Etymology

rackle

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Today it means: A chain. Full definition →

Middle English rakyl
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rackle · noun, verb1

  1. Middle English · inherited fromrakyl“chain”
  2. English todayrackle

From Middle English rakyl (“chain”), apparently related to Old Frisian rakels (“chain”), French racle ("the iron ring of a door" (from a Germanic source)), and also Middle English rakente, from Old English racente (“chain, fetter”). More at rackan.

rackle · adjective2

  1. Old Norse · derived fromreka
  2. Middle English · inherited fromreken“to drive; move; tend”
  3. English todayrackle

Uncertain. Probably from rack (“to drive; move; go forward rapidly”), alteration of Middle English reken (“to drive; move; tend”), from Old Norse reka, vreka (“to drive; drift; toss”) + -le (“tending or prone to”). Related to Icelandic reka, Swedish vräka, Danish vrage, English wrack.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishreken all →

reek

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.