keck

Meaning

sassy; cheeky (bold and spirited)

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/kɛk/

Etymology

From Middle High German kec, Upper German form of quec, from Old High German quec, from Proto-West Germanic *kwiku, from Proto-Germanic *kwikwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós (“alive”). The Central German form survives in Quecksilber and erquicken. From Low German stems the doublet quick (chiefly in quicklebendig). Cognate with Dutch kwiek, English quick; further with Latin vīvus, Russian живой (živoj).