Link Centre Dictionary

beckon

bec·kon

UK/ˈbɛkən/ US/ˈbɛkʌn/ rare

verb

1.

signal with the hands or nod

  • “She waved to her friends”
  • “He waved his hand hospitably”
Synonyms
2.

appear inviting

  • “The shop window decorations beckoned”
3.

summon with a wave, nod, or some other gesture

Origin

From Middle English bekenen, beknen, becnen, beknien, from Old English bēacnian, bēcnian, bīecnan (“to signal; beckon”), from Proto-West Germanic *bauknōn, *bauknijan (“to signal”), from *baukn (“signal; beacon”). Cognate with Old Saxon bōknian, Old High German bouhnen, Old Norse bákna. More at beacon.

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.