feckn.1
/fɛk/, U.S. /fɛk/, Scottish English /fɛk/ Chiefly Scottish and English regional (northern).† 3. The purport, drift, tenor, or substance (of a statement, intention, etc.); = effect n. 3b. Sometimes in collocation with form. Obsolete.With quot. a1500 cf. quot. c14052 at effect n. 3b.
1. With the: the bulk, the greater part; = effect n. 3c; frequently in the most feck. Also: a (large) amount; number, quantity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > [noun]
metc1225
mountancec1330
amountancec1380
mountenancec1385
quantityc1392
quantitya1398
substance1435
mountenessea1450
mountc1475
number1477
feck1488
quantum1602
valour1631
amount1668
amt.1744
volume1882
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a great part or proportion > the greater part, the majority
the more partOE
the best part ofOE
(the) more parta1350
(the) most parta1350
(the) most part alla1350
(the) most party1372
for (also be, in) the most part (also deal, party)a1387
the better part ofa1393
the mo?a1400
most forcea1400
substancea1413
corsec1420
generalty?c1430
the greater partc1430
three quartersc1470
generalityc1485
the most feck1488
corpse1533
most1553
nine-tenths?1556
better half1566
generality?1570
pluralityc1570
body1574
the great body (of)1588
flush1592
three fourths1600
best1601
heap1609
gross1625
lump1709
bulk1711
majority1714
nineteen in twenty1730
balance1747
sweighta1800
heft1816
chief1841
the force1842
thick end1847
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) viii. l. 700 Swa sall we fend the fek off this regioun.
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 526 The lordis..for the most fect, Amang thame self held Donewald suspect.
1639 R. Baillie Lett. & Jrnls. (1841) I. 196 Our people had no commission to enterprize any thing which might..carrie the hazard of any feck of blood.
1650 J. Carstaires Let. 4 Oct. in W. Ferrie Notices of Life J. Carstaires (1843) 62 Never able to say it from anay feeke of experience.
a1774 R. Fergusson Poems (1785) 160 Great feck gae hirpling hame like fools, The cripple lead the blind.
1792 R. Burns in J. Johnson Scots Musical Museum IV. 393 I hae been a d-v-l the feck o' my life.
1822 W. J. Napier Pract. Store-farming 266 ‘I hope you have lost none.’ ‘No mony.’ ‘What feck, think ye?’
1824 W. Scott Redgauntlet III. x. 294 Naething will be said..for..the feck of three hours.
a1859 W. Watt Poems & Songs (1860) 365 The lads soon follow'd..To meet wi' their joes, and glowre at the shows, Was the feck o' their business there, man.
1876 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Words Whitby There's a rare feck on't.
1887 R. L. Stevenson Thrawn Janet in Merry Men 139 He had a feck o' books wi' him—mair than had ever been seen before in a' that presbytery.
1917 J. Buchan Poems 67 A feck o' sodgers passed that way.
1927 Sc. Mag. Apr. 1 Nae wicer, the feck o' them, at forty than they were at fourteen.
1991 J. McDonald in T. Hubbard New Makars 88 The feck hae notions o an auld carle daffin ‘kypes’, an plunkin planets.
2000 M. Fitt But n Ben A-go-go xvi. 123 The feck o Ziemann's ermy fell in the kirmash, the lave were skailed across the Drylands and cyberspace.
2. Operative value, efficacy, efficiency (cf. effect n. 2a). Hence also: vigour, energy.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > efficacy > [noun]
mainOE
mightOE
strengthOE
efficace?c1225
bootingc1300
effectc1390
powera1393
boota1400
efficacity1430
operationc1450
valure1483
feck1495
efficacy1527
effectualness1545
effectuousnessa1576
validity1593
effectiveness1607
workingness1611
efficaciousnessa1628
operativeness1627
efficiency1633
effectualitya1641
energy1668
availablenessa1676
availment1699
potentialness1727
affectingnessa1774
effectivity1838
efficience1865
well working1879
the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [noun]
greennesseOE
lustinessc1325
forcea1375
vigourc1386
virrc1575
vigour1602
nerve1605
vivacity1649
vis1650
actuosity1660
amenity1661
vogue1674
energy1783
smeddum1790
dash1796
throughput1808
feck1811
go1825
steam1826
jism1842
vim1843
animalism1848
fizz1856
jasm1860
verve1863
snap1865
sawdusta1873
élan1880
stingo1885
energeticism1891
sprawl1894
zip1899
pep1908
jazz1912
zoom1926
toe1963
zap1968
stank1997
1495 in W. Fraser Douglas Bk. (1885) III. 151 The sell of Jhone of Symontone..haffand the fek and fors of hyr awne propir sell.
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 617 Quhilk semis weill to be Of lytill fecc or ȝit auctoritie.
1597 A. Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 617 Thay ar maire faschious nor of feck.
1789 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 455 Eighty-eight..gied you..E'en mony a plack, an' mony a peck, Ye ken yoursels, for little feck!
