Craik

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. A Scottish name for the corncrake, a secretive brown bird of grassland that makes a harsh rasping call ; to complain persistently or grumble about something in a whining way
2. The Scots word for a corncrake, a shy marsh and meadow bird heard more often than seen ; to voice ongoing discontent or moan in a drawn-out, irritable manner
3. A corncrake, the rail-family bird known for its rasping call in fields ; to keep up a dissatisfied, grumbling complaint about someone or something

Etymology: The corncrake, a secretive brown bird of European meadows, is named for its call, and "craik" is simply another spelling of the same name, the form that appears in Scots and northern English. The bird's rasping, repeated cry was heard as a croak, and the name grew from the same imitative root that gave English words like "croak" and "crow" their sounds. Middle English had "crake" and "craken" for the bird, and the verb "to crake" meant to make such a harsh noise. The name's deepest ancestry lies in Old Norse "kráka," meaning "crow," itself built on a Proto-Germanic root for croaking and cawing. English drew on the same sound-making family as its Dutch, German and Low German relatives, where words like "kraken" and "krachen" carry the idea of a sharp, grating crack or cry. The bird took its name from what it sounded like, and the spelling "craik" preserves an older pronunciation that English spelling later drifted away from.

Synonyms: corncrake, complain, grumble