lick
nounEtymology
From Middle English likken, from Old English liccian, from Proto-West Germanic *likkōn, from Proto-Germanic *likkōną (“to lick”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyǵʰ- (“to lick”). Sense evolution towards violence unclear; not paralleled in any other Germanic language. Cognates Cognate with Dutch lekken, likken (“to lick”), German lecken (“to lick”), Vilamovian łaekia, łakia, łȧḱkja (“to lick”), Yiddish לעקן (lekn, “to lick”), French lécher (“to lick”), Friulian lecâ (“to lick”), Italian leccare (“to lick”), Lombard leccà (“to lick”), Norman litchi (“to lick”), Occitan lecar (“to lick”); also Faroese and Icelandic sleikja (“to lick”), Breton leat (“to lick”), Irish and Scottish Gaelic ligh (“to lick”), Welsh llyfu (“to lick”), Latin lingō (“to lick”), Ancient Greek λείχω (leíkhō, “to lick up”), Latvian làizît (“to lick”), Lithuanian laižyti (“to lick”), Bulgarian ли́жа (líža, “to lick”), Czech lízat (“to lick”), Macedonian лиже (liže, “to lick”), Polish lizać (“to lick”), Russian лиза́ть (lizátʹ, “to lick”), Serbo-Croatian ли́зати, lízati (“to lick”), Slovene lizati (“to lick”), Ukrainian лиза́ти (lyzáty, “to lick”), Armenian լիզել (lizel, “to lick”), Central Kurdish لستن (listin, “to lick”), Northern Kurdish alastin, alêstin, alistin, alîstin (“to lick”), Persian لیسیدن (lēsīdan / lisidan, “to lick”), Sanskrit लिह् (lih), रिह् (rih, “to lick; to eat”).
11 senses
- 1The act of licking; a stroke of the tongue.
- 2The amount of some substance obtainable with a single lick.
- 3A quick and careless application of anything, as if by a…
- 4A place where animals lick minerals from the ground.
- 5A small watercourse or ephemeral stream. It ranks…
- 6A stroke or blow.
- 7A small amount; a whit.
- 8An attempt at something.
- 9A short motif.
- 10A rate of speed. (Always qualified by good, fair, or a…
- 11An act of cunnilingus.
The act of licking; a stroke of the tongue.
- The cat gave its fur a lick.
The amount of some substance obtainable with a single lick.
- Give me a lick of ice cream.
A quick and careless application of anything, as if by a stroke of the tongue.
- a lick of paint
- to put on colours with a lick of the brush
1 more example
- When ſly Jemmy Twitcher had ſmugg'd up his face / With a lick of court white waſh,1774, Thomas Gray, “The Candidate”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), Strawberry Hill Press:
A place where animals lick minerals from the ground.
- The birds gathered at the clay lick.
A small watercourse or ephemeral stream. It ranks between a rill and a stream.
- We used to play in the lick.
Colloquial A stroke or blow.
- Hit that wedge a good lick with the sledgehammer.
- I went in big licks, and, although it was a good-sized pile, I chopped it all up before he got back at night.1891, Cecil Roberts, Adrift in America: Or, Work and Adventure in the States, page 148:
1 more example
- Who gave you your worst licks and why?2013 April 12, “Exclusive: Meet Derpuntae - Bermuda's first meme”, in The Bermuda Sun, archived from the original on 12 Dec 2022:
Colloquial, In the negative A small amount; a whit.
- You don't have a lick of sense.
- I didn't do a lick of work today.
1 more example
- Allen Gregory DeLongpre: Why don't I call Jean-Michel at Il Portofino? We'll get a table outside? Ooh, I'm not getting a lick of service. Babe, can I hop on your landline?2011 Allen Gregory, "Pilot" (season 1, episode 1)
Informal An attempt at something.
- Well, my album did well, but "Ruby" was a timely song and that wasn't the time for it to step out. […] Then Waylon Jennings took a lick at it on an album, and my old buddy Roger Miller covered it, too, in his album. And although they're outstanding artists, nothing much happened with the song.1984, Mel Tillis, Walter Wager, Stutterin' Boy, page 170:
Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music A short motif.
- There are some really good blues licks in this solo.
Informal A rate of speed. (Always qualified by good, fair, or a similar adjective.)
- The bus was travelling at a good lick when it swerved and left the road.
- Dandy Marx, a perfect gentleman in the true sense of the word, now drives forth under single harness ; whereas “once upon a time,” he rushed over the ground at a “big lick,” reigning his four beautiful roans, and continually kicking up an extra excitement among the “fashionables.”1852, John Denison Vose, Fresh Leaves from the Diary of a Broadway Dandy, page 109:
Slang An act of cunnilingus.
- You up for a lick tonight?
- Derived terms
33 terms
a lick and a promise, a lick of, big lick, calflick, cat-lick, cow lick, cowlick, deerlick, devious lick, Elk Lick, facelick, French Lick, good lick, lickability, lickable, lick and a promise, lick-box, lick-dish, lick log, lick of paint, lick of the tarbrush, lick of work, lick-platter, licksome, lick-spigot, lick-spittle, lick spout, lick-trencher, lick-wimble, midlick, mineral lick, salt lick, The Lick