec. the peep sight of a rifle.
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the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > an opening or aperture > [noun] > small opening
buttonhole1599
snip1600
pinhole1617
pink1667
to pass through the eye of a needle (also a needle's eye)1720
peepa1825
needle-hole1847
keyhole1900
a1825 Lamkin iii, in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1886) II. iv. xciii. 323/1 At the sma peep of a window Balankin crap in.
1991 Petersen's Bowhunting Aug. 3/3 (advt.) The latex tube..automatically aligns the peep to your eye so you'll never miss a shot again.
1994 Trav. Guide 1994 Newfoundland & Labrador 112 After closing the peeps and lid, I turn the kiln on medium.
4. colloquial. A private investigator or spy, esp. one who plants secret cameras; (also) such a camera used for surveillance. Cf. peeper n.2 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > instruments for observing > [noun] > for surveillance
peep1974
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > secret observation, spying > procedures used in spying > [noun] > private detection > person engaged in
private detective1857
eye1874
Pinkerton1877
ferret1891
consultant1894
private investigator1894
Sherlock Holmes1896
operative1901
Sherlock1903
Sherlockian1903
Pink1904
peeper1908
private dick1912
op1924
shamus1925
private eye1938
PI1953
peep1974
1974 R. B. Parker Godwulf Manuscript x. 78 Don't ride me, Peep, you'll find yourself looking up at the snow.
1975 Observer 23 Nov. (Colour Suppl.) 25/3 Peep, a specialist in surreptitious photography.
1976 ‘A. Hall’ Kobra Manifesto iv. 52 Fitzalan was going to have his work cut out to make a rendezvous with me and keep the peep on the objective at the same time.
1977 J. Gardner Werewolf Trace xxi. 177 The peeps were closed-circuit television cameras, remote-controlled and dug into the walls.
Compounds
C1. † peep by-play n. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1659 R. Wild Poems (1870) 10 Dark-lantern language, and his peep by-play.
C2.
peep-glass n. now rare a telescope.
ΚΠ
1892 J. Lumsden Sheep-head & Trotters 196 Can ye wi' thy peep-glass explore The all eterne?
peep hawk n. Irish English (northern) a kestrel.
ΚΠ
1880 W. H. Patterson Gloss. Words Antrim & Down 77 Peep hawk, the kestrel.
peep joint n. U.S. slang a place where striptease is performed.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > place of amusement or entertainment > [noun] > striptease establishment
strip joint1951
peep joint1960
strip club1960
gentlemen's club1974
1960 News Chron. 23 Sept. 10/1 Jayne is..head stripper in the Pink Flamingo, a gilded peep-joint.
2001 Baltimore Afro-Amer. (Nexis) 27 Apr. 5 I saw the glittering maze of neon lights on the Block and the White-owned strip clubs and peep joints with guys outside hawking customers.
peep machine n. a device for viewing a peep show.
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society > leisure > entertainment > place of amusement or entertainment > fairground or amusement park > [noun] > other side-shows > machine for viewing
peep machine1938
1938 G. Greene Brighton Rock iii. ii. 117 The motor-track, the shooting booths and peep machines.
1998 Newsday (N.Y.) (Nexis) 26 Feb. a6 Men..popped dollar tokens into the peep machines at the rear of the store, where naked women danced.
peep nicking-machine n. rare a tool for making the peep sight in a rifle.
ΚΠ
a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 665/1 Peep Nicking-Machine, a special gun tool which forms the peep in the leaf of a rifle sight.
peep stone n. a stone or crystal used for divination.
ΚΠ
1857 J. Hyde Mormonism xi. 263 It was not at all a new thing for Smith..to pretend to the power of seeing where gold was by the use of a ‘peep-stone’.
1886 Overland Monthly Oct. 430/1 ‘What is a peep-stone?’ asked Thompson. ‘It is a ball of glass shaped like an egg,’ said Mrs. Bowers, ‘and to be a good one, it should be perfectly transparent.’
1990 Times Lit. Suppl. 21 Sept. 1003/3 During the creative ferment of the early nineteenth century,..Mormons looked through peep stones, had commerce with angels and worked miracles.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
peepn.3
/piːp/, U.S. /pip/ U.S. slang (chiefly Military).
