Past tense of 'beck': to call or signal someone with a gesture, especially a wave or nod.
From Old English 'becnan,' meaning 'to beckon or signal.' The word is related to 'beckon' and originally meant to make a significant gesture to summon someone's attention.
The words 'beck' and 'beckon' are linguistic cousins—'beckon' has the extra '-on' which makes it more formal, so 'beck' is like the casual, shorthand version of calling someone over!
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