World Languages Lexicon
10 Language-to-English Dictionariesà la merci
Pronunciation / Transliteration: ah lah mehr-see
"Il est toujours à sa disposition."
Comprehensive Definitions & Senses
1 sense- 1
Always ready to immediately obey orders, serve, or attend to someone's every wish.
"She felt exhausted from being at her manager's beck and call twenty-four hours a day."
Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum
Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology
The idiom derives from Middle English abbreviations of verbs, where 'beck' is a shortening of 'becken' (meaning to nod or gesture as a signal) and 'call' refers to summoning someone with the voice. Combined by the 16th century, the phrase originally described absolute obedience to a master's gestures and voice commands.
Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Beck and call"?
10 Global Lexicons: How "Beck and call" is said worldwide
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à la merci
Transliteration: ah lah mehr-see
"Il est toujours à sa disposition."
zu Diensten
Transliteration: tsoo deen-stən
"Er stand immer zu ihrer Verfügung."
a disposizione
Transliteration: ah dees-poh-zee-tsee-oh-neh
"Era sempre ai suoi ordini."
a la entera disposición
Transliteration: ah lah ehn-teh-rah dees-poh-see-syohn
"Estaba a su entera disposición."
à disposição
Transliteration: ah dees-poh-zee-sãw
"Ele estava sempre às ordens dela."
सेवा में हाज़िर
Transliteration: seva mein hazir
"वह हमेशा अपने बॉस की सेवा में हाज़िर रहता था।"
随叫随到
Transliteration: suí jiào suí dào
"他总是随叫随到地为老板工作。"
하라는 대로 하다
Transliteration: haraneun daero hada
"그녀는 항상 상사의 지시를 즉각 따랐다."
言いなりになる
Transliteration: iinari ni naru
"彼は上司の言いなりになっている。"
Related Vocabulary Words to Explore
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The management of the income, expenditures, and daily operations of a household.
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