Word of the Day

: April 25, 2014

truckle

verb TRUK-ul

What It Means

: to act in a subservient manner : submit

truckle in Context

Duane eventually lost his job because he was unwilling to truckle to his managers and participate in their often illegal schemes.

"An ever-increasing number of residents are increasingly angry at the City's truckling to business interests.…" - From an article by Peggy Clifford in the Santa Monica Dispatch, November 14, 2013

Did You Know?

When "truckle" was first used in English in the 15th century, it meant "small wheel" or "pulley." Such small wheels were often attached to the underside of low beds, to allow them to be easily moved under high beds for storage. These beds came to be known as "truckle beds" (or "trundle beds"), and a verb "truckle"-meaning "to sleep in a truckle bed"-came into being. By the 17th century, the fact that truckle beds were pushed under larger standard beds had inspired a figurative sense of "truckle": "to yield to the wishes of another" or "to bend obsequiously." The initial verb meaning became obsolete; the newer sense is fairly rare but is still in use.