A type of jeep, usually smaller than the standard size.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor car > [noun] > specific four-wheel drive car
jeep1941
peep1941
Land-Rover1948
rover1961
Hummer1983
Chelsea tractor1994
1941 N.Y. Herald Tribune 28 June 14/3 Peep (son of a jeep) means a bantam car.
1941 N.Y. Times 26 Oct. xx. 3/2 The one-half ton ‘jeep’ command reconnaissance car, its name taken from the model designation ‘G.P.’, and one-quarter ton ‘peep’ reconnaissance cars are combat vehicles.
1953 M. Bury Rolling Wheels 242 G.I.'s called a command car a jeep, called what you call a jeep, a peep—and bicycles were called creeps!
1962 Amer. Speech 37 78 The peep proved as versatile as the jeep, and had the advantages of a lower silhouette, less gasoline consumption, cheaper production, and the occupation of less cargo space when shipped.
2002 Rocky Mountain News (Denver) (Nexis) 8 Jan. 6 a For reasons never explained to me, the Armored Forces, of which I was one, referred to Jeeps as Peeps.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
peepv.1
/piːp/, U.S. /pip/α. late Middle English–1500s pepe, 1500s pep, 1500s–1600s peepe, 1500s– peep; Scottish pre-1700 peepe, pre-1700 peip.
β. Scottish pre-1700 pipe, pre-1700 pype.
I. Senses related to emerging or protruding.
1.
a. intransitive. To emerge or protrude a very short distance into view; to begin to appear; spec. (of a day, morning, etc.) to dawn (now English regional). Also: to appear only partially, as if looking over or out from behind something. Frequently with out.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > visibility > be visible [verb (intransitive)] > appear or become visible > slightly
beak?c1225
peekc1460
peepa1475
peer1568
glimpse1663
teeta1866
a1475 in F. J. Furnivall Jyl of Breyntford's Test. (1871) 30 (MED) Owre syre breche, when hit is torn, Hys pentyll pepythe owte beforn, Lyke a warbrede.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Jer. vi. 1 A plage and a greate misery pepeth out [a1382 Wycliffite, E.V. is seen; 1611 appeareth; 1885 R.V. looketh forth] from the North.
1595 Blanchardine & Eglantine ii. I ij When the day began to peepe, they tooke their horses and rode to Tormaday.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) i. iv. 53 No Vessell can peepe forth: but 'tis as soone Taken as seene. View more context for this quotation
1637 J. Milton Comus 6 Ere..The nice Morne on th'Indian steepe From her cabin'd loop hole peepe.
1711 A. Pope Ess. Crit. 15 Hills peep o'er Hills, and Alps on Alps arise.
1747 Gentleman's Mag. Aug. 374/2 A woman with her head peeping out of a sack, could hardly..make a more Grotesque figure.
1770 O. Goldsmith Deserted Village 330 Sweet as the primrose peeps beneath the thorn.
1839 C. Darwin in R. Fitzroy & C. Darwin Narr. Surv. Voy. H.M.S. Adventure & Beagle III. xiv. 311 Beautifully represented little coves and bays; and here and there a solitary hillock peeping up.
1890 J. D. Robertson Gloss. Words County of Gloucester 111 Peep, to dawn. ‘In March it begins to peep about 6 o'clock.’
1936 C. Day Lewis Friendly Tree v. 74 Evelyn and Richard glanced at each other with embarrassment. There was some family skeleton peeping out here.
1973 J. Wainwright Devil you Don't 121 A pensioner—gnarled hand gripping a walking-stick, grey hair peeping from beneath an old-fashioned flat cap.
1990 L. Ngcobo And they didn't Die ix. 106 The calf was well over a year old: in fact, little stumps of horns were just peeping out.
b. intransitive. Of a trait, ideology, etc.: to reveal a little of itself, without conscious intent. Frequently with out.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > manifestation > [verb (intransitive)] > slightly
to prove wellc1387
peep1579
smell1837
to come through1868
1579 W. Wilkinson Confut. Familye of Loue Brief Descr. sig. ☛.iiij The doctrine of HN. began to pepe out.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) iv. iv. 148 Your youth And the true blood which peepes fairely through't. View more context for this quotation
1653 Bp. J. Taylor Ενιαυτος: Course of Serm. i. xxi. 278 No man can long put on a person and act a part, but his evill manners will peep through the corners of the white robe.
1717 A. Pope Elegy Unfortunate Lady in Wks. 359 Most souls, 'tis true, but peep out once an age, Dull sullen pris'ners in the body's cage.
