Buckle
/ˈbʌk.əl/noun
A fastening device with a frame and a hinged pin, or to fasten with one.
Did you know?Buckle ultimately comes from Latin buccula, meaning “little cheek,” because the same word was used for the cheek-pieces of a helmet before it became a fastening term.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
buccula
“little cheek; a cheek-piece of a helmet”
Old French
OF
bocle / boucle
“a buckle, clasp, or ring”
Middle English
English
bokel / bokle
“a clasp or fastening”
15th Century
English
buckle
“a fastening device with a frame and pin”
Modern English
English
buckle
“to fasten with a buckle; to bend or collapse under pressure”
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