1811 R. Willan List Words W. Riding Yorks. Feck, might, activity, zeal, abundance.
1823 J. Galt Ringan Gilhaize III. xviii. 169 Your laddie there's owre young to be o' ony fek in the way o' war.
1889 T. L. Mason Rafford 32 Bits o' bonneties on their heids sae sma' that they micht as weel gang bareheided for a' the 'feck o' them in keepin caul' frae the heid or lugs.
?1916 ‘J. M. Harper’ Bells of Kartdale 40 The weaving trade was nae man's scorn, And though our laddies drove the shuttle They neither lacked in feck nor fettle.
1928 A. E. Pease Dict. Dial. N. Riding Yorks. 40/1 He 'peared ti me a chap wi' nae feck aboot him.
1986 M. Davidson Hugger Mugger i. 4 It makes her sound spineless, which she wasn't, mindless, which she wasn't, and feckless, which she certainly wasn't. Those who liked her..respected her spine, mind and feck greatly.
1996 M. Flaws & G. Lamb Orkney Dict. 18/2 There no much feck wi this ale.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > drift, tenor, purport > [noun]
sentence?c1225
intent1303
tenora1387
intendment1390
strengthc1390
porta1393
meaningc1395
process1395
continencea1398
purposec1400
substance1415
purport1422
matterc1450
storyc1450
containing1477
contenu1477
retinue1484
fecka1500
content1513
drift1526
intention1532
vein1543
importing1548
scope1549
importance1552
course1553
force1555
sense?1556
file1560
intelliment?1562
proporta1578
preport1583
import1588
importment1602
carriage1604
morala1616
significancy1641
amount1678
purview1688
sentiment1713
capacity1720
spirit1742
message1828
thrust1968
messaging1977
a1500 Lancelot of Laik (1870) 2938 This is the fek of our entent.
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 684 In forme and fect as it wes wont to be.
c1550 A. Scott in J. Sibbald Chron. Scot. Poetry III. 148 Wald ye foirsé the forme, The fassoun, and the fek, Ye suld it fynd inorme, With bawdry yow to blek.
1599 T. Heywood 1st Pt. King Edward IV sig. J So the fecke..of all your long purgation..is no more..but the king wants money.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
feckn.2
/fɛk/, U.S. /fɛk/ Now English regional (south-eastern) and rare.
One of the stomachs of a ruminant; esp. the rumen.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > [noun] > ruminant > parts of > stomach > third
omasum1553
omasus1658
feck1681
manyplies1782
psalterium1840
fardel1862
1681 N. Grew Compar. Anat. Stomachs & Guts iv. 17 in Musæum Regalis Societatis The Second Venter, is by the Latins called Recticulum... The Third, is called the Omasus: by Butchers the Feck. Of a wonderful structure.
1686 Philos. Trans. 1685 (Royal Soc.) 15 1246 In the Second Book, he treats of..the several Stomacks belonging to some of the Ruminantia legitima; and of them first in general; then in particular of the Paunch,..the Feck, the Read.
1701 N. Grew Cosmol. Sacra i. v. §24 Three Stomachs:..the Panch, the Read, and the Feck.
c1736 S. Pegge Alphabet of Kenticisms (1876) Fack of a bullock; that stomach that receives the herbage first, and from whence it is resumed into the mouth to be chew'd.
1887 W. D. Parish & W. F. Shaw Dict. Kentish Dial. Fack, the first stomach of a ruminating animal, from which the herbage is resumed into the mouth.
1905 E. S. Fordham in Eng. Dial. Dict. VII. 102/1 [Hertfordshire] Feck, a cow's stomach.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
feckv.1
/fɛk/, U.S. /fɛk/, Irish English /fɛk/ slang (now chiefly Irish English).
transitive. To take surreptitiously; to steal.In quot. 1809 used intransitively in a somewhat broader sense.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > steal [verb (transitive)]
pick?c1300
takec1300
fetch1377
bribec1405
usurpc1412
rapc1415
to rap and rendc1415
embezzle1495
lifta1529
pilfer1532
suffurate1542
convey?1545
mill1567
prig1567
strike1567
lag1573
shave1585
knave1601
twitch1607
cly1610
asport1621
pinch1632
snapa1639
nap1665
panyar1681
to carry off1684
to pick up1687
thievea1695
to gipsy away1696
bone1699
make1699
win1699
magg1762
snatch1766
to make off with1768
snavel1795
feck1809
shake1811
nail1819
geach1821
pull1821
to run off1821
smug1825
nick1826
abduct1831
swag1846
nobble1855
reef1859
snig1862
find1865
to pull off1865
cop1879
jump1879
slock1888
swipe1889
snag1895
rip1904
snitch1904
pole1906
glom1907
boost1912
hot-stuff1914
score1914
clifty1918
to knock off1919
snoop1924
heist1930
hoist1931
rabbit1943
to rip off1967
to have off1974
1809 G. Andrewes Dict. Slang & Cant Langs. To feck—to look out, to discover the best means of obtaining stolen goods.
1852 D. Blake Sprig of Shillelah 191 He boil'd potatoes for our tea, That were fecked by Dandyorum.
1880 Jamieson's Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. (new ed.) To feck, to attain by dishonourable means, Loth[ian].
