cudgel
Use Cudgel in a sentence
cudg·el
[kuhj-uh
l] noun, verb, cudg·eled, cudg·el·ing or ( especially British ) cudg·elled, cudg·el·ling. noun
1.
a short, thick stick used as a weapon; club.
verb (used with object)
Idioms 2.
to strike with a cudgel; beat.
3.
cudgel one's brains, to try to comprehend or remember: I cudgeled my brains to recall her name.
4.
take up the cudgels, to come to the defense or aid of someone or something.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English cuggel, Old English cycgel; akin to German Kugel ball
before 900; Middle English cuggel, Old English cycgel; akin to German Kugel ball
Related forms
cudg·el·er; especially British, cud·gel·ler, noun
un·cudg·eled, adjective
un·cudg·elled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To cudgel
Collins
World English Dictionary
cudgel (ˈkʌdʒəl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n (often foll by for | |
| 1. | a short stout stick used as a weapon |
| 2. | take up the cudgels to join in a dispute, esp to defend oneself or another |
| —vb , -els, -elling, -elled, -els, -eling, -eled | |
| 3. | (tr) to strike with a cudgel or similar weapon |
| 4. | cudgel one's brains to think hard about a problem |
| [Old English cycgel; related to Middle Dutch koghele stick with knob] | |
| 'cudgeller | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Cudgel
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
| to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
cudgel
O.E. cycgel "club with rounded head;" not known in other Gmc. languages; perhaps from PIE base *geu- "to curve, bend." The verb is from 1596.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Sho certainly will have to cudgel hor brains for an apology for her presence.
Americans transform every success and every failure in foreign affairs into a policy doctrine and a political cudgel.
Pete takes up the cudgel and enters the world of professional sports.
Furthermore, using unemployment as a cudgel to demand higher inflation is also a disingenuous tactic.
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