Link Centre Dictionary

reek

UK/riːk/ US/ˈrik/ uncommon archaic rare
verb (4) noun (1)

verb

1.

have an element suggestive (of something)

  • “his speeches smacked of racism”
Synonyms
2.

smell badly and offensively

  • “The building reeks of smoke”
Synonyms
3.

be wet with sweat or blood, as of one''s face

Synonyms
4.

give off smoke, fumes, warm vapour, steam, etc.

  • “Marshes reeking in the sun”

noun

1.

Origin

From Middle English rek, reke (“smoke”), from Old English rēc, from Proto-West Germanic *rauki, from Proto-Germanic *raukiz, from Proto-Indo-European *rowgi-. Cognate with West Frisian reek, riik, Dutch rook (“smoke”), Low German Röök, German Rauch (“smoke”), Danish røg (“smoke”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk røyk (“smoke”), Swedish rök (“smoke”), Faroese roykur (“smoke”), Icelandic reykur (“smoke”); also Lithuanian rū̃kti (“to smoke”), rū̃kas (“smoke, fog”), Albanian regj (“to tan”).

Phrases

  • lang may yer lum reek

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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See also

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.