English word origin

Etymology of eckle

From a variation of ickle (“icicle”), from Middle English ikil, ykle, from Old English ġicel (“ice, icicle”), from Proto-West Germanic *jikil, from Proto-Germanic *jekulaz (“piece of ice”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

An icicle. · The crest of a cock. · A woodpecker.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionikilenm
Inherited-form mentionġicelang
Inherited-form mention*jikilgmw-pro
Inherited-form mention*jekulazgem-pro
Derivation mention*h₁eyH-ine-pro

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "ikil"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English ikil"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ġicel",
        "4": "",
        "5": "ice, icicle"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ġicel (“ice, icicle”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*jikil"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *jikil"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*jekulaz",
        "4": "",
        "5": "piece of ice"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *jekulaz (“piece of ice”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₁eyH-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "icefloe, icicle"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH- (“icefloe, icicle”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "ickle",
      "ickle#English"
    ],
    [
      "ikil",
      "ikil#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ykle",
      "ykle#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ġicel",
      "gicel#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*jikil",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/jikil"
    ],
    [
      "*jekulaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/jekulaz"
    ],
    [
      "*h₁eyH-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁eyH-"
    ],
    [
      "ickle",
      "ickle#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "An icicle.",
        "The crest of a cock.",
        "A woodpecker."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dialectal",
        "plural-normally"
      ],
      "recordId": "4121bd1c8754026f1caba481f801c13acd55d91ead526d8412010119bf1f8d96",
      "rawRecordSha256": "42958833b4fa36a0b70ef00c84542cf905d20f604ff8c84532fb7389b75d7dd5",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 3498728
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

verb

To aim; intend; design.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Alteration of ettle.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "ettle",
      "ettle#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To aim; intend; design."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Northern-England",
        "intransitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "8e22f64349a020c3887c1b75456787e79217f9dba21b2bee44dad53e63608df8",
      "rawRecordSha256": "2e96f05cdf83eabe683293388895b1042114c2684c07526a01be03a04f1b2f58",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 3498729
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
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    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for eckle →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-ZWNrbGU