reek

== English == === Pronunciation === enPR: rēk, IPA(key): /riːk/ Rhymes: -iːk Homophone: wreak === Etymology 1 === From Middle English rek, reke (“smoke”), from Old English rēc, from Proto-West Germanic *rauki, from Proto-Germanic *raukiz, from Proto-Indo-European *rowgi-. Cognate with West Frisian reek, riik, Dutch rook (“smoke”), Low German Röök, German Rauch (“smoke”), Danish røg (“smoke”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk røyk (“smoke”), Swedish rök (“smoke”), Faroese roykur (“smoke”), Icelandic reykur (“smoke”); also Lithuanian rū̃kti (“to smoke”), rū̃kas (“smoke, fog”), Albanian regj (“to tan”). ==== Noun ==== reek (countable and uncountable, plural reeks) A strong unpleasant smell. (Scotland) Vapour; steam; smoke; fume. 1768, Alexander Ross (poet), "Helenore; or, the fortunate Shepherdess": a Poem in the Broad Scoth Dialect Now, by this time, the sun begins to leam, And lit the hill-heads with his morning beam; And birds, and beasts, and folk to be a-steer, And clouds o’ reek frae lum heads to appear. ===== Derived terms ===== peat-reek reek-silver ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === From Middle English reken (“to smoke”), from Old English rēocan, from Proto-West Germanic *reukan, from Proto-Germanic *reukaną, from Proto-Indo-European *rougi-. See above. Related to Dutch ruiken, Low German rüken, German riechen, Danish ryge, Swedish ryka. ==== Verb ==== reek (third-person singular simple present reeks, present participle reeking, simple past and past participle reeked) (intransitive) To have or give off a strong, unpleasant smell. (intransitive, figuratively) To be evidently associated with something unpleasant. Synonym: smack (archaic, intransitive) To be emitted or exhaled, emanate, as of vapour or perfume. (archaic, intransitive) To emit smoke or vapour; to steam. (transitive, rare) To cause (something) to smell. [from 19th c.] (now rare, of rain or snow) To fall in such a way (e.g. particularly finely or heavily) as to resemble smoke. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 3 === From Middle English reke (“heap, pile”), from Old English hrēac. ==== Noun ==== reek (plural reeks) A pile, a heap (as of snow, hay, etc). === Etymology 4 === Probably a transferred use (after Irish cruach (“stack (of corn), pile, mountain, hill”)) of a variant of rick, with which it is cognate. ==== Noun ==== reek (plural reeks) (Ireland) A hill; a mountain. === References === Bill Griffiths, editor (2004), “reek”, in A Dictionary of North East Dialect, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear: Northumbria University Press, →ISBN. Northumberland Words, English Dialect Society, R. Oliver Heslop, 1893–4 “Reek”, in Palgrave’s Word List: Durham & Tyneside Dialect Group‎[1], archived from the original on 5 September 2024, from F[rancis] M[ilnes] T[emple] Palgrave, A List of Words and Phrases in Everyday Use by the Natives of Hetton-le-Hole in the County of Durham […] (Publications of the English Dialect Society; 74), London: Published for the English Dialect Society by Henry Frowde, Oxford University Press, 1896, →OCLC. Frank Graham, editor (1987), “REEK”, in The New Geordie Dictionary, Rothbury, Northumberland: Butler Publishing, →ISBN. Notes: === Anagrams === eker, kere == Scots == === Etymology === From Middle English rek, reke (“smoke”), from Old English rēc, rīec, from Proto-West Germanic *rauki, from Proto-Germanic *raukiz. Compare Swedish rök. === Noun === reek (plural reeks) Vapour; steam; smoke; fume A morning mist rising out of the ground. The act of smoking a pipe or cigarette, a whiff, puff. === Verb === reek (third-person singular simple present reeks, present participle reekin, simple past and past participle reekt) Of a chimney: to emit smoke, to fail to emit smoke properly, sending it back into the room. To smoke a pipe etc. To emit vapour or steam. To show anger or fury, to fume, pour out one's spleen. == West Frisian == === Alternative forms === riik === Etymology === From Old Frisian rēk, from Proto-West Germanic *rauki, from Proto-Germanic *raukiz. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /reːk/ (Hindeloopen) IPA(key): /ˈroək/ === Noun === reek c (no plural) smoke ==== Derived terms ==== rikkerich ==== Further reading ==== “reek”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011