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Definition of Prickle - 5 dictionary results

prick⋅le

  [prik-uhl] noun, verb, -led, -ling.
Use Prickle in a Sentence
–noun
1. a sharp point.
2. a small, pointed process growing from the bark of a plant.
3. a sharp process or projection, as from the skin of an animal; a spine.
4. a pricking sensation.
–verb (used with object)
5. to prick lightly.
6. to cause a pricking or tingling sensation in.
–verb (used without object)
7. to tingle as if pricked.
Origin:
bef. 950; ME prykel (n.), OE pricel. See prick, -le
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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prick·le   (prĭk'əl)   
n.  
  1. A small sharp point, spine, or thorn.
  2. A tingling or pricking sensation.
v.   prick·led, prick·ling, prick·les

v.   tr.
  1. To prick as if with a thorn.
  2. To cause a tingling or pricking sensation in.
v.   intr.
  1. To feel a tingling or pricking sensation.
  2. To rise or stand up like prickles.

[Middle English prikel, from Old English pricel.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Prickle

Pric"kle\, n. [AS. pricele, pricle; akin to LG. prickel, D. prikkel. See Prick, n.]

1. A little prick; a small, sharp point; a fine, sharp process or projection, as from the skin of an animal, the bark of a plant, etc.; a spine. --Bacon.

2. A kind of willow basket; -- a term still used in some branches of trade. --B. Jonson.

3. A sieve of filberts, -- about fifty pounds. [Eng.]

Prickle

Pric"kle\, v. t. To prick slightly, as with prickles, or fine, sharp points.

Felt a horror over me creep, Prickle skin, and catch my breath. --Tennyson.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Prickle
Spanish: púa, pincho, espina,
German: der Stachel,
Japanese: とげ
More Translations »

prickle 
O.E. pricel "thing to prick with," from the same source as O.E. prician (see prick) with W.Gmc. instrumental suffix *-islja (cf. M.L.G. prickel, Du. prikkel). Prickly "spiny, armed with prickles" is from 1578 (originally of holly leaves); fig. sense of "irritable" first recorded 1862. Prickly heat is from 1736, so called for the sensation; prickly pear is from 1760.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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