lick

Meaning

Verb

1. (transitive) To stroke with the tongue.
2. (transitive) To lap; to take in with the tongue.
3. (colloquial) To beat with repeated blows.
4. (colloquial) To defeat decisively, particularly in a fight.
5. (colloquial) To overcome.
6. (slang, vulgar) To perform cunnilingus.
7. (colloquial) To do anything partially.
8. To lap.

Noun

1. The act of licking; a stroke of the tongue.
2. The amount of some substance obtainable with a single lick.
3. A quick and careless application of anything, as if by a stroke of the tongue.
4. A place where animals lick minerals from the ground.
5. A small watercourse or ephemeral stream. It ranks between a rill and a stream.
6. (colloquial) A stroke or blow.
7. (colloquial) A small amount; a whit.
8. (informal) An attempt at something.
9. A short motif.
10. (informal) A rate of speed. (Always qualified by good, fair, or a similar adjective.)
11. (slang) An act of cunnilingus.

Noun

An instance or opportunity to earn money fast, usually by illegal means, thus a heist, drug deal etc. or its victim; mostly used in phrasal verbs: hit a lick, hit licks

Synonyms

lap

taste

lap up

suck

trounce

thrash

drub

salt lick

drink

🥤

overcome

defeat

beat

biff

clobber

figure out

punch

👊

slobber over

cooked rice

clout

wipe

whip

work

uvula

strike against

touch

puzzle out

cream

poke

kiss

😗

lambaste

vanquish

work out

outdo

meal

ligule

swallow

slug

bat

🦇

solve

sip

spank

trump

kill

🔪🩸👤

hit

crush

hiding

flog

conquer

flatter

prevail

Translations

lécher

lamer

lecken

leccare

likken

lamber

γλείφω

llepar

leccata

yalamak

lambire

لعق

lambo

لحس

Pronounced as (IPA)

/lɪk/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: likken

Inherited from Old English: liccian

Cognate with Saterland Frisian: likje

Cognate with Dutch: likken

Cognate with German: lecken

Cognate with Old Irish: ligid

Cognate with Latin: lingō

Cognate with Lithuanian: laižyti

Cognate with Church Slavic: лизати

Cognate with Ancient Greek: λείχω

Cognate with Classical Armenian: լիզեմ

Cognate with Persian: لیسیدن

Cognate with Sanskrit: लेढि

In summary

From Middle English likken, from Old English liccian, from Proto-West Germanic *likkōn, from Proto-Germanic *likkōną, from Proto-Indo-European *leyǵʰ- (“to lick”).
See also Saterland Frisian likje, Dutch likken, German lecken; also Old Irish ligid, Latin lingō (“lick”), ligguriō (“to lap, lick up”), Lithuanian laižyti, Old Church Slavonic лизати (lizati), Ancient Greek λείχω (leíkhō), Old Armenian լիզեմ (lizem), Persian لیسیدن (lisidan), Sanskrit लेढि (léḍhi), रेढि (réḍhi).