1916 J. Joyce Portrait of Artist i. 41 They had fecked cash out of the rector's room.
1962 E. O'Brien Lonely Girl i. 9 ‘Feck any samples?’.. ‘How could I take samples with him sitting there in the car?’
1994 Irish Times (Nexis) 20 July 11 Turn your back for a minute and somebody's..fecking your binnacle.
2001 J. Gough Juno & Juliet ii. xxxix. 130 Security cameras my arse,..sure it's watching videos they'd be, while some scut of a ten-year-old's fecking your tape machine.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
feckv.2
/fɛk/, U.S. /fɛk/, Irish English /fɛk/ slang (originally and chiefly Irish English).
1. intransitive. to feck off = to fuck off 1 at fuck v. Phrasal verbs 1. Frequently in imperative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > causing to go away > command to go away [verb (intransitive)]
scud1602
go scrape!1611
to push off (also along)1740
to go it1797
to walk one's chalks1835
morris1838
scat1838
go 'long1859
to take a walk1881
shoot1897
skidoo1905
to beat it1906
to go to the dickens1910
to jump (or go (and) jump) in the lake1912
scram1928
to piss offa1935
to bugger off1937
to fuck off1940
go and have a roll1941
eff1945
to feck off?1945
to get lost1947
to sod off1950
bug1956
to hit, split or take the breeze1959
naff1959
frig1965
muck1974
to rack off1975
?1945 Million No. 2. 41 ‘Doesn't your father mind ?’ ‘He's gone.’ ‘Gone ?’ ‘Yes. Just fecked off a couple of years ago.’
1969 T. M. Coffey Agony at Easter ii. 82 ‘Now, will you feck off? Go home!’ Prodded from behind, the postman slowly retreated.
1980 ‘H. Leonard’ Life i. 24 Feck off, that's not yours.
1987 C. Nolan Under Eye of Clock (1988) xviii. 195 Ah shut up, shut up feck off.
1990 R. Doyle Snapper 192 If he'd said it—half an hour earlier even I'd've told him to feck off.
1995 G. Linehan & A. Mathews Good Luck, Father Ted (TV script, penultimate draft) in Father Ted (1999) 13/1 Mrs. Doyle: Now Father, what do you say to a cup? Jack: Feck off, cup!
2003 J. Mullaney We'll be Back 55 Hartson's fecked off to Celtic, so we scour the British Isles, and find the only player fatter than him, and sign him up.
2. transitive. = fuck v. 4. Also (in passive): to be put into a difficult or hopeless situation, to be in trouble.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [verb (transitive)] > obscene oaths
pox1601
bugger1779
frig1905
fuck1922
shag1933
stuff1955
motherfuck1965
feck1972
1972 V. Power Escape ii. in Drama & Theatre 10 111/1 Connolly...Now isn't that a sign that he's a decent man? A solid man. McCann. Feck it—what is solidity?
1987 C. Nolan Under Eye of Clock xiii. 145 I'll be rightly fecked if he's not here.
1995 P. McCabe Dead School (1996) 192 ‘Well, did you see it last night?’ ‘Fecked if I could,’ said Mr. Boylan.
1998 Sunday Times (Nexis) 19 July In my shop, if I go out to the counter I'm fecked because I'll be caught talking about the match.
1999 C. Creedon Passion Play xix. 151 It was like, can I can't I, can I can't I and then I said,—Yerah, feck it!
2004 Irish Times (Nexis) 15 June 12 In that sense, Fianna Fail wasn't really a catch-all party. It was a feck-the-begrudgers party.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
feckint.
/fɛk/, U.S. /fɛk/, Irish English /fɛk/ slang (originally and chiefly Irish English).
Expressing frustration, regret, or annoyance: ‘damn’, ‘blast’; = fuck int. Cf. fuck v. 4.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > obscene oaths
kiss my arse1705
to shove something up your ass1895
get stuffed1952
up yours1956
ya bass1968
feck1992
kiss my chuddies1998
1992 ‘H. Leonard’ Kill in Sel. Plays 400 My apologies. I have been gravely misinformed. Feck.
1995 G. Linehan & A. Mathews Good Luck, Father Ted (TV script, penultimate draft) in Father Ted (1999) 12/2 Mrs. Doyle: Who's for tea, then?.. Jack: Tea! Feck!
2002 Mediaweek (Nexis) 18 Mar. ‘Oh, feck,’ sighed an FCC staffer, looking up ‘round-heeled’ on Google.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.11488n.21681v.11809v.2?1945
int.1992