beach
Meanings
- The shore of a body of water, especially when sandy or pebbly.
- A horizontal strip of land, usually sandy, adjoining water.
- The loose pebbles of the seashore, especially worn by waves; shingle.
- Synonym of gravel trap.
- A dry, dusty pitch or situation, as though playing on sand.
- Euphemistic form of bitch (taboo swear word).
- To run aground on a beach.
- To run (something) aground on a beach.
- To run into an obstacle or rough or soft ground, so that the floor of the vehicle rests on the ground and the wheels cannot gain traction.
- A surname.
- A surname from English
- A surname from landforms
- A surname from German
- A placename
- A hamlet in Bitton parish, South Gloucestershire district, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom (OS grid ref ST7070).
- A number of places in the United States:
- An unincorporated community in Ware County, Georgia.
- An unincorporated community in Webster County, Missouri.
- A small city, the county seat of Golden Valley County, North Dakota.
- An unincorporated community on Lummi Island, Whatcom County, Washington.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg-der. Proto-Germanic *bakiz Proto-West Germanic *baki Old English bæċ Middle English bache English beach From Middle English bache, bæcche (“bank, sandbank”), from Old English beċe (“beck, brook, stream”), from Proto-West Germanic *baki, from Proto-Germanic *bakiz (“brook”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- (“flowing water”). Cognates Cognate with Cimbrian pach (“brook, creek, stream”), Dutch beek (“brook, stream”), German Bach (“brook, stream”), German Low German Beek (“brook, stream”), Luxembourgish Baach (“brook, stream”), Mòcheno pòch (“brook, creek, stream”), Vilamovian bāh, baoch (“brook, stream”), Danish bæk (“brook”), Icelandic bekkur (“creek, spring, stream”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk bekk (“brook, creek, stream”), Swedish bäck (“brook, creek, stream”); also Lithuanian banga (“billow, wave”). More at batch, beck.