different between bleat vs bleater

English

Alternative forms

• blate, blait (Scotland)

Etymology

From Middle English bleten, from Old English bl?tan (“to bleat”), from Proto-West Germanic *bl?tijan, from Proto-Germanic *bl?tijan? (“to bleat”). 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”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?bli?t/
• Rhymes: -i?t

Noun

bleat (plural bleats)

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

Synonyms

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

Translations

Verb

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

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

Synonyms

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

Translations

Anagrams

• ablet, blate, table

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *blautaz, whence also Old High German bl?z (“naked”), Old Norse blautr. More at blouse.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /blæ???t/

Adjective

bl?at

1. wretched

Declension

Descendants

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

West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian bl?t, from Proto-Germanic *blautaz.

Adjective

bleat

1. bare, naked
2. poor

Inflection

Further reading

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

English

Etymology

bleat (verb) +? -er

Noun

bleater (plural bleaters)

1. Agent noun of bleat; one who bleats.
   • 1956, C. S. Lewis, The Last Battle, Collins, 1998, Chapter 3,

     "Baby!" he hissed. "Silly little bleater! Go home to your mother and drink milk. […] "

   • 2007, Virgil, Aeneid, translated by Frederick Ahl, Oxford University Press, Book 7, line 538, p. 175,

     Five flocks of bleaters he had, and five herds of cattle to shelter […]

Anagrams

• retable