suck

suck
\ \ [OE] Suck is part of a widespread Indo- European family of ‘suck’-words which go back to the base *seug-, *seuk-. This no doubt originated in imitation of the sound of sucking from the mother’s breast. Amongst its relatives are Latin sūgere (whose past participle sūctus gave English suction [17]), Welsh sugno, German saugen, Dutch zuigen, Swedish suga, and Danish suge. Suckle [15] was probably a back-formation from suckling [13], itself a derivative of suck. Also from suck comes sucker [14], which originally denoted a ‘baby still at the breast’; its use for a ‘gullible person’ (that is, someone as naive as an unweaned child) originated in American English in the early 19th century.
\ \ Cf.SUCTION, SUCKLE

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • suck — [suk] vt. [ME suken < OE sucan, akin to Ger saugen < IE * seuk , *seug < base * seu , damp, juice > SUP1, L sucus, juice, sugere, to suck] 1. a) to draw (liquid) into the mouth by creating a vacuum or partial vacuum with the lips,… …   English World dictionary

  • Suck — (s[u^]k), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Sucked} (s[u^]kt); p. pr. & vb. n. {Sucking}.] [OE. suken, souken, AS. s[=u]can, s[=u]gan; akin to D. zuigen, G. saugen, OHG. s[=u]gan, Icel. s[=u]ga, sj[=u]ga, Sw. suga, Dan. suge, L. sugere. Cf. {Honeysuckle},… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • suck — ► VERB 1) draw into the mouth by contracting the lip muscles to make a partial vacuum. 2) hold (something) in the mouth and draw at it by contracting the lip and cheek muscles. 3) draw in a specified direction by creating a vacuum. 4) (suck… …   English terms dictionary

  • Suck — An tSuca Der River Suck bei Athleague, County RoscommonVorlage:Infobox Fluss/KARTE fehlt Da …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • suck — (v.) O.E. sucan, from PIE root *sug /*suk of imitative origin (Cf. O.S., O.H.G. sugan, O.N. suga, M.Du. sughen, Du. zuigen, Ger. saugen to suck; L. sugere to suck, succus juice, sap; O.Ir. sugim, Welsh sugno …   Etymology dictionary

  • Suck — may refer to: *Suction, the creation of a partial vacuum, or region of low pressure *Suck.com, a satire and editorial web site *Oral sex, particularly fellatio *River Suck, a river in Ireland * Suck , a song by Nine Inch Nails from the 1992 EP… …   Wikipedia

  • Suck — Suck, v. i. 1. To draw, or attempt to draw, something by suction, as with the mouth, or through a tube. [1913 Webster] Where the bee sucks, there suck I. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. To draw milk from the breast or udder; as, a child, or the young of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • suck|le — «SUHK uhl», verb, led, ling. –transitive verb. 1. to feed with milk from the breast or udder; give suck to; nurse: »The cat suckles her kittens. 2. Figurative. to bring up; nourish: » suckled on the literature of Spain (W. H. Hudson). A Pagan… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Suck — Suck, n. 1. The act of drawing with the mouth. [1913 Webster] 2. That which is drawn into the mouth by sucking; specifically, mikl drawn from the breast. Shak. [1913 Webster] 3. A small draught. [Colloq.] Massinger. [1913 Webster] 4. Juice;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • suck|er — «SUHK uhr», noun, verb. –n. 1. an animal or thing that sucks. 2. a young mammal before it is weaned, especially a suckling pig. 3. any one of various freshwater fishes that suck in food or have toothless, fleshy mouths that suggest sucking. 4. an …   Useful english dictionary

  • Suck. — Suck., bei naturwissenschaftl. Namen Abkürzung für Georg Adolf Suckow, geb. 28. Jan. 1751 in Jena, gest. 13. Mai 1813 als Professor der Physik und Kameralwissenschaften in Heidelberg. Zoologisches und Botanisches, lieferte auch viele chemische… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

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