becreep

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Afrikaans bekruip, or alternatively from Dutch bekruipen, both from Middle Dutch becrûpen, equivalent to be- +‎ creep.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -iːp

Verb

becreep (third-person singular simple present becreeps, present participle becreeping, simple past and past participle becrept)

1. (transitive) To creep up on; stalk
   • 1838, Sir James Edward Alexander, An Expedition of Discovery Into the Interior of Africa:

     But they, seeing that there was not sufficient cover for them to “becreep” the rhinoceros with safety, allowed Robert to go on alone.

   • 2008, Richard Sampson, White Induna, page 33:

     “Two o'clock am a troop of buffaloes came to drink at our pool and one of my boys, whose leg had been broken last year by an elephant, becrept them and shot one which turned out to be in good condition. […] "

   • 2010, Cormac McCarthy, Suttree, page 276:

     Or malachite in green coprolitic stools like small stone turds becrept a brassy green.

   • 2015, Henry Bryden, The Gold Kloof:

     "Ja, baas," he said; "I shall becreep them. […] "