/biːk/
Noun, pl. beaks
1. A prominent terminal projection, especially of a carpel or fruit. (biology-online.org)
2. An external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young. (wikipedia.org)
3. A rigid structure projecting from the front of a bird’s face, used for pecking, grooming and for eating food. (wiktionary.org)
4. A similar structure forming the jaws of an octopus, turtle, etc. (wiktionary.org)
5. The long projecting sucking mouth of some insects and other invertebrates, as in the Hemiptera. (wiktionary.org)
6. The upper or projecting part of the shell, near the hinge of a bivalve. (wiktionary.org)
7. The prolongation of certain univalve shells containing the canal. (wiktionary.org)
8. (Botany)
Any process somewhat like the beak of a bird, terminating the fruit or other parts of a plant. (wiktionary.org)
Syn: bill, rostrum
Word origin: Middle English bec, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French bec, from Latin beccus, from Gaulish *beccos (“chicken beak”, literally “small”), (compare Irish beag (“little”), Welsh bach, bychan Breton bac’h, bihan and beg (“beak”), from Proto-Celtic *bacc (“hook”).