peak

Etymology 1

From earlier peake, peek, peke, from Middle English *peke, *pek (attested in peked, variant of piked), itself an alteration of pike, pyke, pyk (“a sharp point, pike”), from Old English pīc, piic (“a pike, needle, pin, peak, pinnacle”), from Proto-Germanic *pīkaz (“peak”). Cognate with Dutch piek (“pike, point, summit, peak”), Danish pik (“pike, peak”), Swedish pik (“pike, lance, point, peak”), Norwegian pik (“peak, summit”). More at pike.

noun

1. A point; the sharp end or top of anything that terminates in a point; as, the peak, or front, of a cap.
   A less risky method is to lift your whisk or beater to check the condition of the peaks of the egg whites; the foam should be just stiff enough to stand up in well-defined, unwavering peaks. 2002, Joy of Cooking: All About Cookies, page 29
2. The highest value reached by some quantity in a time period.
   The stock market reached a peak in September 1929.
   By last year, family income was 8 percent lower than it had been 11 years earlier, at its peak in 2000, according to inflation-adjusted numbers from the Census Bureau. October 23 2012, David Leonhardt, New York Times, retrieved 2012-10-24
3. (geography) The top, or one of the tops, of a hill, mountain, or range, ending in a point.
   They reached the peak after 8 hours of climbing.
4. (geography) The whole hill or mountain, especially when isolated.
   To the South we observed a large plain some ten miles wide, with snowy peaks rising on the farther side. In front was a hill projecting into the plain, on which stood a mani wall; and this latter discovery made me feel quite confident that I was on the high road to Lhassa. 1898, Arnold Henry Savage Landor, chapter 62, in In the Forbidden Land
5. (nautical) The upper aftermost corner of a fore-and-aft sail.
   peak-halyards
   peak-brails
6. (nautical) The narrow part of a vessel's bow, or the hold within it.
7. (nautical) The extremity of an anchor fluke; the bill.
8. (mathematics) A local maximum of a function, e.g. for sine waves, each point at which the value of y is at its maximum.

verb

1. (transitive, nautical) To raise the point of (a gaff) closer to perpendicular.
2. (intransitive)
   1. To reach a highest degree or maximum.
      Historians argue about when the Roman Empire began to peak and ultimately decay.
   2. To rise or extend into a peak or point; to form, or appear as, a peak.
3. (gender-critical) To cause to adopt gender-critical or trans-exclusionary views (ellipsis of peak trans).
   I came to this via sport but the thing that really peaked me was this. 4 August 2019, Alison Weir (@WeirAlison), Twitter
   My friend peaked me last year, at the GRA [Gender Recognition Act] consultation. 31 August 2019, MrsMiggins (@MrsMiggins13), Twitter
   Solidarity from Spain, @jk_rowling. Thank you for peaking so many people all over the world. 22 November 2021, DefendingMySisters (@DefendingMy), Twitter

adj

1. At the greatest extent; maximum.
   peak oil, Peak TV
2. (slang) Maximal, quintessential, archetypical; representing the culmination of its type.
   Knowing obscure 19th-century slang is peak nerd.
3. (MLE) Bad.
   When they're tryna get the girl to the crib and she leaves, it's peak / Tryna keep it discreet and she tweets, it's peak / See me rolling with 20 man deep, it's peak / Yo rudeboy, pull up, repeat, it's peak 2015, “Its Peak”, performed by Tinie Tempah (featuring Stormzy and Bugzy Malone)
   Tempting, but I think it's actually something I need to do. Like, I get what they did was peak, but I have to take some responsibility, you know? 2023, Nathan Bryon, Tom Melia, directed by Raine Allen-Miller, Rye Lane, spoken by Dom (David Jonsson)
4. (MLE) Unlucky; unfortunate.
   You didn't get a spot? That's peak.

Etymology 2

Unknown.

verb

1. (intransitive) To become sick or wan.
2. (intransitive) To acquire sharpness of figure or features; hence, to look thin or sickly.
3. (intransitive) To pry; to peep slyly.

Etymology 3

noun

1. Alternative form of peag (“wampum”).

Etymology 4

verb

1. Misspelling of pique.