▪ I. mickle, muckle, a., n., and adv. Obs. exc. dial. and arch.
(ˈmɪk(ə)l, ˈmʌk(ə)l)
Forms: α. 1–2 micel, mycel, 3 michil, 3–5 michel, mychel, 4–5 mychell, mechil, mechel, mychil. β. 2–3 muchele, 2–5 muchel, 3 mucchel, 3–5 mochil, 4 muchil, mochill, 4–5 mochel, 4–6 mochell, 5 mochyll, 6 (arch.) muchell. γ. [1–2 micl-], 3 mikel(l, -ul, mickel, 3–4 mikil, mykil, 3–6 mykel(l(e, mykyll, 4–5 mykill, -yl, 4–6 mykle, 5 mikille, mycul(le, 5–7 micle, mycle, 6 mykkylle, mickell, myckil, 5– mickle. δ. 3–5 mekyll, 3–6 mekil(l, 4 Sc. meekle, 4–5 mekille, -yl, 4–6 mekile, 5 mekel(l, -ul(l, mecul(le, 6 meakle, 6–7 Sc. meikill, 5–8 mekle, 9 Sc. meickle, 6– Sc. meikle. ε. 3 mucle, 4, 6 mokel(l, 8 mukel, 8– muckle.
[Com. Teut.: OE. micel (also mycel) = OS. mikil (MLG. michel), OHG. mihhil (MHG. michel), ON. mikell, also mykell (nom. and acc. neut. miket, myket, acc. masc. mikenn, mykenn; Sw. mycken, neut. mycket; Norw. dial myken, neut. myket; Da. meget neut.), Goth. mikils:—OTeut. *mikilo-, corresponding to Gr. µεγαλο-, lengthened stem of µέγας great; the shorter form of the adj. is represented in Teut. only by ON. miǫk adv., very, which formally corresponds to Gr. µέγα neut. The root *meg- (represented also in Armenian mets great, and perh. in L. magnus) appears to be allied to the Aryan root *magh- of Skr. mah, maha, mahan great.
The OE. form mycel (which is not a mere graphic variant of micel, but stands for an actual pronunciation) is difficult to explain; it is commonly supposed to be due to association with l{ymacbreve}tel little a. The similar change of i into y in ON. mykell, mykl-, is believed to proceed from the influence of the u in the inflected forms miklu, miklum; but this explanation is not applicable to OE.
The phonology of the ME. and modern forms is in many points obscure. Normally, OE. y would become in the S.W. u, pronounced ({smY}), and elsewhere i; the abnormal u (in ME. also written o) of the β and ε forms has not yet been satisfactorily explained. The forms with k are northern and north-midland; the regular southern forms with ch are obsolete, having given place to the shortened mich, much.
In present dialectal use the prevailing form is muckle; but mickle and meikle are often used by modern Scottish writers even when their own colloquial dialect has only muckle. The archaistic use in non-dialectal poetry is rare, and almost confined to the form mickle.]
A. adj.
1. = great a., in various applications. a. with reference to size, bulk, stature.
| α 825 in Birch Cartul. Sax. I. 542 Þonon on anne micelne stan. c 1000 ælfric Gen. i. 16 And god ᵹeworhte twa micele leoht. c 1425 Cursor M. 1320 (Trin.) A mychel tre. |
| γ a 1300 Cursor M. 1320 Out-ouer þat well þan lokes he, And sagh þar stand a mikel tre. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 12341 By a mykel fir he sat. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxvii. (Machor) 874 A man þat mykill vas. 1560 Burgh Rec. Stirling (1887) 72 Ane mykle pot, ane les pot, ane tyn pynt [etc.]. a 1657 Mure Wks. (S.T.S.) II. 254 She bure vnto him..Ard. called mickle Archibald. 1789 Burns Toothache iii, I throw the wee stools o'er the mickle. |
| δ c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints x. (Mathou) 43 A citte, þat mekile wes & of gret fame. 1375 Barbour Bruce xviii. 308 His mekill hude helit haly The armyng that he on hym had. c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 62 Þis Assenech was a mekull large womman as Sarra was. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems liv. 5 My ladye with the mekle lippis. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 14 Thay mekle gret horse quhilkes..beiris armed men of weir. 1725 Ramsay Gentle Sheph. ii. i, Set the meiklest peat-stack in a low. 1863 R. Quinn Heather Lintie 249 Glib cantin' Bauldy S― now lies 'Neath this rouch meickle stane. |
| ε 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 366 Was no brymme þat abod vnbrosten bylyue, Þe mukel lauande loghe to þe lyfte rered. 15.. Wyf Auchtirmwchty 113 in Bannatyne MS. (Hunter. Club) 345 Vp scho gat ane muckle rung. 1748 Thomson Cast. Indol. ii. vii, [He] grew at last a knight of muckel frame. 1814 Scott Wav. xlii, Mr. Waverley's wearied wi' majoring yonder afore the muckle pier-glass. 1866 J. B. Rose tr. Ovid's Met. 337 The cormorant short-legged, with muckle throat. 1889 Barrie Window in Thrums xi, He was a terrible invalid, an' for the hinmost years o' his life he sat in a muckle chair nicht an' day. |
† b. as a distinctive epithet for a place, building, etc.
