Etymology

buckle

buck·le
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Today it means: 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. Full definition →

Middle English bokel ← Old French boucle ← Latin buccula
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buckle · noun, verb1

  1. Middle English · inherited frombokelen
  2. Latin · derived frombuccula“cheek strap of a helmet; boss of a shield”
  3. Old French · derived fromboucle
  4. Middle English · inherited frombokel“spiked metal ring for fastening; ornamental clasp; boss of a shield; a shield, buckler; (figurative) means of defence”
  5. English todaybuckle

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.

buckle · verb, noun2

  1. Middle French · derived fromboucler“to bulge”
  2. Middle English · inherited frombukklen
  3. English todaybuckle

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).

Words from the same roots

Latinbuccula all →

bucklerbuccula

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.