different between survey vs seek

English

Etymology

From Middle English surveyen, from Old French sourveoir, surveer (“to oversee”), from sour-, sur- (“over”) + veoir, veeir (“to see”), from Latin videre. See sur- and vision.

Pronunciation

• (noun):
  • (UK) IPA^(key): /?s??ve?/, (obsolete) /s??ve?/
  • (US) enPR: sûr?v?, IPA^(key): /?s?ve?/, (obsolete) /s??ve?/
  • The noun was formerly accented on the last syllable, like the verb.
• Rhymes: -??(?)ve?
• (verb):
  • (UK) IPA^(key): /s??ve?/
  • (US) enPR: s?r-v??, IPA^(key): /s??ve?/
• Rhymes: -e?

Noun

survey (plural surveys)

1. The act of surveying; a general view.
   • 1642, John Denham, Cooper's Hill

     Under his proud survey the city lies.

2. A particular view; an examination, especially an official examination, of a particular group of items, in order to ascertain the condition, quantity, or quality.

3. The operation of finding the contour, dimensions, position, or other particulars of any part of the Earth's surface.
4. A measured plan and description of any portion of country.

5. An examination of the opinions of a group of people.

6. A questionnaire or similar instrument used for examining the opinions of a group of people.

7. (historical) An auction at which a farm is let for three lives.
8. (US) A district for the collection of customs under a particular officer.

Synonyms

• (act of surveying): prospect, surveil
• (particular view): review

Derived terms

• Ordnance Survey
• trigonometric survey

Translations

Verb

survey (third-person singular simple present surveys, present participle surveying, simple past and past participle surveyed)

1. To inspect, or take a view of; to view with attention, as from a high place; to overlook
2. To view with a scrutinizing eye; to examine.
3. To examine with reference to condition, situation, value, etc.; to examine and ascertain the state of

4. To determine the form, extent, position, etc., of, as a tract of land, a coast, harbor, or the like, by means of linear and angular measurements, and the application of the principles of geometry and trigonometry
5. To examine and ascertain, as the boundaries and royalties of a manor, the tenure of the tenants, and the rent and value of the same.
   • 1713, Giles Jacob, The Complete Court-keeper: Or, Land-steward's Assistant

     all the Tenants Leases and Copies are surveyed

6. To investigate the opinions, experiences, etc., of people by asking them questions; to conduct a survey; to administer a questionnaire.

Derived terms

• king of all one surveys
• surveying
• surveyal
• surveyance
• surveyee
• surveyor

Translations

English

Etymology

From Middle English seken (also sechen, whence dialectal English seech), from Old English s??an, with influence from Old Norse sœkja, whence the hard /k/ sound (compare beseech); both from Proto-Germanic *s?kijan? (“to seek”), from Proto-Indo-European *seh?g- (“to seek out”). Cognate with West Frisian sykje, Dutch zoeken, Low German söken, German suchen, Danish søge, Icelandic sækja, Norwegian Bokmål søke, Norwegian Nynorsk søkja, Swedish söka.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /si?k/, s?k
• Homophone: Sikh
• Rhymes: -i?k

Verb

seek (third-person singular simple present seeks, present participle seeking, simple past and past participle sought)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To try to find; to look for; to search for.
2. (transitive) To ask for; to solicit; to beseech.
   • 1611, Bible (King James Version), Luke xi. 16

     Others, tempting him, sought of him a sign.

   • 1960, Lobsang Rampa, The Rampa Story:

     “My, my! It is indeed a long way yet, look you!” said the pleasant woman of whom I sought directions.

3. (transitive) To try to acquire or gain; to strive after; to aim at.
   • 1880, George Q. Cannon, How the Gospel is Preached By the Elders, etc.:

     But persecution sought the lives of men of this character.

   • 1886, Constantine Popoff, translation of Leo Tolstoy's What I Believe:

     I can no longer seek fame or glory, nor can I help trying to get rid of my riches, which separate me from my fellow-creatures.

   • Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. […] She put back a truant curl from her forehead where it had sought egress to the world, and looked him full in the face now, drawing a deep breath which caused the round of her bosom to lift the lace at her throat.

4. (intransitive, obsolete) To go, move, travel (in a given direction).

   • Ryght so he sought […] towarde Sandewyche where he founde before hym many galyard knyghtes

5. (transitive) To try to reach or come to; to go to; to resort to.

   • Seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.

   • 1726 (tr.), Alexander Pope, Homer's Odyssey, Book II, line 33

     Since great Ulysses sought the Phrygian plains

6. (intransitive) To attempt, endeavour, try

   Our company does not seek to limit its employees from using the internet or engaging in social networking.

7. (intransitive, computing) To navigate through a stream.

   Synonym: scrub

   • 2009, Jit Ghosh, Rob Cameron, Silverlight 2 Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach (page 541)

     Most of the changes made to this control are to accommodate the various constraints that playback of streaming media may impose in broadcast streams, such as the inability to seek through the media.

Quotations

For more quotations using this term, see Citations:seek.

Usage notes

• The word is sometimes used to mean "try" or "want". This usage is criticized by Fowler in the entry "Formal Words".

Synonyms

• look for
• search

Derived terms

Related terms

• hide and seek
• seeker

Translations

Noun

seek (plural seeks)

1. (computing) The operation of navigating through a stream.
   • 2012, Aidong Zhang, Avi Silberschatz, Sharad Mehrotra, Continuous Media Databases (page 120)

     The number of seeks to retrieve a shot […] depends on the location of those frames on physical blocks.

Anagrams

• eeks, ekes, kees, seke, skee

Estonian

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle Low German sêkhûs (“hospital”) (equivalent to sêk +? hûs). From Proto-West Germanic *seuk, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *seukaz (“sick”). Compare German Siechenhaus (“infirmary”), English sickhouse.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?se?k/
• Rhymes: -e?k
• Hyphenation: seek

Noun

seek (genitive seegi, partitive seeki)

1. almshouse
   1. A residence and shelter for sick people in the Middle Ages.
   2. (colloquial) A nursing home, retirement home; poorhouse

Declension

References

• seek” in Sõnaveeb