English
trickle
Trickle comes from Middle English triklen.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500triklen
- Englishearliest quotation 1897trickle
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500triklen
- Englishearliest quotation 1897trickle
Earliest quotation: 1897, James Bryce: “The streams that run south and east from the…”.
Formed from strike + -le
Proto-Indo-European *streyg- ‘to stroke’
Proto-Germanic *strīkaną ‘to stroke’
Proto-West Germanic *strīkan ‘to stroke’
Old English strīcan ‘to pass lightly over’
Middle English stryken ‘to strike’
English strike
The story
For other similar cases of incorrect division, see also apron, daffodil, newt, nickname, orange, umpire.
Every English word from Middle English triklen
Today it means
noun A very thin river.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English triklen / trickle