fickle
/ˈfɪk.əl/ adjective, verb, proper noun
Forms fickler ficklest fickles fickling fickled
- adjective Quick to change one’s opinion or allegiance; insincere; not loyal or reliable.
- adjective (figurative) Changeable. “fickle breeze”
- verb (transitive) To deceive, flatter.
- verb (transitive, UK dialectal) To puzzle, perplex, nonplus.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
flighty capricious mercurial erratic vertiginous roving volatile quicksilver
Etymology
From Middle English fikil, fikel, from Old English ficol (“fickle, cunning, tricky, deceitful”), equivalent to fike + -le. More at fike.
From Middle English fikelen, from fikel (“fickle”); see above. Cognate with Low German fikkelen (“to deceive, flatter”), German ficklen, ficheln (“to deceive, flatter”).
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Not fixed or firm; liable to change; unstable; of a changeable mind; not firm in opinion or purpose; inconstant; capricious; as, Fortune's fickle wheel. Shak.
Etymology [OE. fikel untrustworthy, deceitful, AS. ficol, fr. fic, gefic, fraud, deceit; cf. facen deceit, OS. f, OHG. feichan, Icel. feikn portent. Cf. Fidget.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “fickle”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details