The amount that can be held in a bird's beak; a small quantity.
From 'beak' (Middle English from Old French 'bec') + '-ful' (Old English suffix meaning 'full of'). The suffix '-ful' creates nouns measuring capacity, similar to 'handful' or 'spoonful'.
Just like 'handful' measures what fits in your hand, 'beakful' measures what fits in a beak—but this word is so specific and charming that it's barely used today, showing how language creates words for things we might only need once or twice.
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