kittle

K5I1T1T1L1E1

verb

To tickle, to touch lightly.

Similar
troublesomedifficultvariable
OriginMiddle English kitelen ← Old English citelian ← Proto-West Germanic *kitilōn →
UncommonScrabble 10
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Meanings

kittle1

verbkittle (third-person singular simple present kittles, present participle kittling, simple past and past participle kittled)

present singular third person kittles · participle present kittling · participle past kittled · past kittled · alternative kittel

  1. Northern EnglandScotlandtransitiveTo tickle, to touch lightly.
adjectivekittle (comparative kittler, superlative kittlest)

comparative kittler · superlative kittlest · alternative kittel

  1. Northern EnglandScotlandTicklish.
  2. Northern EnglandScotlandNot easily managed

    Synonyms: troublesome, difficult, variable

kittle2

verbkittle (third-person singular simple present kittles, present participle kittling, simple past and past participle kittled)

present singular third person kittles · participle present kittling · participle past kittled · past kittled

  1. Northern EnglandScotlandintransitiveTo bring forth young, as a cat; to kitten; to litter.

Kittle3

proper nounKittle (countable and uncountable, plural Kittles)

plural Kittles

  1. countableuncountableA surname.
  2. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Fulton County, Arkansas, United States.
  3. countableuncountableA village in Pennard community, City and County of Swansea, Wales (OS grid ref SS5789).

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveNot easily managed

Similar
troublesomedifficultvariable
Also see
tickle

Origin

kittle · verb, adjective

  1. Proto-Indo-European*geyd-“to stick, jab, tickle”
  2. Proto-Germanic*kitōną“to tickle”
  3. Proto-Germanic*kitilōną
  4. Proto-West Germanic*kitilōn
  5. Old Englishcitelian“to tickle”
  6. Middle Englishkitelen
  7. Englishkittle

From Middle English kitelen, from Old English citelian (“to tickle”), from Proto-West Germanic *kitilōn, from Proto-Germanic *kitilōną, frequentative form of Proto-Germanic *kitōną (“to tickle”), from Proto-Indo-European *geyd- (“to stick, jab, tickle”). Cognate with Dutch kittelen, kietelen (“to tickle”), Low German kettelen, ketelen (“to tickle”), German kitzeln (“to tickle”), Icelandic kitla (“to tickle”), Swedish kittla, kittsla, Danish kilde and perhaps Old Armenian կիծ- (kic-, “to sting, bite”), but note that many such words are sound-symbolic. Compare tickle.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

kittle · verb

  1. Old Norsekjetla“to bring forth young”
  2. Middle Englishkitelen
  3. Englishkittle

From Middle English kitelen, from Old Norse kjetla (“to bring forth young”), equivalent to kit + -le.

More words from Middle English, Old Norse

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

kittel
Cite this entry
APA

kittle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kittle

MLA

“kittle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kittle. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kittle,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kittle.

Source: kittle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.