Meck

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. To engage in conversation or chatter, especially in an informal or colloquial manner ; to handle or manage a situation or task with some skill or effort ; a small or insignificant creature or thing, often used humorously or affectionately
2. To talk at length in a familiar or casual way ; to deal with or work through a process, sometimes with difficulty ; a minor, often annoying entity or a small critter referred to in jest
3. To converse or gossip informally ; to oversee or carry out a particular action or responsibility ; a diminutive or trivial being, typically mentioned in a playful or lighthearted context

Etymology: "Meck" is an alternative spelling of "make," so its story is the story of "make." The older root idea was not building or doing but something agreeable and fitting: the Old English "macian" grew from a Proto-West Germanic base "*mak," meaning suitable or comfortable, which traces back to a prehistoric root possibly meaning "to knead." Kneading, fitting, and making share a common thread of shaping something until it suits its purpose. The word has many relatives across Europe. German "machen," Dutch "maken," and Yiddish "makhn" all mean to make or do, and the same family may reach as far as Latin "mācerō," meaning to soften or weaken, and Greek "mássō," to knead or wipe. The sense of smearing and softening appears in Slavic languages such as Russian "mázat'," to smear or oil, which suggests the root once centred on working a soft substance by hand.

Synonyms: Meckel's, Meckel