truckle1
- to submit or yield obsequiously or tamely (usually followed by to): Don't truckle to unreasonable demands.
Origin of truckle1
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comtruckle2
- truckle bed.
- a pulley.
Origin of truckle2
Related Words
kowtow, flatter, woo, grovel, stroke, oil, cajole, bootlick, toady, massage, apple-polishExamples from the Web for truckle
Historical Examples
Off with your cap, Snob; down on your knees, Snob, and truckle.
The Book of SnobsWilliam Makepeace Thackeray
While hunting about, he entered a small room in which were a couple of truckle bedsteads.
VillegagnonW.H.G. Kingston
Shall we be so vile as to truckle to the enemies of France and show that we can fear them?
I think it's sickening to try and truckle to her because she's so rich.
The Leader of the Lower SchoolAngela Brazil
"She tried to truckle to Norty, too," put in Patricia Lennox.
A Patriotic SchoolgirlAngela Brazil
truckle1
- (intr usually foll by to) to yield weakly; give in
Word Origin
truckle2
- a small wheel; caster
- a small barrel-shaped cheese
- (intr) to roll on truckles
- (tr) to push (a piece of furniture) along on truckles
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for truckle
n.
"small wheel or roller," late 14c., from Anglo-French trocle, from Latin trochlea "a small wheel, sheaf of a pulley," from Greek trokhileia "a pulley," from trokhos "wheel," from trekhein "to run," from PIE root *dhregh- "to run" (cf. Old Irish droch "wheel," Lithuanian pa-drosti "to run fast"). Truckle bed "small bed on wheels that can be stowed under a larger bed" is from mid-15c.
v.
"give up or submit tamely," 1610s, "sleep in a truckle bed" (see truckle (n.)). Meaning "give precedence, assume a submissive position" (1650s, implied in truckling) is perhaps in reference to that type of bed being used by servants and inferiors, or from it simply occupying the lower position. Related: Truckled; truckling.