buckle

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   A metal clasp with a hinged tongue or a spike through which a belt or strap is passed and…

   A metal clasp with a hinged tongue or a spike through which a belt or strap is passed and penetrated by the tongue or spike, in order to fasten the ends of the belt together or to secure the strap to something else.

   • Svveet Hellen I muſt vvoe you, / To helpe vn-arme our Hector: his ſtubborne bucles / VVith this your vvhite enchaunting fingers touch; / Shall more obey then to the edge of ſteele, / Or force of Greekiſh ſinevves: […]
   • Tongue of my shoe-buckle broke. […] Bought a new head to my cane, and a tongue to my buckle. Drank a glass of purl to recover appetite.
   • My uncle furthermore remarked that it wore high heeled shoes, after an ancient fashion, with paste or diamond buckles, that sparkled as though they were alive.
2. 2

   A great conflict or struggle.

3. 3

   To fasten (something) using a buckle (noun etymology 1, noun sense 1)

   To fasten (something) using a buckle (noun etymology 1, noun sense 1); hence (obsolete), to fasten (something) in any way.

   • Iuſt. [i.e., the Lord Chief Justice, William Gascoigne] VVel, the truth is ſir Iohn, you liue in great infamy. / Falſt[aff]. He that buckles himſelfe in my belt cannot liue in leſſe.
   • [H]ovv briefe the Life of man / runs his erring pilgrimage, / That the ſtretching of a ſpan, / buckles in his ſumme of age.
   • It is a ſigne that a man hath to doe vvith a ſtrong enemie vvhen he buckleth on all his harneſſe, and calleth together all his ſtrength for oppoſition.
4. ›+ 13 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      To apply (oneself) to, or prepare (oneself) for, a task or work

      To apply (oneself) to, or prepare (oneself) for, a task or work; also (obsolete), to equip (oneself) for a battle, expedition, etc.

      • He left his lofty ſteede to aide him neare, / And buckling ſoone him ſelfe, gan fiercely fly / Vppon that Carle, to ſaue his friend from ieopardy.
   2. 5

      To unite (people) in marriage

      To unite (people) in marriage; to marry.

      • [T]ake my advice, and marry in the firſt place vvhere vve can find a curate; or make uſe of our friend the licentiate, vvho vvill buckle you handſomely.
      • They were hailed […] as a young strapping Irishman, conveying an ancient maiden to Dr Rigmarole's at Redriffe, who buckles beggars for a tester and a dram of Geneva.
   3. 6

      To apply oneself to or prepare for a task or work.

      • The firſt thing vve doe in the morning before vve either eate or drink, or buckle about any vvorldly buſineſſe, is to put our clothes about vs: vve ſay, vve are not ready, till vve haue done that.
      • [For a man] to be deceiued, vvith too long Shadovves, […] And ſo to ſhoot off before the time; Or to teach dangers to come on, by ouer early Buckling tovvards them, is another Extreme.
   4. 7

      To unite with someone in marriage

      To unite with someone in marriage; to marry.

      • Yet thou, they ſay, for Marriage do'ſt provide: / Is this an Age to Buckle vvith a Bride?
   5. 8

      To participate in some contest or labour

      To participate in some contest or labour; to join in close fight; to contend.

      • So they buckled together, and the Heithen were diſcomfited, and fled ouer the playne felde: but the hynmoſt of them were ſlayne.
      • In ſingle Combat thou ſhalt buckle vvith me; / And if thou vanquiſheſt, thy vvords are true, / Othervviſe I renounce all confidence.
   6. 9

      To cause (something) to bend, or to become distorted.

      • [R]eaſon doth buckle and bovve the Mind vnto the Nature of things.
      • Throw all their ſcandalous malice upon me? / 'Cauſe I am poor, deform'd and ignorant, / And like a Bow buckl'd and bent together, / By ſome more ſtrong in miſchiefs then my ſelf?
   7. 10

      To curl (hair).

   8. 11

      Of a thing (especially a slender structure under compression)

      Of a thing (especially a slender structure under compression): to collapse or distort under physical pressure.

      • And as the vvretch vvhoſe feuer-vveakned ioynts, / Like ſtrengthleſſe hinges buckle vnder life, / […] euen ſo my limbes, / VVeakened vvith griefe, being novv enragde vvith griefe, / Are thrice themſelues: […]
      • Sideways leaning, we sideways darted; every ropeyarn tingling like a wire; the two tall masts buckling like Indian canes in land tornadoes.
   9. 12

      Of a person

      Of a person: to (suddenly) cease resisting pressure or stress; to give in or give way, to yield.

      • It is amazing that he has never buckled after so many years of doing such urgent work.
      • Mr. Gray did tell me to-night, for certain, that the Dutch, as high as they seem, do begin to buckle; and that one man in this Kingdom did tell the King that he is offered £40,000 to make a peace, and others have been offered money also.
   10. 13

       A distortion

       A distortion; a bend, bulge, or kink.

       • We can’t use that saw any more. It’s got a buckle in its blade.
   11. 14

       Usually preceded by a descriptive word

       Usually preceded by a descriptive word: a cake baked with fresh fruit (often blueberries) and a streusel topping.

   12. 15

       A curl of hair, especially a kind of crisp curl formerly worn

       A curl of hair, especially a kind of crisp curl formerly worn; also (countable, uncountable), the state of hair being curled in this manner.

       • For vvhat's a VVoman, vvhen her Virtue's gone? / A Coat vvithout its Lace; VVig out of Buckle; / A Stocking vvith a Hole in't.
       • That live-long VVig vvhich Gorgon's ſelf might ovvn, / Eternal buckle takes in Parian ſtone.
   13. 16

       A surname originating as an occupation for a maker or seller of buckles.

The neighborhood

• neighborsun kink