TICKLE

tickle, tickling, titillation

(noun) the act of tickling

tickle

(noun) a cutaneous sensation often resulting from light stroking

tickle

(verb) touch or stroke lightly; “The grass tickled her calves”

thrill, tickle, vibrate

(verb) feel sudden intense sensation or emotion; “he was thrilled by the speed and the roar of the engine”

tickle, titillate, vellicate

(verb) touch (a body part) lightly so as to excite the surface nerves and cause uneasiness, laughter, or spasmodic movements

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

tickle (plural tickles)

The act of tickling.

An itchy feeling resembling the result of tickling.

(cricket, informal) A light tap of the ball.

(Newfoundland) A narrow strait.

Verb

tickle (third-person singular simple present tickles, present participle tickling, simple past and past participle tickled)

(transitive) To touch repeatedly or stroke delicately in a manner which causes laughter, pleasure and twitching.

(transitive) To unexpectedly touch or stroke delicately in a manner which causes displeasure or withdrawal.

(intransitive, of a body part) To feel as if the body part in question is being tickled.

(transitive) To appeal to someone's taste, curiosity etc.

(transitive) To cause delight or amusement in.

(intransitive) To feel titillation.

(transitive) To catch fish in the hand (usually in rivers or smaller streams) by manually stimulating the fins [often illegal]

(archaic) To be excited or heartened.

Synonyms

• kittle

Adjective

tickle (comparative more tickle, superlative most tickle)

Changeable, capricious; insecure.

Anagrams

• Keltic

Etymology

From Tickhill in England.

Proper noun

Tickle (plural Tickles)

A habitational surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Tickle is the 15296th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 1919 individuals. Tickle is most common among White (96.25%) individuals.

Anagrams

• Keltic

Source: Wiktionary


Tic"kle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tickled; p. pr. & vb. n. Tickling.] Etym: [Perhaps freq. of tick to beat; pat; but cf. also AS. citelian to tickle, D. kittelen, G. kitzlen, OHG. chizzilon, chuzzilon, Icel. kitla. Cf. Kittle, v. t.]

1. To touch lightly, so as to produce a peculiar thrilling sensation, which commonly causes laughter, and a kind of spasm which become dengerous if too long protracted. If you tickle us, do we not laugh Shak.

2. To please; to gratify; to make joyous. Pleased with a rattle, tickled with a straw. Pope. Such a nature Tickled with good success, disdains the shadow Which he treads on at noon. Shak.

Tic"kle, v. i.

1. To feel titillation. He with secret joy therefore Did tickle inwardly in every vein. Spenser.

2. To excite the sensation of titillation. Shak.

Tic"kle, a.

1. Ticklish; easily tickled. [Obs.]

2. Liable to change; uncertain; inconstant. [Obs.] The world is now full tickle, sikerly. Chaucer. So tickle is the state of earthy things. Spenser.

3. Wavering, or liable to waver and fall at the slightest touch; unstable; easily overthrown. [Obs.] Thy head stands so tickle on thy shoulders, that a milkmaid, if she be in love, may sigh it off. Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

3 April 2025

WHOLE

(noun) an assemblage of parts that is regarded as a single entity; “how big is that part compared to the whole?”; “the team is a unit”


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Coffee Trivia

The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.

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