PECKING
Verb
pecking
present participle of peck
Noun
pecking (countable and uncountable, plural peckings)
The act by which something is pecked.
The ancient skill of shaping stone into tools, containers, or artworks.
(obsolete) The sport of throwing pebbles at birds.
Source: Wiktionary
PECK
Peck, n. Etym: [Perh. akin to pack; or, orig., an indefinite
quantity, and fr. peck, v. (below): cf. also F. picotin a peak.]
1. The fourth part of a bushel; a dry measure of eight quarts; as, a
peck of wheat. "A peck of provender." Shak.
2. A great deal; a large or excessive quantity. "A peck of
uncertainties and doubts." Milton.
Peck, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pecked; p. pr. & vb. n. Pecking.] Etym:
[See Pick, v.]
1. To strike with the beak; to thrust the beak into; as, a bird pecks
a tree.
2. Hence: To strike, pick, thrust against, or dig into, with a
pointed instrument; especially, to strike, pick, etc., with repeated
quick movements.
3. To seize and pick up with the beak, or as with the beak; to bite;
to eat; -- often with up. Addison.
This fellow pecks up wit as pigeons peas. Shak.
4. To make, by striking with the beak or a pointed instrument; as, to
peck a hole in a tree.
Peck, v. i.
1. To make strokes with the beak, or with a pointed instrument.
Carew.
2. To pick up food with the beak; hence, to eat.
[The hen] went pecking by his side. Dryden.
To peck at, to attack with petty and repeated blows; to carp at; to
nag; to tease.
Peck, n.
Definition: A quick, sharp stroke, as with the beak of a bird or a pointed
instrument.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition