Peep
/piːp/noun
To look quickly or secretly; also, to make a short, high-pitched sound.
Did you know?The word’s earliest English sense was a small, timid look or sound, and it later became attached to the idea of sneaking a glimpse through a crack or opening — the kind of watching that feels almost ritualistic.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*spek-
“to look, observe”
Latin
Latin
specere
“to look at, behold”
Latin
Latin
speculum
“a mirror”
Old English
English
pēpan
“to peep, chirp, or make a small sound”
Middle English
English
pepen
“to look or peer furtively; also to chirp”
Modern English
English
peep
“to look quickly or secretly; to make a short, high-pitched sound”