Etymology

crackle

C3R1A1C3K5L1E1

Today it means: A prolonged, frequent cracking sound; a fizzing, popping sound. Full definition →

Middle English crakelen
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The story

  1. Middle English · inherited fromcrakelen
  2. English todaycrackle

From Middle English crakelen, equivalent to crack + -le (frequentative suffix). The physics sense is part of a facetious sequence "snap, crackle, pop", after the mascots of Rice Krispies cereal.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.