1826 C. Lamb in New Monthly Mag. 16 259 The way the retired statesman peeps out in the essays.
1881 M. E. Herbert Edith 8 Little indications of selfishness and heartlessness would peep out now and then.
1987 R. Berthoud Life Henry Moore ii. 39 The tone of his letters to Miss Gostick is generally jocular, but sometimes a gentler side peeps out.
c. intransitive. Of a plant, shoot, bud, etc.: to begin to show itself above the soil; to sprout.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > by growth or development > grow or vegetate [verb (intransitive)] > show above the ground
peep1593
to look up1657
1593 T. Nashe Christs Teares f. 62v Those blossomes which peepe foorth in the beginning of the Spring, are frost-bitten and die.
1664 J. Evelyn Sylva (1679) 10 Your plants beginning now to peep, should be earthed up,..especially, after breaking of the greater Frosts.
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry (1721) II. 9 When your Plants begin to peep, Earth them up.
a1735 Earl of Haddington Short Treat. Forest-trees 16 in J. G. Reid Scots Gardiner (1756) It [sc. hornbeam] lies as long in the seed-bed before it peeps as the Ash.
1873 W. C. Bryant New & Old i Flowers, that were buds but yesterday, Peep from the ground where'er I pass.
1977 J. Lees-Milne Diary 27 Jan. in Through Wood & Dale (2001) 146 Snowdrops peeping up, not yet bursting, and still in bud.
2001 Evening Standard (Nexis) 7 Mar. 37 Fertiliser like blood, fish and bone or Growmore..is best applied at about a handful to the square yard just as the shoots are peeping through.
2. † b. transitive. To employ (one's eye) in peeping. (In quot. figurative). Obsolete. rare.
a. transitive. To cause to appear partially; to protrude (one's head, nose, etc.) a very short distance into view. Chiefly with out; also with in, up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > visibility > be or make visible [verb (transitive)] > cause to appear > slightly
teeta1527
peepc1565
peer1594
c1565 J. Jeffere Bugbears I. i. 6 I know thou didst here me when I calde thee... And yett woldst not answare nor ones pep owt thie hed.
1573 G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 34 A flower began to peep out his hed.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 i. ii. 213 There is not a dangerous action can peepe out his head but I am thrust vpon it. View more context for this quotation
1670 J. Dryden Tyrannick Love iii. i. 19 This Love..Peeps out his coward head to dare my age.
1761 F. Sheridan Mem. Miss Sidney Bidulph II. 151 The doctor..proposed his questions by the footman, who just peeped his nose in at the door.
1788 Disinterested Love I. 115 Hiding himself in the belfry, and occasionally peeping a bit of his head out.
1870 Littell's Living Age 145 190 On the servant peeping her head out of her upper window, she saw our peasant in his shirt-sleeves.
1988 Advertising Age (Nexis) 5 Sept. 20 ‘Is it ready yet?’ Another man peeps his head out: ‘Not yet,’ he says.
2002 Mirror (Nexis) 27 Sept. 21 Private Mischief peeps his head up from behind his trench and suggests a trip out with Sergeant Devilry.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (transitive)] > peep
tootc1200
underpeepa1616
peep1818
1818 J. Keats Endymion i. 44 A well, Whose patient level peeps its crystal eye Right upward.
II. Senses relating to looking.† 4. intransitive. slang. To sleep. Obsolete.
3. intransitive. To look through a narrow aperture, as through half-shut eyelids or through a crevice, chink, or small opening into a larger space; (hence) to look quickly or furtively from a vantage point; to steal a glance. Also in figurative context.In some figurative quots. difficult to distinguish from sense 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (intransitive)] > peep
beak?c1225
toot?c1225
prya1350
peekc1390
touta1400
keekc1405
peepa1500
outpeep1600
twire1602
teet1710
underpeep1827
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > sound [verb (intransitive)] > sound unmelodious
peepa1500
wail1852
dissonate1909
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > sound of instruments > sound [verb (intransitive)] > shrilly
peepa1500
tweedle1684
tweedle-dee1837
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1897–1973) 135 ‘Nay, do way, he slepys.’..‘Me thynk he pepys.’
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ecclus. xxi. 23 A foole wyll pepe in at ye wyndow [1611 peepe in at the doore] in to the house.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. i. sig. A8v And low, where dawning day doth neuer peepe, His dwelling is.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice i. i. 52 Some that will euermore peepe through their eyes, And laugh like Parrats at a bagpyper. View more context for this quotation
c1645 W. Atkins Relation of Journey (1994) 252 They chance to take a man talking, visitting or peepeing at theire wives.
