buckle
pronunciation
How to pronounce buckle in British English:
UK [ˈbʌkl]
How to pronounce buckle in American English:
US [ˈbʌkl]
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- Noun:
- fastener that fastens together two ends of a belt or strap; often has loose prong
- a shape distorted by twisting or folding
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- Verb:
- fasten with a buckle or buckles
- fold or collapse
- bend out of shape, as under pressure or from heat
Word Origin
- buckle
- buckle: [14] English acquired buckle via Old French boucla from Latin buccula ‘cheek strap of a helmet’. This was a diminutive form of Latin bucca ‘cheek’ (source of French bouche ‘mouth’), which gave English the anatomical term buccal ‘of the cheeks’ [19], and some have speculated is related to English pock. The notion of ‘fastening’ implicit in the Latin word carried through into English.As well as ‘cheek strap’, Latin buccula meant ‘boss in the middle of a shield’. Old French boucle adopted this sense too, and created the derivative boucler, originally an adjective, meaning (of a shield) ‘having a central boss’. English borrowed this as buckler ‘small round shield’ [13]. The verb buckle was created from the English noun in the late 14th century, but the sense ‘distort’, which developed in the 16th century, comes from French boucler, which had come to mean ‘curl, bulge’.Also from the French verb is bouclé ‘yarn with irregular loops’ [19].=> bouclé, buckler
- buckle (v.1)
- late 14c., bokelen, "to fasten with a buckle," from buckle (n.). Related: Buckled; buckling. To buckle down "apply effort, settle down," (1874) is said to be a variant of knuckle down (see knuckle).
- buckle (n.)
- "spiked metal ring for holding a belt, etc., c. 1300, bukel, from Old French bocle "boss (of a shield)," then "shield," then by further extension "buckle, metal ring," (12c., Modern French boucle), from Latin buccula "cheek strap of a helmet," in Late Latin "boss of a shield," diminutive of bucca "cheek" (see bouche). Boucle in the middle ages had the double sense of a "shield's boss" and "a ring"; the last sense has alone survived, and it metaph. developed in the boucle de cheveux, ringlets. [Kitchin]
- buckle (v.2)
- "distort, warp, bend out of shape" 1520s, bokelen "to arch the body," from Middle French boucler "to bulge," from Old French bocler "to bulge," from bocle "boss of a shield" (see buckle (n.)). Meaning "bend under strong pressure" is from 1590s (figurative from 1640s) . Related: Buckled; buckling.
Example
- 1. A man riding a dolphin upon a belt buckle .
- 2. Don 't wet it too much or it will buckle .
- 3. The deal struck in the america 's steel city is a step in the right direction , but it could soon begin to buckle .
- 4. For all the bile that some are now hurling , especially at germany , the odds are that greece 's politicians will buckle .
- 5. She may have told you it was " better to be safe than sorry " as she advised you to buckle your seat belt or admonished " when in doubt , throw it out " , as you speculated on the odds of getting food poisoning from the leftover turkey you forgot to refrigerate the night before .