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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

prickle.

A sharp and often small point, especially that of a plant; a thorn.

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈpɹɪkəl/

  1. A sharp and often small point, especially that of a plant; a thorn.

  2. A sharp and often small point, especially that of a plant; a thorn. A sharp, hard extension of the cortex and epidermis of some plants (such as roses), as distinguished from a thorn.

  3. A tingling sensation of mild discomfort.

    figuratively

  4. Gooseflesh.

    Ulster · in-plural

  5. A kind of willow basket.

  6. A sieve of hazelnuts, weighing about fifty pounds.

    UK · obsolete

  7. A group of hedgehogs or porcupines.

    collective
Where this word comes from

From Middle English prykkyl, prykyl, from Old English pricel, pricels, pricle (“a prickle, sharp point, bit”), from a conflation of Proto-West Germanic *prikislī and *prikil (“prickle”). By surface analysis, prick + -le. Cognate with West Frisian prikel (“goad, prickle”), Dutch prikkel (“sting, prickle, stimulus”), German Low German Prekel (“wooden stick, poker”), Saterland Frisian prikkelje (“to propel, spur on, goad”). First attested in the Old English period.

verb/ˈpɹɪkəl/

  1. To feel a prickle.

    intransitive

  2. To cause (someone) to feel a prickle; to prick.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English prykkyl, prykyl, from Old English pricel, pricels, pricle (“a prickle, sharp point, bit”), from a conflation of Proto-West Germanic *prikislī and *prikil (“prickle”). By surface analysis, prick + -le. Cognate with West Frisian prikel (“goad, prickle”), Dutch prikkel (“sting, prickle, stimulus”), German Low German Prekel (“wooden stick, poker”), Saterland Frisian prikkelje (“to propel, spur on, goad”). First attested in the Old English period.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.