tickle

See also: Tickle

English

Etymology

From Middle English tiklen, tikelen, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from a frequentative form of Middle English tikken (“to touch lightly”), thus equivalent to tick +‎ -le; or perhaps related to Old English tinclian (“to tickle”). Compare North Frisian tigele (“to tickle”) (Hallig dialect), and tiikle (“to tickle”) (Amrum dialect), German dialectal zicklen (“to excite; stir up”).
Alternatively, from a metathetic alteration of Middle English kitelen ("to tickle"; see kittle).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɪkl̩/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪkəl
• Hyphenation: tick‧le

Noun

tickle (plural tickles)

1. The act of tickling.
2. An itchy feeling resembling the result of tickling.

   I have a persistent tickle in my throat.

3. (cricket, informal) A light tap of the ball.
   • 2016, Ann Waterhouse, Cricket Made Simple:

     There's a very fine line between a tickle and an edge!

4. (Newfoundland) A narrow strait.
   • 2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society, published 2011, page 169:

     Cow Head itself is a prominent headland connected to the settlement by a natural causeway, or ‘tickle’ as the Newfoundlanders prefer it.

Translations

act of tickling

• Arabic: دَغْدَغَة f (daḡdaḡa)

  Hijazi Arabic: دَغْدَغة f (daḡdaḡa)

• Azerbaijani: qıdıqlama, qıdıq
• Bikol Central: kutok
• Bulgarian: гъделичкане n (gǎdeličkane)
• Catalan: pessigolles (ca) f pl
• Cebuano: gitik
• Finnish: kutitus (fi)
• French: chatouiller (fr)
• German: Kitzeln (de) n
• Indonesian: geletik (id)
• Irish: cigilt f
• Kapampangan: kalamkam, lingapngap
• Malay: geletek
• Malayalam: ഇക്കിൾ (ml) (ikkiḷ), ഇക്കിളി (ml) (ikkiḷi)
• Nepali: काउकुती लाउनु (kāukutī lāunu)
• Persian: غلغلک (fa) (ğelğelak), قلقلک (qelqelak)
• Polish: gilanie (pl) m
• Russian: щеко́тка (ru) f (ščekótka), щекота́ние (ru) n (ščekotánije)
• Serbo-Croatian: golicanje n
• Spanish: cosquillas (es) f pl
• Tagalog: kiliti, kalamkam
• Tausug: gitok
• Ukrainian: ло́скіт m (lóskit), лоскота́ння n (loskotánnja)
• Waray-Waray: gerikgit, guluk

an itchy feeling resembling the result of tickling

• Azerbaijani: qıdıq
• Bikol Central: lindok
• Bulgarian: гъдел (bg) m (gǎdel)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 痒 (zh) (yáng), 痒感 (zh)

• Finnish: kutina (fi)
• Maori: ngaoko
• Nepali: काउकुती (ne) (kāukutī)
• Persian: قلقلک (qelqelak), خارش (fa) (xâreš)
• Tagalog: kiliti

Verb

tickle (third-person singular simple present tickles, present participle tickling, simple past and past participle tickled)

1. (transitive) To touch repeatedly or stroke delicately in a manner which causes laughter, pleasure and twitching.

   He tickled Nancy's tummy, and she started to giggle.

   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

     If you tickle us, do we not laugh?

2. (transitive) To unexpectedly touch or stroke delicately in a manner which causes displeasure or withdrawal.

   A stranger tickled Nancy's tummy, causing her to scream in fear.

3. (intransitive, of a body part) To feel as if the body part in question is being tickled.

   My nose tickles, and I'm going to sneeze!

4. (transitive) To appeal to someone's taste, curiosity etc.
5. (transitive) To cause delight or amusement in.

   He was tickled to receive such a wonderful gift.

   • 1733, Alexander Pope, “Epistle II”, in An Essay on Man, lines 275–276; republished in The Complete Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, Boston, New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1902, page 145:

     Behold the child, by Nature's kindly law,
     Pleas'd with a rattle, tickled with a straw.

   • c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:

     Such a nature
     Tickled with good success, disdains the shadow
     Which he treads on at noon.

6. (intransitive) To feel titillation.
   • 1591, Ed[mund] Sp[enser], “Muiopotmos, or The Fate of the Butterflie”, in Complaints. Containing Sundrie Small Poemes of the Worlds Vanitie. […], London: […] William Ponsonbie, […], →OCLC:

     He with secret joy therefore
     Did tickle inwardly in every vein.

7. (transitive) To catch fish in the hand (usually in rivers or smaller streams) by manually stimulating the fins.
8. (archaic) To be excited or heartened.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:tickle.