Obs.| 1379 Rolls of Parlt. III. 69/1 Son College appellez Mokel Universite Hall en Oxenford. c 1400 Brut lvi. 50 Auri⁓lambros & Vter..assemblede a grete hoste forto come into michel Britaigne. 1459 Paston Lett. I. 462 Castre faste by Mikel Yermuth, in the shire of Norffolk. |
c. said of a numerical aggregate, proportion, etc.
| c 1200 Ormin 169, & he shall turrnenn mikell flocc Of þiss Judisskenn þeode Till Goddes Sune Jesu Crist. c 1205 Lay. 1746 Þa Corineus of wode com mid michelene ferde. Ibid. 31435 Mucchel del heo sloȝen of þan monweorede. 1375 Barbour Bruce xvii. 183 He had A mekill rout of worthy men. a 1400–50 Alexander 69 Slik was þe multitude of mast so mekil & so thike, Þat all him þoȝt bot he treis a hare wod it semyd. Ibid. 927 Þe multitude sa mekill of men. |
d. with reference to amount or degree. Now
rare or
Obs.; merged in sense 2, from which, when the
n. has no article, it is often hardly to be distinguished.
| α c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxxviii. §2 Swiðe oft se micla anwald ðara yflena ᵹehrist swiðe færlice. a 900 O.E. Chron. an. 664 (MS. A.), Þy ilcan ᵹeare wæs micel mancuealm. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1208 Michel gestninge made abraham. c 1374 Chaucer Anel. & Arc. 99 But natheles ful mychell besynesse Had he or þat he myght his lady wynne. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 381 Mechil grace ther uppon Unto the Citees schulde falle. a 1425 Cursor M. 18123 (Trin.) Þer coom a mechel steuen. c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 8445 Than had the Soudon michel care. |
| β a 1200 Moral Ode 211 Godes wisdom is wel muchel and alswa is his mihte. c 1200 Vices & Virtues 47 Hit is me to muchel iswinch ðar embe to þenken. c 1330 Assump. Virg. (B.M. MS.) 747 And ihesu, þorw his mochil myȝt, Here feet and handes gan to ryȝt. ? a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 45 And that is she that hath, y-wis, So mochel prys. c 1386 ― Knt.'s T. 1494 Thou shalt ben wedded vn to oon of tho That han for thee so muchel care and wo. 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) v. xiv. 110, I was ful sory that I was so soone departid fro so mochel ioye. c 1460 Launfal 282 A man of mochell myghte. |
| γ c 1200 Ormin 788 Forr þatt wass to þatt gode preost Well swiþe mikell blisse. c 1220 Bestiary 319 He lepeð ðanne wið mikel list, Of swet water he haueð ðrist. a 1300 Cursor M. 18123 And eft þar come a mikel steuen, Als it a thoner war of heuen. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 2 Þe Bretons, men of mykelle myght. c 1420 Anturs of Arth. xliii. (Ireland MS.), He wulle stond the in stoure, in-toe so mycul styd. 1522 World & Child (Roxb.) A iv, Mykyll is his myght. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. iv. 7 He was a man of mickle might. Ibid. iii. iv. 20 He..mickle fame Did get through great adventures by him donne. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, iv. vi. 35 To morrow I shall dye with mickle Age. 1627 Drayton Nimphidia lxxxviii, To the Fayrie Court they went, With mickle ioy and merriment. 1819 Keats Eve St. Agnes xiv, But let me laugh awhile, I've mickle time to grieve. 1850 Blackie æschylus II. 269 The riches stored by me with mickle care. 1887 W. S. Gilbert Ruddigore ii. 44 His gallantries were mickle. 1891 E. Field Western Verse, Death Robin Hood 24 With mickle woe His heart was like to break. |
| δ c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints i. (Petrus) 537 He had þerof rycht mekil wondir. c 1400 Rowland & O. 484 Þ⊇ Sarazene cryed with mekill myghte. c 1420 Anturs of Arth. xxxviii. (Ireland MS.), The kinge commawundet kindeli the Erle of Kente, For his meculle curtasy, to kepe the tother knyȝte. c 1420 Sir Amadace (Camden) xlv, Ther he wanne fulle mecul honoure. 1616 Barbour's Bruce (ed. Hart) ii. 245* Men of meekle might. |
| ε 1205 Lay. 29752 And mid wurðscipe mucle haldeð his wike. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 1164, & he hem halȝed for his & help at her nede In mukel meschefes mony, þat meruayl is to here. |
e. with reference to power or importance. Now somewhat
rare.
