This week’s theme
Nouning verbs, verbing nouns

This week’s words
eddy
brandish
truckle

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(TRUHK-uhl)

MEANING:

verb intr.:	To act in a servile manner.
verb tr.:	To move or roll on small wheels.
noun:	1. A low bed that slides under another bed. Also known as a truckle bed or a trundle bed.
	2. A small wheel.
	3. A small barrel-shaped cheese.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Anglo-French trocle (roller, pulley), from Latin trochlea (pulley), from Greek trochilea (pulley). Earliest documented use: noun: 1417, verb: 1625.

NOTES:

Earlier, the verb truckle meant to sleep on a truckle bed. Because a truckle bed goes under a high bed, and it was used by servants and kids, the verb form of the word acquired its metaphorical sense.

USAGE:

“Walt Whitman became a pop star for reminding his countrymen of the duty never to truckle: ‘Take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men.’”
Virginia Heffernan; How to Fight VIP Culture; Los Angeles Times; Jun 3, 2018.

“Aldi has a selection of Happy Farms Preferred Irish and speciality cheese truckles for $3.99.”
Michelle Mills; Aldi has Irish Cheese on Sale; Whittier Daily News (California); Mar 14, 2019.

See more usage examples of truckle in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: