bleat

• blate, blait (Scotland)

From Middle English bleten, from Old English blǣtan (“to bleat”), from Proto-West Germanic *blātijan, from Proto-Germanic *blētijaną (“to bleat”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁- (“to howl, cry, bleat”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to make a loud noise”).

Cognate with Scots blete, bleit, West Frisian bâlte, blaaien, blêtsje (“to bleat”), Dutch blaten (“to bleat”), Low German bleten (“to bleat”), German blaßen, blässen (“to bleat”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈbliːt/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːt

bleat (plural bleats)

1. The characteristic cry of a sheep or a goat.

• (sheep's cry): baa, baaing, bleating

bleat (third-person singular simple present bleats, present participle bleating, simple past and past participle bleated)

1. Of a sheep or goat, to make its characteristic cry; of a human, to mimic this sound.
   • 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 99:

     In the year 1633, the Bridget Nuns, near Xanthus, behaved like sheep, jumping about and bleating continuously.

2. (informal, derogatory) Of a person, to complain.

   The last thing we need is to hear them bleating to us about organizational problems.

• (make the characteristic cry of a sheep or goat): baa
• (complain): kvetch (US), moan, whinge (UK), whine

• ablet, blate, table

From Proto-West Germanic *blaut, from Proto-Germanic *blautaz, whence also Old High German blōz (“naked”), Old Norse blautr. More at blouse.

• IPA^(key): /blæ͜ɑːt/

blēat

1. wretched

• Middle English: *blete, *bleet
  • Scots: bleat, blait, bleet

From Old Frisian blāt, from Proto-Germanic *blautaz.

bleat

1. bare, naked
2. poor

• “bleat (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011