tickle

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English tiklen, tikelen, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from a frequentative form of Middle English tikken (“to touch lightly”), thus equivalent to tick +‎ -le; or perhaps related to Old English tinclian (“to tickle”). Compare North Frisian tigele (“to tickle”) (Hallig dialect), and tiikle (“to tickle”) (Amrum dialect), German dialectal zicklen (“to excite; stir up”). Alternatively, from a metathetic alteration of Middle English kitelen ("to tickle"; see kittle). Both are ultimately sound-symbolic. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈtɪkl̩/ Rhymes: -ɪkəl Hyphenation: tick‧le === Noun === tickle (plural tickles) The act of tickling. An itchy feeling resembling the result of tickling. (cricket, informal) A light tap of the ball. (Newfoundland) A narrow strait, such as between an island and the shore. ==== Translations ==== === Verb === tickle (third-person singular simple present tickles, present participle tickling, simple past and past participle tickled) (transitive) To touch repeatedly or stroke delicately in a manner which typically causes laughter, pleasure and twitching. (intransitive, of a body part) To feel as if the body part in question is being tickled. (transitive) To appeal to someone's taste, curiosity etc. (transitive) To cause delight or amusement in. (intransitive) To feel titillation. (transitive) To catch fish in the hand (usually in rivers or smaller streams) by manually stimulating the fins. (archaic) To be excited or heartened. ==== Quotations ==== For quotations using this term, see Citations:tickle. ==== Synonyms ==== kittle ==== Descendants ==== → Esperanto: tikli ==== Translations ==== === Adjective === tickle (comparative more tickle, superlative most tickle) (obsolete) Changeable, capricious; insecure. === Adverb === tickle (comparative more tickle, superlative most tickle) Insecurely, precariously, unstably. === Derived terms === === Anagrams === Keltic