rankle

verb

ran·​kle ˈraŋ-kəl 

rankled; rankling ˈraŋ-k(ə-)liŋ 

intransitive verb

1

: to cause anger, irritation, or deep bitterness

2

: to feel anger and irritation

transitive verb

: to cause irritation or bitterness in

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The Connection Between Rankle and Dragon

When rankle was first used in English, it meant "to fester," and that meaning is related to French words referring to a sore and tracing to Latin dracunculus. The Latin is from draco, the word for a serpent and the source of English's dragon. The transition from serpents to sores is apparently from people associating the appearance of certain ulcers or tumors to small serpents.

Synonyms

• boil
• burn
• foam
• fume
• rage
• seethe
• sizzle
• steam
• storm

Examples of rankle in a Sentence

The joke about her family rankled her.

that kind of rude treatment from a young person makes me rankle

Recent Examples on the Web

The proposal pleased New Mexicans and rankled Arizonans of the time. —Kaely Monahan, The Arizona Republic, 10 Apr. 2024

The war and status of the islands still rankles deeply many Argentinians and the cause has often been taken up by the country’s politicians in the years since. —Abel Alvarado, CNN, 2 Apr. 2024

Still, Gallagher’s move has rankled some in the northeastern Wisconsin district. —Lawrence Andrea, Journal Sentinel, 25 Mar. 2024

But the draft always rankled many in the U.S. As the Vietnam War dragged on and grew more intense, opposition grew to the draft as well as the war itself. —Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 21 Jan. 2024

No issue facing Maryland has rankled Maddage more than the lack of affordable housing. —Emily Guskin, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2024

Separately, Business Insider recently rankled billionaire investor Bill Ackman after publishing an article alleging his wife, Neri Oxman, a former MIT professor, had committed plagiarism in her 2010 dissertation. —Todd Spangler, Variety, 25 Jan. 2024

The revision rankled some corners of rural America. —Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY, 5 Mar. 2024

Gantz’s three-day trip to the US capital has rankled some of Netanyahu’s allies. —Helen Regan, CNN, 4 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ranclen to fester, from Anglo-French rancler, from Old French draoncler, raoncler, from draoncle, raoncle festering sore, from Medieval Latin dracunculus, from Latin, diminutive of draco serpent — more at dragon

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

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Kids Definition

rankle

verb

ran·​kle ˈraŋ-kəl 

rankled; rankling -k(ə-)liŋ 

: to cause anger, irritation, or deep bitterness

Etymology

Middle English ranclen "to fester," from early French rancler (same meaning), derived from earlier draoncle, raoncle "a festering sore," from Latin dracunculus "little serpent, little dragon," from earlier draco "serpent, dragon," from Greek drākon "serpent, dragon" — related to dragon

Word Origin

The Greek word drakōn, meaning "serpent, dragon," was borrowed into Latin as draco. Later, the noun dracunculus, meaning "little serpent," was formed from draco. The French borrowed this noun as draoncle or raoncle but used it for "a festering sore or ulcer." It seems that the form of such a sore looked something like the form of a small serpent. From the noun the French formed the verb rancler, "to fester." In the 14th century, the verb was taken into English as rankle, with the same meaning. Our word dragon also comes from the Greek drakōn by way of the Latin draco.