Peck vs Scratch - What's the difference?

peck | scratch |

As a proper noun peck

is .

As a verb scratch is

to rub a surface with a sharp object, especially by a living creature to remove itching with nails, claws, etc.

As a noun scratch is

(lb) a disruption, mark or shallow cut on a surface made by scratching.

As an adjective scratch is

for or consisting of preliminary or tentative, incomplete, etc work.

peck

English

(wikipedia peck)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) pecken, pekken, variant of (etyl) picken, . More at pick.

Verb

(en verb)

To strike or pierce with the beak or bill (of a bird) or similar instrument.

The birds pecked at their food.

* 1922 , (Virginia Woolf), (w, Jacob's Room) , Chapter 2

The rooster had been known to fly on her shoulder and peck her neck, so that now she carried a stick or took one of the children with her when she went to feed the fowls.

To form by striking with the beak or a pointed instrument.

to peck a hole in a tree

To strike, pick, thrust against, or dig into, with a pointed instrument, especially with repeated quick movements.

To seize and pick up with the beak, or as if with the beak; to bite; to eat; often with up .

(Addison)

* Shakespeare

This fellow pecks up wit as pigeons peas.

To do something in small, intermittent pieces.

He has been pecking away at that project for some time now.

To type by searching for each key individually.

(rare) To type in general.

To kiss briefly.

* 1997 , , (w, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) , Chapter 1; 1998 ed., Scholastic Press, ISBN 0-590-35340-3, p. 2

At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls.

Derived terms

* pecking order * peckish * woodpecker

Noun

(en noun)

An act of pecking.

A small kiss.

Etymology 2

Probably from (etyl) (pek), (pekke), of uncertain origin.

Noun

(en noun)

One quarter of a bushel; a dry measure of eight quarts.

They picked a peck of wheat.

A great deal; a large or excessive quantity.

She figured most children probably ate a peck of dirt before they turned ten.

* Milton

a peck of uncertainties and doubts

Etymology 3

Variant of .

Verb

(en verb)

(regional) To throw.

To lurch forward; especially, of a horse, to stumble after hitting the ground with the toe instead of teh flat of the foot.

* 1928 , (Siegfried Sassoon), Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man , Penguin 2013, p. 97:

Anyhow, one of them fell, another one pecked badly, and Jerry disengaged himself from the group to scuttle up the short strip of meadow to win by a length.

Etymology 4

Noun

(-)

Discoloration caused by fungus growth or insects.

an occurrence of peck in rice

Derived terms

* pecky

Etymology 5

Noun

(en noun)

English transitive verbs

scratch

English

(wikipedia scratch)

Verb

(es)

To rub a surface with a sharp object, especially by a living creature to remove itching with nails, claws, etc.

Could you please scratch my back?

* Jonathan Swift

Be mindful, when invention fails, / To scratch your head, and bite your nails.

To rub the skin with rough material causing a sensation of irritation.

I don't like that new scarf because it scratches my neck.

To mark a surface with a sharp object, thereby leaving a scratch (noun).

A real diamond can easily scratch a pane of glass.

To remove, ignore or delete.

Scratch what I said earlier; I was wrong.

When the favorite was scratched from the race, there was a riot at the betting windows.

(music) To produce a distinctive sound on a turntable by moving a vinyl record back and forth while manipulating the crossfader (see also ).

(billiards) To commit a foul in pool, as where the cue ball is put into a pocket or jumps off the table.

Embarrassingly, he scratched on the break, popping the cue completely off the table.

(billiards, dated, US) To score, not by skilful play but by some fortunate chance of the game.

To write or draw hastily or awkwardly.

* Jonathan Swift

Scratch out a pamphlet.

To dig or excavate with the claws.

Some animals scratch holes, in which they burrow.

Derived terms

* scratch one's head * scratch the surface * scratcher * scratchpad * scratchy * scratch an itch * Old Scratch

Synonyms

* scrattle

Noun

(es)

(lb) A disruption, mark or shallow cut on a surface made by scratching.

*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

*:God forbid a shallow scratch should drive / The prince of Wales from such a field as this.

*(Joseph Moxon) (1627-1691)

*:The coarse filemakes deep scratches in the work.

*1709 , (Matthew Prior), '' Henry and Emma, line 503

*:These nails with scratches deform my breast.

*:Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language, he expressed the important words by an initial, a medial, or a final consonant, and made scratches for all the words between; his clerks, however, understood him very well.

*{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham)

, title=(The China Governess) , chapter=Foreword citation , passage=A very neat old woman, still in her good outdoor coat and best beehive hat, was sitting at a polished mahogany table on whose surface there were several scored scratches so deep that a triangular piece of the veneer had come cleanly away, […].}}

An act of scratching the skin to alleviate an itch or irritation.

(lb)

#A starting line (originally and simply, a line scratched in the ground), as in boxing.

#:(Grose)

#A technical error of touching or surpassing the starting mark prior to the official start signal in the sporting events of long jump, discus, hammer throw, shot put, and similar. Originally the starting mark was a scratch on the ground but is now a board or precisely indicated mark.

#(lb) An aberration.

##A foul in pool, as where the cue ball is put into a pocket or jumps off the table.

## A shot which scores by chance and not as intended by the player; a fluke.

(label) Money.

*2006 , (Clive James), North Face of Soho , Picador 2007, p. 153:

*:He and Bruce cooked up a script together, and Bruce flew home to raise the scratch .

A feed, usually a mixture of a few common grains, given to chickens.

(lb) Minute, but tender and troublesome, excoriations, covered with scabs, upon the heels of horses which have been used where it is very wet or muddy.

*1887 , James Law, The Farmer's Veterinary Adviser

*:These are exemplified in the scurfy, scaly affections which appear in the bend of the knee (mallenders) and hock (sallenders) and on the lower parts of the limbs, by scratches , and by a scaly exfoliation.

A kind of wig covering only a portion of the head.

Derived terms

* from scratch * scratch-built * start from scratch * Old Scratch

Adjective

(-)

For or consisting of preliminary or tentative, incomplete, etc. work.

This is scratch paper, so go ahead and scribble whatever you want on it.

Hastily assembled; put together in a hurry or from disparate elements.

* 1988 , James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom , Oxford 2004, p. 740:

Bluecoats began crossing the James on June 14 and next day two corps approached Petersburg, which was held by Beauregard with a scratch force of 2,500.

(computing, from scratchpad) Relating to a data structure or recording medium attached to a machine for testing or temporary use.

Constructed from whatever materials are to hand.

(sports) (of a player) Of a standard high enough to play without a handicap, i.e. to compete without the benefit of a variation in scoring based on ability.

* {{quote-book

, year=1964 , author=Charles Price , title=The American golfer , page=48 , passage=... the shot that does most to make a genuine scratch golfer is the mashie shot up to the pin — not merely up to the green.}}

Made, done, or happening by chance; arranged with little or no preparation; determined by circumstances; haphazard.

a scratch''' team; a '''scratch''' crew for a boat race; a '''scratch shot in billiards

a scratch race: one without restrictions regarding the entry of competitors

Derived terms

* scratch monkey * scratch sheet

References

* * The Jargon File - Scratch