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truckle

Etymology and origin of the English word truckle

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈtɹʌkəl/[1]

Etymology

The verb comes from truckle bed, a low bed on small wheels,[2][3][4][5][6] in allusion to its use by servants and inferiors or to its lower position.[3][4][5] The noun truckle “small wheel, pulley” comes from Middle English trocle,[2][3][4] from Anglo-Norman trocle,[2][3][4] from Latin trochlea (“pulley”),[2][3][4][6] from Greek trokhós “wheel”, from trékhein “to run”.[3][4] It is related to trochee.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The noun, a small wheel or pulley (1397 in Barnhart; 1417 in the OED);[3][7] truckle bed is from 1459.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The verb first meant to sleep in a truckle bed (1612–13).[3][7][4] From 1667 it meant to take a subordinate position,[3][7] and from 1680 to submit or yield obsequiously, to act servilely.[7][4] Merriam-Webster dates the verb in this sense to 1647.[5]

Timeline

  • 1397 – trokell, a small wheel.[3]
  • 1459 – truckle bed.[3]
  • 1612 – verb, to sleep in a truckle bed.[3][7]
  • 1667 – verb, to take a subordinate position.[3][7]
  • 1680 – verb, to submit servilely.[7]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To yield or submit tamely and servilely, usually with to; to fawn or kowtow.

Noun

  1. A small wheel or roller; a caster or pulley.
  2. A truckle bed.
  3. A small barrel-shaped cheese.

Word family

  • truckler
  • trucklingly
  • truckle bed
  • trochlea
  • trochee
  • truck

Usage notes

Random House lists grovel, bow, concede and kowtow as synonyms of the verb.[6]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Truckle.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/truckle. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·