Word of the Day: Peep
peep
peep / pēp
noun
1. a quick or furtive look
When I want to take God at his word exactly, I take a peep out the window at His creation. From “The Poisonwood Bible” by Barbara Kingsolver, 1955 –
2. the first instance of coming into sight or appearing
On the morrow, at the peep of day, Rosalind was off to seek her lord. From “The Quest of the Golden Girl” by Richard Gallienne, 1866 – 1947
3. a brief, high-pitched sound
With me every peep becomes a trumpet solo. Albert Einstein, 1879 – 1955
4. a slight sound or comment
The idiom, ‘I don’t want to hear another peep out of you’ means don’t say another word.
5. any of a variety of small sandpipers, from the genus Calidris (or Erolia)
The pelicans excited me, but Alli was focused on counting the seemingly-endless mass of tiny brown shorebirds, collectively referred to as “peeps,” that shared the flat with the white giants. Renee Wilson, “Seeing Shorebirds: From Peeps to White Pelicans”, ‘Coastal Breeze News’, www.coastalbreezenews.com/articles/seeing-shorebirds-from-peeps-to-white-pelicans, March 17, 2017
verb
1. to look quickly at something
Self-respecting people do not care to peep at their reflections in unexpected mirrors, or to see themselves as others see them. Logan Pearsall Smith, 1865 – 1946
2. to look (at something) through a narrow opening or from behind something
He who peeps at the neighbor’s window may chance to lose his eyes. Arabian Proverb
3. to partially appear, as from behind something
When we forget the obvious, the little joys, the meals together, the birthday celebrations, the weeping together in time of pain, the wonder of a sunset or of a daffodil peeping through the snow, we become less human. Madeleine L’Engle, 1918 – 2007
4. to make brief, high pitched sounds; to chirp
When the groundhog casts his shadow
And the small birds sing
And the pussywillows happen
And the sun shines warm
And when the peepers peep
Then it is Spring.
From “Pussy Willow” by Margaret Wise Brown, 1910 – 1952
5. to speak hesitantly, in a high-pitched, tinny voice
“Olá,” she peeped quietly. Eden Ariel Lapsley, “What the Empty Houses Told Me”, www,medium.com/@edenariellapsley/what-the-empty-houses-told-me-9d7944c76ffbm, July 5, 2018