Synonyms

• kittle

Translations

to touch in a manner that causes tingling sensation

• Afrikaans: kielie
• Arabic: دَغْدَغَ (daḡdaḡa)

  Egyptian Arabic: زَغْزَغ (zaḡzaḡ)

• Armenian: խտղտել (hy) (xtġtel), խտղտացնել (hy) (xtġtacʻnel)
• Azerbaijani: qıdıqlamaq
• Belarusian: казыта́ць impf (kazytácʹ), ласката́ць impf (laskatácʹ), шчаката́ць impf (ščakatácʹ), казлыта́ць impf (kazlytácʹ), шлаката́ць impf (šlakatácʹ)
• Bulgarian: гъдели́чкам (bg) impf (gǎdelíčkam)
• Catalan: fer pessigolles
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 擳／𰓜 (zit¹)

  Mandarin: 胳肢 (zh) (gézhi), 癢癢／痒痒 (zh) (yǎngyang)

• Czech: lechtat impf
• Danish: kilde (da)
• Dutch: kietelen (nl), kriebelen (nl)
• Esperanto: tikli (eo)
• Estonian: kõditama
• Faroese: kitla
• Finnish: kutittaa (fi)
• French: chatouiller (fr)
• Georgian: ხიცინი (xicini)
• German: kitzeln (de)
• Greek: γαργαλώ (el) (gargaló), γαργαλάω (el) (gargaláo)

  Ancient: γαργαλίζω (gargalízō), κνήθω (knḗthō)

• Hebrew: דיגדג \ דִּגְדֵּג (digdég)
• Hindi: गुदगुदाना (hi) (gudgudānā)
• Icelandic: kitla
• Irish: cigil
• Italian: solleticare (it), titillare (it)
• Japanese: 擽る (ja) (くすぐる, kusuguru)
• Karelian: kut’kuttua
• Kazakh: қытықтау (qytyqtau)
• Korean: 간질이다 (ko) (ganjirida)
• Kyrgyz: кытыгылоо (kıtıgıloo)
• Ladin: fé la catidles
• Latgalian: kitynuot
• Latin: tītillō (la)
• Latvian: kutināt
• Macedonian: скокотка impf (skokotka), скокотне pf (skokotne)
• Maori: whakatongene, whakakuikui, whakangaoko, noenoe, whakakoekoe, whakamāngeongeo, whakangeongeo, tōkenekene
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: гижигдэх (mn) (gižigdex)

• Norman: catouoilli
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: kile (no)

  Nynorsk: kitle

• Occitan: cotiguejar, cosserguejar
• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: скъкътати impf (skŭkŭtati), скоктати impf (skoktati) (Russian recension)

• Old English: ċitelian, tinclian
• Persian: غلغلک دادن (ğelğelak dâdan), قلقلک دادن (qelqelak dâdan)
• Polish: łaskotać (pl) impf, gilgać impf, łechtać impf, smyrać impf
• Portuguese: fazer cócegas, titilar (pt)
• Quechua: kullay
• Romanian: gâdila (ro)
• Russian: щекота́ть (ru) impf (ščekotátʹ), пощекота́ть (ru) pf (poščekotátʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: голѝцати impf

  Roman: golìcati (sh) impf

• Sicilian: cadugghiari
• Slovak: štekliť impf
• Slovene: žgečkati (sl) impf, ščegetati impf
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: łakosćiś impf

• Spanish: hacer cosquillas, cosquillear (es)
• Swedish: kittla (sv), killa (sv)
• Tagalog: kumiliti (actor trigger I), mangiliti (actor trigger III), kilitiin (object trigger I)
• Tajik: китиқ кардан (kitiq kardan), ҷиҷолак кардан (jijolak kardan)
• Thai: จี้ (th) (jîi)
• Turkish: gıdıklamak (tr)
• Ukrainian: лоскота́ти impf (loskotáty), залоскота́ти pf (zaloskotáty)
• Urdu: گدگدانا (gudgudānā)
• Uyghur: غىدىقلىماق (ghidiqlimaq)
• Uzbek: qitiqlamoq (uz)
• Vietnamese: cù (vi), cù lét, chọc lét, thọc lét
• Welsh: goglais (cy)

to feel as if being tickled

• Bulgarian: гъдел ме е (gǎdel me e)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 發癢／发痒 (zh) (fāyǎng)

• Finnish: kutista (fi), kutiaa (fi)
• Maori: ngaoko, patete
• Old English: ċitelian, tinclian
• Turkish: gıdıklanmak (tr)

to appeal to someone's taste, curiosity etc.

• Finnish: kiinnostaa (fi)

to cause delight or amusement

• Bulgarian: угаждам (bg) (ugaždam)
• Finnish: jännittää (fi), innostaa (fi)

to catch fish in the hand by stimulating the fins

• Bulgarian: ловя с ръце (lovja s rǎce)
• Maori: tīnaonao

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Georgian: ^{(please verify)} ღიტინი (ɣiṭini), ^{(please verify)} ღუტუნი (ɣuṭuni), ^{(please verify)} გართობა (gartoba), ^{(please verify)} გამხიარულება (gamxiaruleba)
• Vietnamese: ^{(please verify)} cù (vi)

Adjective

tickle (comparative more tickle, superlative most tickle)

1. (obsolete) Changeable, capricious; insecure.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto IV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

     So ticle be the termes of mortall state,
     And full of subtile sophismes, which do play
     With double senses, and with false debate […]

Adverb

tickle (comparative more tickle, superlative most tickle)

1. Insecurely, precariously, unstably.
   • c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:

     Lucio. I warrant it is: And thy head stands so tickle on
     thy shoulders, that a milke-maid, if she be in loue, may
     sigh it off: Send after the Duke, and appeale to him.

Derived terms

• knee ticklers
• rib-tickling
• slap and tickle
• tickle-footed
• tickle pink
• tickler
• tickle someone's fancy
• tickle someone's funny bone
• tickle someone's pickle
• tickle the dragon's tail
• tickle the ear
• tickle the ivories
• tickle the ivory
• ticklish
• tickly

 

Anagrams

• Keltic