buckle
English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From a frequentative form of buck (“to bend, buckle”), of Dutch Low Saxon or German Low German origin, related to Dutch bukken (“to stoop, bend, yield, submit”), German bücken (“to stoop, bend”), Swedish bocka (“to buck, bow”), equivalent to buck + -le. Compare Middle Dutch buchelen (“to strive, tug under a load”), dialectal German aufbückeln (“to raise or arch the back”).
Verb[edit]
buckle (third-person singular simple present buckles, present participle buckling, simple past and past participle buckled)
- (intransitive) To distort or collapse under physical pressure; especially, of a slender structure in compression.
- 2012 October 31, David M. Halbfinger, "[1]," New York Times (retrieved 31 October 2012):
- Perhaps as startling as the sheer toll was the devastation to some of the state’s well-known locales. Boardwalks along the beach in Seaside Heights, Belmar and other towns on the Jersey Shore were blown away. Amusement parks, arcades and restaurants all but vanished. Bridges to barrier islands buckled, preventing residents from even inspecting the damage to their property.
- 2012 October 31, David M. Halbfinger, "[1]," New York Times (retrieved 31 October 2012):
- (transitive) To make bend; to cause to become distorted.
- (intransitive, figuratively) To give in; to react suddenly or adversely to stress or pressure (of a person).
- It is amazing that he has never buckled after so many years of doing such urgent work.
- (intransitive) To yield; to give way; to cease opposing.
- 1664, Samuel Pepys, diary entry December 15
- The Dutch, as high as they seem, do begin to buckle.
- 1664, Samuel Pepys, diary entry December 15
- (obsolete, intransitive) To enter upon some labour or contest; to join in close fight; to contend.
- 1549, Hugh Latimer, The Second Sermon preached before King Edward
- The bishop was as able and ready to buckle with the Lord Protector as he was with him.
- c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene ii]:
- In single combat thou shalt buckle with me.
- 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 32, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, OCLC 57395299, page 157:
- Provoke him, and he will buckle to a shark.
- 1549, Hugh Latimer, The Second Sermon preached before King Edward
- To buckle down; to apply oneself.
- 1700, Isaac Barrow, Of Industry in our particular Calling, as Scholars
- To make our sturdy humour buckle thereto.
- December 6, 1838, James David Forbes, letter to J. T. Harrison, Esq.
- Before buckling to my winter's work.
- 1655, Thomas Fuller, James Nichols, editor, The Church History of Britain, […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), new edition, London: […] [James Nichols] for Thomas Tegg and Son, […], published 1837, OCLC 913056315:
- Cartwright buckled himself to the employment.
- 1700, Isaac Barrow, Of Industry in our particular Calling, as Scholars
Translations[edit]
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Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle English bokel (“spiked metal ring for holding a belt, etc”), from Old French boucle, bocle (“"boss (of a shield)" then "shield," later "buckle, metal ring”), from Latin buccula (“cheek strap of a helmet”), diminutive of bucca (“cheek”).
Noun[edit]
buckle (plural buckles)
- (countable) A clasp used for fastening two things together, such as the ends of a belt, or for retaining the end of a strap.
- (Canada, heraldry) The brisure of an eighth daughter.
- (roofing) An upward, elongated displacement of a roof membrane frequently occurring over insulation or deck joints. A buckle may be an indication of movement with the roof assembly.
- A distortion, bulge, bend, or kink, as in a saw blade or a plate of sheet metal[1].
- A curl of hair, especially a kind of crisp curl formerly worn; also, the state of being curled.
- 1824, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], Tales of a Traveller, (please specify |part=1 to 4), Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry] C[harles] Carey & I[saac] Lea, […], OCLC 864083:
- ear-locks in tight buckles on each side of a long lanthorn face
- 1711 August 8 (Gregorian calendar), Joseph Addison; Richard Steele [et al.], “SATURDAY, July 28, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 129; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume II, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, OCLC 191120697:
- lets his wig lie in buckle for a whole half year
- A contorted expression, as of the face.
- 1763, Charles Churchill, The Ghost
- 'Gainst nature arm'd by gravity, / His features too in buckle see.
- 1763, Charles Churchill, The Ghost
- (US, baking) A cake baked with fresh fruit and a streusel topping.
Translations[edit]
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Verb[edit]
buckle (third-person singular simple present buckles, present participle buckling, simple past and past participle buckled)
- (transitive) To fasten using a buckle.
- (Scotland) To unite in marriage.
- 1822 May 29, [Walter Scott], The Fortunes of Nigel. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., OCLC 277973588:
- Dr. R. who buckles beggars for a tester and a dram of Geneva.
Translations[edit]
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Derived terms[edit]
See also[edit]
- Janus word
- sun kink (buckle in railway track)
References[edit]
- ^ 1874, Edward H. Knight, American Mechanical Dictionary
Anagrams[edit]
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English terms with homophones
- Rhymes:English/ʌkəl
- Rhymes:English/ʌkəl/2 syllables
- English terms derived from Dutch Low Saxon
- English terms derived from German Low German
- English terms suffixed with -le
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English terms with quotations
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- Canadian English
- en:Heraldry
- en:Roofing
- American English
- en:Baking
- Scottish English
- en:Fasteners
- en:Hair
- en:Marriage