lick

LICK, verb transitive [Latin lingo; Gr. See Like and Sleek.] 1. To pass or draw the tongue over the surface; as, a dog licks a wound. 2. To lap; to take in by the tongue; as, a dog or cat licks milk. 1 Kings 21:19. To lick up, to devour; to consume entirely. Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as an ox licketh up the grass of the field. Numbers 22:4. To lick the dust, to be slain; to perish in battle. His enemies shall lick the dust. Psalms 72:9. LICK, noun In America, a place where beasts of the forest lick for salt, at salt springs. LICK, noun 1. A blow; a stroke. [Not an elegant word.] 2. A wash; something rubbed on. [Not in use.] LICK, verb transitive To strike repeatedly for punishment; to flog; to chastise with blows. [Not an elegant word; but probably flog, Latin fligo, is from the root of this word.]