mickle

mickle
(also muckle) archaic or Scottish & N. English
noun a large amount.
adjective very large.
Phrases
many a little makes a mickle (also many a mickle makes a muckle) many small amounts accumulate to make a large amount.
Origin
OE micel 'great, numerous, much', of Gmc origin.
Usage
The forms mickle and muckle are, by origin, merely variants of the same (now dialect) word meaning ‘a large amount’. However, the alternative form of the proverb (originally a misquotation) has led to a misunderstanding that mickle means ‘a small amount’.

English new terms dictionary. 2014.

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  • Mickle — is a surname. People with the surname Mickle include: Andrew H. Mickle, the Mayor of New York from 1846 to 1847 Charles Mickle, (1849 1910), a Canadian politician Charles Mickle (golfer) Stephan P. Mickle (born 1944), an American lawyer and judge …   Wikipedia

  • Mickle — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Andrew H. Mickle (1805–1863), US amerikanischer Politiker, Bürgermeister von New York Elmon Mickle (1919–1977), US amerikanischer Blues Sänger, Gitarrist und Mundharmonikaspieler, bekannt als Driftin’ Slim …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • mickle — mickle, muckle These are merely variants of the same word meaning ‘a large amount’, and so the proverb Many a mickle makes a muckle is, in its usual form, a meaningless corruption. The correct form is Many a little (or occasionally pickle =… …   Modern English usage

  • Mickle — Mic kle (m[i^]k k l), a. [OE. mikel, muchel, mochel, mukel, AS. micel, mycel; akin to OS. mikil, OHG. mihil, mihhil, Icel. mikill, mykill, Goth. mikils, L. magnus, Gr. me gas, gen. mega loy; cf. Skr. mahat. [root]103. Cf. {Much}, {Muckle},… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Mickle — Mickle, William Julius, geb. 1734 in Langholm, war Corrector bei der Clarendonischen Buchdruckerei in Oxford u. später Secretär bei dem Commodore Johnston; st. 1789; er übersetzte die Lusiade Camoens, 1775, u. schr. Poems, Lond. 1774 …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • mickle — (adj.) dialectal survival of O.E. micel, mycel great, intense, big, long, much, many, from P.Gmc. *mekilaz (Cf. O.S. mikil, O.N. mikill, O.H.G. mihhil, Goth. mikils), from PIE root *meg great, large (Cf. Armenian mets great; Skt. mahat great …   Etymology dictionary

  • mickle — [mik′əl] adj., adv., n. [ME (Northern) mikel < OE micel, infl. by ON mikell: for IE base see MUCH] Now Chiefly Scot. much …   English World dictionary

  • mickle — I Cleveland Dialect List much, large; a large quantity: it cost a mickle o money , mickle wad ha mair II North Country (Newcastle) Words much, great (D m & N d) …   English dialects glossary

  • mickle — see many a little makes a mickle many a mickle makes a muckle …   Proverbs new dictionary

  • mickle — adj. & n. (also muckle) archaic or Sc. adj. much, great. n. a large amount. Phrases and idioms: many a little makes a mickle (orig. erron. many a mickle makes a muckle) many small amounts accumulate to make a large amount. Etymology: ME f. ON… …   Useful english dictionary

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