Buckle

How to spell buckle

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce buckle

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does buckle mean?

1. nounA clasp, usually of metal, used for fastening together two ends of a belt or strap.
2. verbTo fasten or secure something using a buckle.
3. verbTo bend, warp, or give way suddenly under pressure or strain.

Buckle in a sentence

• noun

  The silver buckle on his belt caught the light.

• verb

  Please buckle your seatbelt before the train departs.

• verb

  The old shelf began to buckle under the weight of the books.

• noun

  She replaced the broken buckle on her handbag strap.

• verb

  He stopped to buckle his sandal before the hike.

• verb

  Her knees started to buckle after the long climb.

Where does buckle come from?

Language of origin: French

The word arrived in English in the 1300s from the Old French boucle, which named the boss or central knob of a shield and also the metal clasp on a strap. That French word descends from the Latin buccula, a diminutive meaning 'little cheek', itself from bucca 'cheek or mouth'; in Roman use buccula referred to the cheek strap of a soldier's helmet, the very piece a clasp held in place. From the noun came a verb meaning 'to fasten with a buckle', and by the 1500s a second verb sense developed, 'to bend or warp under pressure', borrowed from the French boucler 'to bulge or curl'. The same Latin bucca survives in 'debouch' and in the Italian-derived 'bucket', and the unexpected 'cheek' origin is a useful hook for remembering the spelling. The -ck- doubling and the silent-sounding -le ending are the small traps, since the word is pronounced as two crisp syllables.

How the word is built

• buck- (from Latin buccula: cheek strap of a helmet, little cheek)
• -le (noun/diminutive ending)