truckle

[truhk-uhl]

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verb (used without object), truck·led, truck·ling.

to submit or yield obsequiously or tamely (usually followed by to): Don't truckle to unreasonable demands.

Origin of truckle

1605–15; special use of obsolete truckle to sleep on a truckle bed. See truckle²

Related formstruck·ler, nountruck·ling·ly, adverbun·truck·led, adjectiveun·truck·ling, adjective

Synonyms for truckle

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grovel, bow, concede, kowtow.

truckle

[truhk-uh l]

noun

truckle bed.
a pulley.

Origin of truckle

1375–1425; late Middle English trocle sheave, roller < Anglo-French < Latin trochlea pulley. See trochlea

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for truckle

kowtow, flatter, woo, grovel, stroke, oil, cajole, bootlick, toady, massage, apple-polish

Examples from the Web for truckle

Historical Examples of truckle

Off with your cap, Snob; down on your knees, Snob, and truckle.
The Book of Snobs
William Makepeace Thackeray
While hunting about, he entered a small room in which were a couple of truckle bedsteads.
Villegagnon
W.H.G. Kingston
Shall we be so vile as to truckle to the enemies of France and show that we can fear them?
Stories By English Authors: France
Various
I think it's sickening to try and truckle to her because she's so rich.
The Leader of the Lower School
Angela Brazil
"She tried to truckle to Norty, too," put in Patricia Lennox.
A Patriotic Schoolgirl
Angela Brazil

British Dictionary definitions for truckle

truckle

verb

(intr usually foll by to) to yield weakly; give in

Derived Formstruckler, noun

Word Origin for truckle

C17: from obsolete truckle to sleep in a truckle bed; see truckle ²

truckle

noun

a small wheel; caster
a small barrel-shaped cheese

verb

(intr) to roll on truckles
(tr) to push (a piece of furniture) along on truckles

Word Origin for truckle

C15 trokel, from Anglo-Norman trocle, from Latin trochlea sheaf of a pulley; see trochlea

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for truckle

"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.

"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.