Buckle Definitions

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BUCK'LE, n.
1. An instrument made of some kind of metal, for fastening together certain parts of dress, as the straps and bands, as in a harness. The forms are various, but it consists of a ring or rim with a chape and tongue.
2. A curl, or a state of being curled or crisped, as hair.
3. In coats of arms, a token of the surety, faith and service of the bearer.
BUCK'LE, v.t. To fasten with a buckle,or buckles.
1. To prepare for action; a metaphor, taken from buckling on armor.
2. To join in battle.
3. To confine or limit
A span buckles in his sum of age.
BUCKLE, v.i. To bend; to bow; as, to buckle under life.
To buckle to, to bend to; to apply with vigor; to engage with zeal.
To buckle in, to close in; to embrace or seize the body, as in a scuffle; a popular use in America.
To buckle with, to encounter with embrace; to join in close combat.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: fastener that fastens together two ends of a belt or strap; often has loose prong
2: a shape distorted by twisting or folding [syn: warp, buckle] v
1: fasten with a buckle or buckles [syn: buckle, clasp] [ant: unbuckle]
2: fold or collapse; "His knees buckled" [syn: buckle, crumple]
3: bend out of shape, as under pressure or from heat; "The highway buckled during the heat wave" [syn: heave, buckle, warp]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English bocle, from Anglo-French, boss of a shield, buckle, from Latin buccula, diminutive of bucca cheek Date: 14th century 1. a fastening for two loose ends that is attached to one and holds the other by a catch 2. an ornamental device that suggests a buckle 3. archaic a crisp curl II. verb (buckled; buckling) Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to fasten with a buckle 2. to prepare with vigor 3. to cause to bend, give way, or crumple intransitive verb 1. to become fastened with a buckle 2. to apply oneself with vigor — usually used with down <buckle down to the job> 3. to bend, heave, warp, or kink usually under the influence of some external agency <wheat buckling in the wind> 4. collapse <the props buckled under the strain> 5. to give way ; yield <he buckled under pressure> III. noun Date: circa 1876 1. a product of buckling ; bend, fold 2. a coffee cake baked with berries and a crumbly topping <blueberry buckle>

English Explanatory Dictionary

?b?kl? n. 1 hist. a small round shield held by a handle. 2 Bot. anyof several ferns of the genus Dryopteris, having buckler-shaped indusia. Alsocalled shield-fern. [ME f. OF bocler lit. 'having a boss' f. boucle BOSS(2)]

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a flat often rectangular frame with a hinged pin, used for joining the ends of a belt, strap, etc. 2 a similarly shaped ornament, esp. on a shoe. --v. 1 tr. (often foll. by up, on, etc.) fasten with a buckle. 2 tr. & intr. (often foll. by up) give way or cause to give way under longitudinal pressure; crumple up. Phrases and idioms: buckle down make a determined effort. buckle to (or down to) prepare for, set about (work etc.). buckle to get to work, make a vigorous start. Etymology: ME f. OF boucle f. L buccula cheek-strap of a helmet f. bucca cheek: sense 2 of v. f. F boucler bulge

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Buckle Buc"kle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Buckled; p. pr. & vb. n. Buckling.] [OE. boclen, F. boucler. See Buckle, n.] 1. To fasten or confine with a buckle or buckles; as, to buckle a harness. 2. To bend; to cause to kink, or to become distorted. 3. To prepare for action; to apply with vigor and earnestness; -- generally used reflexively

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Buckle Buc"kle, n. [OE. bocle buckle, boss of a shield, OF. bocle, F. boucle, boss of a shield, ring, fr. L. buccula a little cheek or mouth, dim. of bucca cheek; this boss or knob resembling a cheek.] 1. A device, usually of metal, consisting of a frame with one more movable tongues or catches, used for fastening things together, as parts of dress or harness, by means of a strap passing through the frame and pierced by the tongue. 2. A distortion bulge, bend, or kink, as in a saw blade or a plate of sheet metal. --Knight. 3. A curl of hair, esp. a kind of crisp curl formerly worn; also, the state of being curled. Earlocks in tight buckles on each side of a lantern face. --W. Irving. Lets his wig lie in buckle for a whole half year. --Addison. 4. A contorted expression, as of the face. [R.] 'Gainst nature armed by gravity, His features too in buckle see. --Churchill.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Buckle Buc"kle (b[u^]k"k'l), v. i. 1. To bend permanently; to become distorted; to bow; to curl; to kink. Buckled with the heat of the fire like parchment. --Pepys. 2. To bend out of a true vertical plane, as a wall. 3. To yield; to give way; to cease opposing. [Obs.] The Dutch, as high as they seem, do begin to buckle. --Pepys. 4. To enter upon some labor or contest; to join in close fight; to struggle; to contend. The bishop was as able and ready to buckle with the Lord Protector as he was with him. --Latimer. In single combat thou shalt buckle with me. --Shak. To buckle to, to bend to; to engage with zeal. To make our sturdy humor buckle thereto. --Barrow. Before buckling to my winter's work. --J. D. Forbes.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(buckles, buckling, buckled) 1. A buckle is a piece of metal or plastic attached to one end of a belt or strap, which is used to fasten it. He wore a belt with a large brass buckle. N-COUNT 2. When you buckle a belt or strap, you fasten it. A door slammed in the house and a man came out buckling his belt. VERB: V n 3. If an object buckles or if something buckles it, it becomes bent as a result of very great heat or force. The door was beginning to buckle from the intense heat... A freak wave had buckled the deck. VERB: V, V n 4. If your legs or knees buckle, they bend because they have become very weak or tired. Mcanally's knees buckled and he crumpled down onto the floor... VERB: V

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

buk'-'-l (porpe): As a mark of favor Jonathan Maccabeus was presented by Alexander Balas with a buckle of gold (1 Macc 10:89), the wearing of which was restricted to the blood royal. The buckle was used for fastening the mantle or outer robe on the shoulder or chest.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Clasp, brooch, broach. 2. Curl, crimp, crimpage. II. v. a. Fasten with a buckle. III. v. n. 1. Bend, bow, double up, curl, shrivel. 2. (Rare.) Struggle, contend, strive.

Moby Thesaurus

anamorphism, anamorphosis, articulate, asymmetry, batten, batten down, bend, bolt, bulge, butt, button, catch, cave in, clasp, cleat, clip, collapse, contort, contortion, crook, crookedness, crumple, detorsion, deviation, disproportion, distort, distortion, dovetail, fastener, fastening, gnarl, hasp, hinge, hitch, hook, imbalance, irregularity, jam, joint, knot, latch, lock, lopsidedness, miter, mortise, nail, peg, pin, quirk, rabbet, rivet, scarf, screw, sew, skewer, snap, spring, staple, stick, stitch, tack, toggle, torsion, tortuosity, turn, turn awry, twist, unsymmetry, warp, wedge, wrench, wrest, wring, writhe, zipper