Beaked

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /biːkt/

Definitions

1. Having a shape or form that features a notable extension similar to a bird's beak
2. Characterized by a pointed or protruding structure that evokes the appearance of a beak
3. Exhibiting a shape marked by a distinct, pointed projection like a bird’s beak

Etymology: Before "beaked" described a bird, the root "beak" was a Gaulish word for the pointed snout of a creature. The Gaulish *bekkos, recorded through Latin "beccus," passed into Old French as "bec" and then into Middle English, where it kept its sense of a bird's bill. The same root sits behind the Breton "beg" and the Dutch "bek," which both still mean beak or bill, so the word has been poking through the languages of northwestern Europe for a long time. "Beaked" is the ordinary past form of "beak," used adjectivally to mean having a beak. It is formed by adding the regular ending to the noun rather than by any separate borrowing, so its story is simply the story of its root.

Synonyms: pointed, tipped, hooked, tapered, curved

Antonyms: blunt, flat, rounded, dull, smooth