tickle

Meaning

Noun

1. The act of tickling.
2. An itchy feeling resembling the result of tickling.
3. (informal) A light tap of the ball.
4. (Newfoundland) A narrow strait, such as between an island and the shore.

Verb

1. (transitive) To touch repeatedly or stroke delicately in a manner which typically causes laughter, pleasure and twitching.
2. (intransitive) To feel as if the body part in question is being tickled.
3. (transitive) To appeal to someone's taste, curiosity etc.
4. (transitive) To cause delight or amusement in.
5. (intransitive) To feel titillation.
6. (transitive) To catch fish in the hand (usually in rivers or smaller streams) by manually stimulating the fins.
7. (archaic) To be excited or heartened.

Adj

Changeable, capricious; insecure.

Adv

Insecurely, precariously, unstably.

Synonyms

itch

titillate

tickling

irritate

vellicate

titillation

excite

stir

poke

arouse

rouse

shake

🫨

please

caress

itching

vibrate

squeeze

thrill

prod

rejoice

scratch

amuse

stab

stimulation

stoke

tickled

ticklish

tingle

titivate

touch

break apart

massage

💆

spike

beguile

claw

cut down

divert

enjoy

entertain

feel

hack

irritated

irritation

kittle

knead

make fun of

pierce

pinch

pluck

prick

Translations

chatouiller

kitzeln

solleticare

cosquillear

hacer cosquillas

kriebelen

kietelen

fazer cócegas

fare il solletico

solletico

cosquillas

pessigollejar

γαργαλώ

chatouillement

titilar

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈtɪkl̩/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: tiklen

Cognate with Old English: tinclian

Cognate with Northern Frisian: tigele

In summary

From Middle English tiklen, tikelen, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from a frequentative form of Middle English tikken (“to touch lightly”), thus equivalent to tick + -le; or perhaps related to Old English tinclian (“to tickle”). Compare North Frisian tigele (“to tickle”) (Hallig dialect), and tiikle (“to tickle”) (Amrum dialect), German dialectal zicklen (“to excite; stir up”).
Alternatively, from a metathetic alteration of Middle English kitelen ("to tickle"; see kittle).