Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Beak

Beak (bēk), n. [OE. bek, F. bec, fr. Celtic; cf. Gael. & Ir. bac, bacc, hook, W. bach.] 1. (Zoöl.) (a) The bill or nib of a bird, consisting of a horny sheath, covering the jaws. The form varies much according to the food and habits of the bird, and is largely used in the classification of birds. (b) A similar bill in other animals, as the turtles. (c) The long projecting sucking mouth of some insects, and other invertebrates, as in the Hemiptera. (d) The upper or projecting part of the shell, near the hinge of a bivalve. (e) The prolongation of certain univalve shells containing the canal.

2. Anything projecting or ending in a point, like a beak, as a promontory of land. Carew.

3. (Antiq.) A beam, shod or armed at the end with a metal head or point, and projecting from the prow of an ancient galley, in order to pierce the vessel of an enemy; a beakhead.

4. (Naut.) That part of a ship, before the forecastle, which is fastened to the stem, and supported by the main knee.

5. (Arch.) A continuous slight projection ending in an arris or narrow fillet; that part of a drip from which the water is thrown off.

6. (Bot.) Any process somewhat like the beak of a bird, terminating the fruit or other parts of a plant.

7. (Far.) A toe clip. See Clip, n. (Far.).

8. A magistrate or policeman. [Slang, Eng.]

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.