lick

== English == === Etymology 1 === From Middle English likken, from Old English liccian, from Proto-West Germanic *likkōn, from Proto-Germanic *likkōną, from Proto-Indo-European *leyǵʰ- (“to lick”). Sense evolution towards violence unclear; not paralleled in any other Germanic language. See also Saterland Frisian likje, Dutch likken, German lecken; also Old Irish ligid, Latin lingō (“lick”), ligguriō (“to lap, lick up”), Lithuanian laižyti, Old Church Slavonic лизати (lizati), Ancient Greek λείχω (leíkhō), Old Armenian լիզեմ (lizem), Persian لیسیدن (lisidan), Sanskrit लेढि (léḍhi), रेढि (réḍhi). ==== Pronunciation ==== (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /lɪk/ Rhymes: -ɪk ==== Verb ==== lick (third-person singular simple present licks, present participle licking, simple past and past participle licked) (transitive) To stroke with the tongue. (transitive) To lap; to take in with the tongue. (colloquial, dated) To beat with repeated blows. (colloquial, dated) To defeat decisively, particularly in a fight. (colloquial, dated) To overcome. (vulgar, slang) To perform cunnilingus. (colloquial) To do anything partially. (of flame, waves etc.) To lap. ===== Synonyms ===== (beat): See Thesaurus:clobber ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== ==== Noun ==== lick (plural licks) The act of licking; a stroke of the tongue. The amount of some substance obtainable with a single lick. A quick and careless application of anything, as if by a stroke of the tongue. A place where animals lick minerals from the ground. A small watercourse or ephemeral stream. It ranks between a rill and a stream. (colloquial) A stroke or blow. (colloquial, chiefly in the negative) A small amount; a whit. Synonyms: see Thesaurus:modicum 2011 Allen Gregory, "Pilot" (season 1, episode 1): Allen Gregory DeLongpre: Why don't I call Jean-Michel at Il Portofino? We'll get a table outside? Ooh, I'm not getting a lick of service. Babe, can I hop on your landline? (informal) An attempt at something. (music) A short motif. (informal) A rate of speed. (Always qualified by good, fair, or a similar adjective.) (slang) An act of cunnilingus. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === Back-formation from hit a lick, which see. Ultimately from liquor. ==== Noun ==== lick (plural licks) An instance or opportunity to earn money fast, usually by illegal means, thus a heist, drug deal etc. or its victim; mostly used in phrasal verbs: hit a lick, hit licks == Jamaican Creole == === Etymology === Derived from English lick. === Verb === lick (Cassidy/JLU orthography spelling lik) to hit, stroke, or blow to lick (with the tongue) === Further reading === F. G. Cassidy, R. B. Le Page (2002), Dictionary of Jamaican English, 2nd edition, The University of the West Indies Press, →ISBN, page 273 == Yola == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /lɪk/ === Etymology 1 === From Middle English liken, from Old English līcian, from Proto-West Germanic *līkēn. ==== Alternative forms ==== licke, lik ==== Verb ==== lick like ===== Derived terms ===== alike lickweese === Etymology 2 === From Middle English likken, from Old English liccian, from Proto-West Germanic *likkōn. ==== Verb ==== lick lick === References === Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 54 & 108