Hypertext Webster Gateway: "peeping"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Peep \Peep\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Peeped}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Peeping}.] [Of imitative origin; cf. OE. pipen, F. piper,
p['e]pier, L. pipire, pipare, pipiare, D. & G. piepen. Senses
2 and 3 perhaps come from a transfer of sense from the sound
which chickens make upon the first breaking of the shell to
the act accompanying it; or perhaps from the influence of
peek, or peak. Cf. {Pipe}.]
1. To cry, as a chicken hatching or newly hatched; to chirp;
to cheep.
There was none that moved the wing, or opened the
mouth, or peeped. --Is. x. 14.
2. To begin to appear; to look forth from concealment; to
make the first appearance.
When flowers first peeped, and trees did blossoms
bear. --Dryden.
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