Keek

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /kiːk/

Definitions

1. To glance quickly or secretly at something or someone ; a brief or secretive look taken rapidly
2. The act of casting a swift or furtive glance ; a short, discreet view often unnoticed
3. To throw a rapid, often secret glance at an object or person ; a fast look that is usually concealed from others

Etymology: Before "keek" meant to steal a glance, it simply meant to look at all, and English borrowed the word from the Low German and Dutch-speaking lands around the North Sea. Middle English speakers used "kyken," "kiken," and "keken" to mean "to look" or "to peep," and in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries "peek," "keek," and "peep" were more or less interchangeable. Over time "peek" and "peep" went their separate ways, but "keek" stayed in use in Scots and northern English dialect, where it still carries the sense of a quick, sly look. The word shares its root with modern Dutch "kijken" ("to look") and German dialect "kieken," and the same stem turns up in Danish "kigge," Swedish "kika," and Icelandic "kíkja," all meaning to look or peer. Its Proto-Germanic ancestor was "*kīkaną," meaning "to look." Some scholars have suggested a link to "kick," though this connection is uncertain.