1673 W. Cave Primitive Christianity iii. ii. 281 No light but what peeped in from a few little cranies.
1693 R. Bentley Boyle Lect. viii. 5 Those remote and vast Bodies were formed, not merely upon Our account to be peept at through an Optick Glass.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 187 I began to take Courage, and to peep abroad again.
a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) III. iii. 26 The little bird that peeps in at the window will tell of it.
1843 T. Carlyle Past & Present ii. vi. 95 One peeps direct into the very bosom of that Twelfth Century.
1883 T. Hardy in Graphic Summer 13/2 The footman..peeped through the keyhole after closing the door, to learn what the packet meant.
1948 A. Paton Cry, Beloved Country i. vii. 46 Her children hid behind her skirts, and peeped out at the visitors.
1991 J. Smiley Thousand Acres xxxiv. 272 I peeped from behind the curtain. The chairs they had found were between me and the door. I drew back again into the gloom of the booth.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (intransitive)]
sleepc825
swotherc1000
lib1567
peep1699
caulk1818
to pound one's ear (also pillow)1894
flop1907
to catch some z's1963
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew As the Cull Peeps let's Mill him, when the Man is a Sleep, let's Kill him.
5. Chiefly in African-American usage.
a. transitive. With out. To detect, look at, scrutinize.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > finding or discovery > find or discover [verb (transitive)] > find by other specific means
to look out?1496
to turn up1523
to bolt out1553
quafer1694
peep1819
poke-out1874
1819 W. Cobbett Year's Resid. U.S.A. ii. xiv. 291 Telling him the story of Baker's peeping out the name, marked on the sack, which the old woman was wearing as a petticoat.
1978 J. Webb Fields of Fire xxvii. 239 I say we go back and pick up old papasan and take him to the scene, man... Peep him out, see what scares him.
1989 B. M. Cooper & T. L. Wright New Jack City (film script) (O.E.D. Archive) 11 Peep this out. Gee Money pulls a tiny vial from the jacket of his sweatsuit.
2003 Cinema Jrnl. Winter 34 Tisean astutely peeps out a potential problem as she lies on the floor with the other bank patrons.
b. transitive. To observe; (also) to check out, assess.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (transitive)]
seeOE
to see with (also at) eyeOE
yseeOE
bihowec1000
ofseeOE
thorough-seeOE
beholdc1175
bihedec1275
heedc1275
witec1320
conceivea1398
observe1560
view?1570
eye1582
oculate1609
survey1615
snilch1676
deek1825
peep1954
1954 E. Hunter Jungle Kids (1956) 64 You like Junie, kid? She tells me you peeped her stripping.
1972 T. C. Bambara Gorilla, my Love 175 He'd rather have his woman runnin in and out of hotels all over town with everyone peepin his action.
1988 I. Reed New Coll. Poems 145 I peeped his messenger Speeding through the gates of The Winter Palace.
2002 Pride May 121/1 If you don't believe me, peep his current single.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
peepv.2
/piːp/, U.S. /pip/ 1.
a. intransitive. To utter the faint, high-pitched sound of a young bird or mouse; to cheep, chirp, squeak.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by noises > voice or sound made by animal > make sound [verb (intransitive)] > whistle or chirp
whistlec1000
wlitec1200
pipec1275
chirkc1386
chirtc1386
pulea1398
whitter1513
cheepa1522
peep1534
churtle1570
chipper1593
crick1601
grill1688
crink1781
yeep1834
chip1868
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > other vocal sounds > [verb (intransitive)] > squeak
pipec1275
squeak1387
peep1534
1534 J. Heywood Play of Loue sig. Aiii Were it but a mouse lo sholde pepe in your ere.
1566 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure I. xx. f. 43 The yonge Larkes..peping and chirping about their mother.
1611 Bible (King James) Isa. x. 14 There was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped [1885 R.V. chirped] . View more context for this quotation
1678 D. Manly Hexham's Woorden-boeck (rev. ed.) Piepen als een muys, to Peep like a mous.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) To Piep, to cry like a chicken.
1785 W. Cowper Task iv. v. 67 The sparrows peep... Well they eye The scatter'd grain.
1820 E. Elliott Peter Faultless 218 A mouse peep'd, and scarce could trust his eyes.
1883 Harper's Mag. Aug. 378/2 A brood of chickens peeped in a coop in one corner.
1943 R. Ellison That I Had Wings in Flying Home & Other Stories (1996) 59 Then he was seeing Buster tossing the chicks..seeing the cloth billow out umbrella-like as the chicks peeped excitedly underneath.
