PECK  , a dry measure of capacity, especially used for See also:

• GRAIN (derived through the French from Lat. granum, seed, from an Aryan root meaning " to wear down," which also appears in the common Teutonic word " corn ")

grain . It contains 8 quarts or 2 gallons, and is 4 of a See also:

• BUSHEL (from the O. Fr. boissiel, cf. med. Lat. bustellus, busellus, a little box)

bushel . The imperial peck contains 554'548 cub. in., in the See also:

• UNITED

United States of See also:

• AMERICA

America 537'6 cub. in . The word is in M.E. pek, and is found latinized as peccum or pekka . In Med . See also:

• LAT

Lat. are found picotinus, " mensura frumentaria," and picotus, " mensura liquidorum " (Du Cange, See also:

• GLOSS, GLOSSARY

Gloss. s.vv.) These words seem to be connected with the Fr. picoter, to peck, of a See also:

• BIRD

bird, and this would identify the word with " peck," a variant of " pick," a tap or stroke of the See also:

• BEAK (early forms beke and becke, from Fr. bec, late Lat. beccus, supposed to be a Gaulish word; the Celtic bec and beq, however, are taken from the English)

beak, especially used of the See also:

• ACTION

action of a bird in picking up grain or other See also:

• FOOD
• FOOD (like the verb " to feed," from a Teutonic root, whence O. Eng. foda; cf. " fodder "; connected with Gr. lrareicOae, to feed)

food .