Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To peek; peep.
  • noun A look, especially a quick one; a peek.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To peep; look pryingly.
  • noun A peep.
  • noun One who keeks or peeks; in the clothing trade, one who spies out the newest designs from rival dealers and reports them to his employer.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To peek; peep.
  • noun A look, especially a quick one; a peek.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English kiken, keken, perhaps from Middle Dutch kiken.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English kyken, kiken, keken ("to look, peep"), possibly from Middle Dutch kieken or Middle Low German kīken ("to look, peep"), from Old Saxon *kīkan ("to look"), from Proto-Germanic *kīkanan (“to look”). Cognate with Dutch kijken ("to look"), Low German kīken ("to look"), German kucken, gucken ("to look"), Danish kigge, kikke ("to look, peep"), Swedish kika ("to peep, peek, keek, pry"), Icelandic kikja ("to look, check"). Perhaps related to kick.

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Examples

  • And leetle mans keek an 'keek an' keek, an 'bime by, long time, long way, keek beeg mans into my cabin.

    GRIT OF WOMEN 2010

  • And leetle mans keek beeg mans, an 'him cry like, vot you call -- ah! vot you call ze kid.

    GRIT OF WOMEN 2010

  • March 1, 2008 at 6:49 pm ur leeping crane tekneek iz no match fur mi dubbel rowndhowse keek.

    ur hikkups - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? 2008

  • People are trying to keek their jobs and homes, and noone wants to hear any more about a crackpot preacher.

    Live Blog from the Anchor Desk 10/6/08 2008

  • When Arnold Schwarzenegger looks at the camera in a ludicrous Mr. Freeze outfit and growls, "Eets tahm to keek ice," I am bowled over by a landslide of revelations: That someone had to write that line, thinking it was good enough to be on the big screen.

    "A Good Argument" 2006

  • May 7, 2008 at 10:27 pm wee keek it nao? zauberflote says:

    The day the barking - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? 2008

  • A quarter mile doon, the wersh blinterin sun forced itsel in throu the UV filter gless at the corridor heid, illuminatin the faces an keek panels o the first fifty Omegas.

    Archive 2004-09-01 Ray Girvan 2004

  • A quarter mile doon, the wersh blinterin sun forced itsel in throu the UV filter gless at the corridor heid, illuminatin the faces an keek panels o the first fifty Omegas.

    Links purge Ray Girvan 2004

  • With a geing groan grunt and a croak click cluck. 2 And my faceage kink and kurkle trying to make keek peep. 3 Are you right there, Michael, are you right?

    Finnegans Wake 2006

  • Cautiously, unwilling, he stole a keek at that picture of Alistair.

    A Breath of Snow and Ashes Gabaldon, Diana 2005

Comments

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  • Scots

    intr.v. - to peek; peep.

    n. - a look, especially a quick one; a peek.

    April 16, 2007

  • He keeked between the stems of sorrel and daisies at the midden, a three-sided brick shed where bins were kept.

    - Alasdair Gray, Lanark, ch. 12

    January 19, 2009

  • compare German guchen, to peer, peek.

    January 19, 2009