Standard Lemma guide

ickle

adj · noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • rhymes with -ɪkəl
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Little.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, childish

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An icicle.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dialectal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Childish pronunciation of little.

From Middle English ikil, ykle, from Old English *ġicol, ġiċel (“icicle, ice”), from Proto-West Germanic *jekul, *jikil, from Proto-Germanic *jekulaz (“piece of ice”), diminutive of *jekô (“lump of ice”), from Proto-Indo-European *h1yeg-. Cognate with Low German Jäkel (“icicle”), Danish egel (“icicle”), Norwegian Bokmål jøkel (“glacier, icesheet”), Norwegian Nynorsk jøkul, jøkle (“glacier, icicle”), Faroese jøkul (“glacier”), Icelandic jökull (“glacier”), Swedish jökel (“glacier”) and probably Albanian akull (“ice”) (Gheg okull). Doublet of jokul.