buckle
/ˈbʌkəl/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms buckles buckling buckled bucklest buckledst buckleth
- noun A metal clasp with a hinged tongue or a spike through which a belt or strap is passed and penetrated by the tongue or spike, in order to fasten the ends of the belt together or to secure the strap to something else.
- noun (by extension) Some other form of clasp used to fasten two things together.
- noun (Canada, heraldry) An image of a clasp (etymology 1, noun sense 1) used as the brisure of an eighth daughter.
- noun A great conflict or struggle.
- verb To fasten (something) using a buckle (noun etymology 1, noun sense 1); hence (obsolete), to fasten (something) in any way.
- verb (reflexive) To apply (oneself) to, or prepare (oneself) for, a task or work; also (obsolete), to equip (oneself) for a battle, expedition, etc.
- verb (UK, dialectal (especially Scotland) or humorous) To unite (people) in marriage; to marry.
- verb To apply oneself to or prepare for a task or work.
- verb (UK, dialectal (especially Scotland) or humorous) To unite with someone in marriage; to marry.
- verb (obsolete except UK, dialectal) To participate in some contest or labour; to join in close fight; to contend.
- verb To cause (something) to bend, or to become distorted.
- verb (obsolete) To curl (hair).
- verb Of a thing (especially a slender structure under compression): to collapse or distort under physical pressure.
- verb (figurative) Of a person: to (suddenly) cease resisting pressure or stress; to give in or give way, to yield. “It is amazing that he has never buckled after so many years of doing such urgent work.”
- noun (countable) A distortion; a bend, bulge, or kink. “We can’t use that saw any more. It’s got a buckle in its blade.”
- noun (roofing) An upward, elongated displacement of a roof membrane, frequently occurring over deck joints or insulation, which may indicate movement of the roof assembly.
- noun (countable, Canada, US, baking) Usually preceded by a descriptive word: a cake baked with fresh fruit (often blueberries) and a streusel topping.
- noun (countable, obsolete) A curl of hair, especially a kind of crisp curl formerly worn; also (countable, uncountable), the state of hair being curled in this manner.
- proper noun A surname originating as an occupation for a maker or seller of buckles.
Synonyms
buckle down cave cave in crumple fold break buck surrender warp clasp heave
Antonyms
Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English bokel (“spiked metal ring for fastening; ornamental clasp; boss of a shield; a shield, buckler; (figurative) means of defence”) [and other forms], from Old French boucle, bocle (“spiked metal ring for fastening; boss of a shield; a shield”) [and other forms], from Latin buccula (“cheek strap of a helmet; boss of a shield”) (from bucca (“soft part of the cheek”)).
Noun etymology 1, noun sense 2 (“great conflict or struggle”) is probably derived from verb etymology 1, verb sense 1.2.1 (“to apply (oneself) to, or prepare (oneself) for, a task or work”).
The verb is derived from Middle English bokelen, bukelen (“to fasten (something) with a buckle or clasp; to fasten, make fast; to wrap; to arch the body”) [and other forms], from bokel (noun) (see above) + -en (suffix forming the infinitive of verbs).
In verb etymology 1, verb sense 1.2.1, the sense “to apply (oneself) to, or prepare (oneself) for, a task or work” was derived from the now obsolete sense “to equip (oneself) for a battle, etc.”, and originally alluded to armour being buckled on to the body.
Origin uncertain. Probably from Middle English bukklen, bokelen (“to arch the body”), from Middle French boucler (“to bulge”, literally “to take the shape of a shield boss”), perhaps from the same ultimate origin as Etymology 1 above, or perhaps related to Middle Low German bockelen (“to bang out curves in metal”), German buckeln (“to bend over, hunch”). In some senses, possibly from buck (“to bend, yield, buckle”) + -le (frequentative suffix).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A device, usually of metal, consisting of a frame with one more movable tongues or catches, used for fastening things together, as parts of dress or harness, by means of a strap passing through the frame and pierced by the tongue.
- noun A distortion bulge, bend, or kink, as in a saw blade or a plate of sheet metal. Knight.
- verb To fasten or confine with a buckle or buckles; as, to buckle a harness.
- verb To bend; to cause to kink, or to become distorted.
Etymology [OE. bocle buckle, boss of a shield, OF. bocle, F. boucle, boss of a shield, ring, fr. L. buccula a little cheek or mouth, dim. of bucca cheek; this boss or knob resembling a cheek.]
Etymology [OE. boclen, F. boucler. See Buckle, n.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “buckle”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details