Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
trickle en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈtɹɪkəl/
Etymology
From Middle English triklen, likely a rebracketing (e.g. teres strikled > teerys trikled (“tears trickled”)) of Middle English striklen (“to trickle”), equivalent to strike + -le.
For other similar cases of incorrect division, see also apron, daffodil, newt, nickname, orange, umpire.
Meanings
-
A very thin river.
The brook had shrunk to a mere trickle.
-
A very thin flow; the sound of such a flow.
The tap of the washbasin in my bedroom is leaking and the trickle drives me mad at night.
The streams that run south and east from the mountains to the coast are short and rapid torrents after a storm, but at other times dwindle to feeble trickles of mud.
1897, James Bryce, Impressions of South Africa:
Forms
Deriveds
tricklet · trickle charge
Translations (30)
eo flueto (a very thin flow; the act of trickling) · it sgocciolio (a very thin flow; the act of trickling) · sk stružka (a very thin river) · kmr robar (a very thin river) · cs čůrek (a very thin flow; the act of trickling) · es instilación (a very thin flow; the act of trickling) · de Getröpfel (a very thin flow; the act of trickling) · es chorreo (a very thin flow; the act of trickling) · uk струмочок (a very thin river) · sk pramienok (a very thin flow; the act of trickling) · fr filet (a very thin river) · de Rinnsal (a very thin river) · cs pramínek (a very thin flow; the act of trickling) · fr dégoulinade (a very thin flow; the act of trickling) · uk цівка (a very thin flow; the act of trickling) · es goteo (a very thin flow; the act of trickling) · it gocciolio (a very thin flow; the act of trickling) · sk jarok (a very thin river) · ru ручеёк (a very thin river) · eo rivereto (a very thin river) · es riachuelo (a very thin river) · es chiringuito (a very thin flow; the act of trickling) · fi noro (a very thin flow; the act of trickling) · de Tröpfeln (a very thin flow; the act of trickling) · ru стру́йка (a very thin flow; the act of trickling) · kmr herik (a very thin flow; the act of trickling) · fi puro (a very thin river) · bg капене (a very thin flow; the act of trickling) · sv droppande (a very thin flow; the act of trickling) · ga silín (a very thin flow; the act of trickling)
trickle en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈtɹɪkəl/
Etymology
From Middle English triklen, likely a rebracketing (e.g. teres strikled > teerys trikled (“tears trickled”)) of Middle English striklen (“to trickle”), equivalent to strike + -le.
For other similar cases of incorrect division, see also apron, daffodil, newt, nickname, orange, umpire.
Meanings
-
(transitive) to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously.
The doctor trickled some iodine on the wound.
-
(intransitive) to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously.
Here the water just trickles along, but later it becomes a torrent.
Her white night-dress was smeared with blood, and a thin stream trickled down the man's bare chest which was shown by his torn-open dress.
1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Westminster [London]: Archibald Constable and Company, […], →OCLC:The period of intensive traffic is over by about 5.30 p.m. and for the rest of the evening steadily diminishes, the main activity being the Channel Islands boat trains which trickle in after about 6.30 p.m. and depart again for Weymouth an hour or so later.
1962 April, J. N. Faulkner, “Summer Saturday at Waterloo”, in Modern Railways, page 265:The film was so bad that people trickled out of the cinema before its end.
-
(intransitive) To move or roll slowly.
Some [marbles] were found in a child's grave at Nagada, Egypt […] together with a set of ninepins and three rectangular bricks which could have formed an arch through which to trickle the balls.
1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 32:Their only shot of the first period was a long-range strike from top-scorer Ebanks-Blake which trickled tamely wide.
2010 December 29, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0 - 1 Wolverhampton”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 03 Feb 2025:They gather one by one, trickling into the shady courtyard, the familiar hum of Mass. Ave. wafting in from behind brick buildings and iron gates.
2005 June 9, Michael M. Grynbaum, “An Entryway That Eats Together Stays Together”, in The Harvard Crimson, archived from the original on 25 Jan 2025:
Forms
Deriveds
trickler · trickle off · trickle-down · trickledown · trickle down · trickle truth · trickle-up trend · tricklesome · tricklingly · trickly · trickle charger · atrickle
Translations (56)
fi valua (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · uk сочитися (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · eo gute flui (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · cs téct čůrkem (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · mi whakamāturuturu (to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously) · vi chảy nhỏ giọt (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · mi koreto (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · uk текти цівкою (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · nl druppelen (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · la stillare (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · es instilar (to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously) · gl pingar (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · mi māturu (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · cs stékat po kapkách (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · cs crčet (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · de rieseln (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · mi māturuturu (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · uk точитися (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · uk стікати (to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously) · mi hohō (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · uk лити цівкою (to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously) · hy ծորալ (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · ga sil (to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously) · fi valuttaa (to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously) · gu ટપકવું (to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously) · izh valuttaa (to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously) · de tröpfeln (to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously) · fr dégouliner (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · cs kanout (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · mi kotokoto (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · es instilarse (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · sa गलति (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · bg капя (to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously) · fi noruttaa (to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously) · es gotear (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · de träufeln (to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously) · de tröpfeln (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · mi tohihī (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · ru сочи́ться (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · ga sil (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · it sgocciolare (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · kw devera (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · fr ruisseler (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · fi norua (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · it gocciolare (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · fa چک چک کردن (to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously) · ca rajar (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · mi totō (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · mi whakamāturu (to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously) · es chorrear (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · mi paheke (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · gv sheel (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · fr verser goutte à goutte (to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously) · eo gute verŝi (to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously) · ca regalimar (to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously) · uk крапати (to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously)