bleat
/ˈbliːt/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.12 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The characteristic cry of a sheep or a goat.
Example Sentences
- "Near-synonym: baa (sheep and goat)"
- "In the year 1633, the Bridget Nuns, near Xanthus, behaved like sheep, jumping about and bleating continuously."
- "Near-synonyms: kvetch, moan, whinge, whine, holler"
- "The last thing we need is to hear them bleating to us about organizational problems."
- "Near-synonyms: drone on, go on"
- "She came skipping to me just now, clapping her little hands and bleating about how very, very happy she was, dear Mrs Travers. The silly young geezer. I nearly conked her one with my trowel."
Etymology
From Middle English bleten, from Old English blǣtan (“to bleat”), from Proto-West Germanic *blātijan, from Proto-Germanic *blētijaną (“to bleat”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁- (“to howl, cry, bleat”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to make a loud noise”). Cognate with Scots blete, bleit, West Frisian bâlte, blaaien, blêtsje (“to bleat”), Dutch blaten (“to bleat”), Low German bleten (“to bleat”), German blaßen, blässen (“to bleat”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *bʰleh₁-, bleten, blǣtan, *blātijan, *blētijaną, *bʰel-