1991 R. R. McCammon Boy's Life i. iii. 41 We sat there as the stars slowly wheeled their course, and soon the birds of morning began to peep.
b. intransitive. To make a shrill sound with a musical instrument. rare before 20th cent.
ΚΠ
?1553 (c1501) G. Douglas Palice of Honour (London) 361 in Shorter Poems (2003) 30 Proportion soundis dulcest hard I pepe [1579 Edinb. peip].
1989 K. Bosley tr. Kalevala xxxiii. 463 He peeped upon his pipe He tooted upon his trump.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > manner of speaking > speak in a particular manner [verb (intransitive)] > shrilly or in a weak voice
creakc1440
shrillc1440
peep1567
chirp1604
pipe1675
peek1808
cheep1813
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > quality of voice > [verb (intransitive)] > utter in thin or weak voice
shrillc1440
peep1567
chirp1604
peek1808
cheep1813
the mind > emotion > humility > be humble [verb (intransitive)]
lowc1175
to be of low sail1390
peep1736
to sing small1738
1567 T. Drant tr. Horace Pistles in tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie sig. G.viijv Its twyse so leeue to me, To write a storye loftelie, and stowte worded to be, As low to creepe, and poorely peepe.
1568 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1928) III. 82 Peipand peurly wt peteous granis.
1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) II. 1904/1 Frier Bucknham..was so dashed, that neuer after he durst peepe out of the Pulpit agaynst M. Latymer.
1611 Bible (King James) Isa. viii. 19 Wizards that peepe [R.V. chirp] and that mutter. View more context for this quotation
1631 B. Jonson Staple of Newes ii. iv. 49 in Wks. II O! the onely Oracle That euer peept, or spake out of a dublet.
1699 J. Borland et al. Let. 23 Sept. in Darien Papers (1849) 158 Wher, if any durst peep to complain therof, were hiss'd at.
1721 J. Kelly Compl. Coll. Scotish Prov. 373 You are not so poor as you peep.
1736 Disc. Witchcraft 12 These Oraclers, when they pretend to receive Answers from the Dead, would piep like Chickens.
1802 J. Leyden Ld. Soulis xlvi in W. Scott Minstrelsy Sc. Border Young Branxholm peep'd and puirly spake, ‘O sic a death is no for me!’
1863 W. Phillips Speeches vi. 136 No one has ever peeped or muttered.
3.
a. intransitive. slang (chiefly U.S.). To betray a confidence; to act as an informer. Cf. squeal v. 3.
ΚΠ
1911 G. Bronson-Howard Enemy to Society 289 If you ever ‘peep’ about one of us I'll cut your heart out.
1913 T. Roosevelt Autobiogr. iv. 142 Interruption? Well, I guess not! Seth had sent round word that if any son of a gun peeped he'd kill him!
1950 H. E. Goldin Dict. Amer. Underworld Lingo 154/2 Peep, to betray associates; to give information to the police.
1996 New Republic (Nexis) 8 July 16 The Pentagon this year will get 90 percent of its average cold war funding..neither party will peep, in part because they know defense money guarantees jobs.
b. transitive. To divulge (information); to reveal indiscreetly, blab.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > informing on or against > inform on or against [verb (transitive)]
wrayc725
meldeOE
bimeldena1300
forgabc1394
to blow up?a1400
outsay?a1400
detectc1449
denounce1485
ascry1523
inform1526
promote1550
peach1570
blow1575
impeach1617
wheedle1710
split1795
snitch1801
cheep1831
squeal1846
to put away1858
spot1864
report1869
squawk1872
nose1875
finger1877
ruck1884
to turn over1890
to gag on1891
shop1895
pool1907
run1909
peep1911
pot1911
copper1923
finger1929
rat1932
to blow the whistle on1934
grass1936
rat1969
to put in1975
turn1977
1911 J. London Let. 6 Mar. (1966) 340 The convicts are few and far between who come out and dare to peep a word of what they know.
1992 Playboy Apr. 162/2 Kathryn, whose throat he swears that he will cut if she peeps a word of what happened.
2002 Indianapolis Star (Nexis) 11 Aug. 3 d They moan about the current situation but don't peep a word about the years they did not have as many claims and profits were good.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.31941
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