| α a 900 O.E. Martyrol. 28 Apr. 66 On þone ylcan dæg bið sancte Cristofores þrowung þæs miclan martyres. a 1325 Prose Psalter xlvii[i]. 1 Our Lord is michel & worþi to be praysed. |
| β a 1200 Moral Ode 92 Hwet scule we seggen oðer don et þe muchele dome. c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. iv. Pr. i. 86 (Camb. MS.) The rith ordenee hows of so mochel a fader. |
| γ a 1300 Cursor M. 17827 And thoru þair godd adonai, Þair mikel godd of israel, Þai coniurd þam na soth to hel. 15.. Peebles to Play xxiii, The meikill devill gang wi you. |
| δ 1572 Satir. Poems Reform. xxxviii. 39 Solyman, Tamerlan, nor yit the mekle Deill..was neuer sa wickit. 1796 Burns To Mitchell 3 Alake! alake! the meikle deil Wi' a' his witches Are at it. 1800 Tannahill Poems (1900) 120 Yon meikle folk Think siller stands for sense. |
| ε 1600 W. Watson Decacordon (1602) 144 Great rich farmers or muckle carles of the countrey. 1819 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd iii. (1827) 97 Our anchor's lost,..We're perish'd a', baith sma' and muckle! 1896 ‘L. Keith’ Indian Uncle i. 4 There's nae gainsaying that oor Adam's the muckle man o' the family noo. |
f. Const.
of,
at.
| γ a 1300 Cursor M. 283 Þis lauerd þat is so mikul o might. Ibid. 15124 O þis iesu þat es sa wis Sa mikel alsua o lare. Ibid. 17969 Þat goddes sone so mychel of myȝt, Among monkynde shal he liȝt. |
| δ c 1375 Cursor M. 17969 (Gött.) Þat goddes sun, sua mekil of might. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxxiv. 11 Than swoir ane courtyour mekle of pryd. ? a 1550 Droichis part of play 42 in Dunbar's Poems (S.T.S.) 315 Bot eftir he grew mekle at fowth. |
2. a. A great quantity or amount of;
= much a. (In
Sc. now chiefly in negative and interrogative context.)
| α c 1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 76 ᵹif mon on mycelre rade..weorðe ᵹeteorad [etc.]. 1154 O.E. Chron. an. 1137 Micel hadde Henri King gadered gold & syluer. |
| β c 1205 Lay. 7283 Heo nomen of Romanisce londe muchel seoluer & gold. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 92 Prelatis ouere þis robben oure lond of mochil tresour. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. Feb. 109 A goodly Oake sometime had it bene..And mochell mast to the husband did yielde. |
| γ c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) i. 4 Þe kyng..haldes grete and mykill land. Ibid. iv. 13 Scho had mykill tresoure. c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun 3417 The Jewes..gaf thaym mykel monee als. c 1450 M.E. Med. Bk. (Heinrich) 68 Take as mykel salt, as þow hast pouder. 1526 Skelton Magnyf. 1356 By me is conueyed mykyll praty ware. |
| δ c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints x. (Mathou) 464 He gert In⁓wirone al hyre In with mekil fuel, It to bryne. 1508 Dunbar Flyting w. Kennedie 189 Thow purehippit, vgly averill,..Quhilk brewis mekle barret to thy bryd. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 26 He gathiris mekle money. 1676 W. Row Contn. Blair's Autobiog. xii. (1848) 439 The honest Earl of Crawford feared mickle evil from this Session of Parliament. 1786 Har'st Rig xii, Duncan brags how meikle meal She's eaten here. 1823 Scott Quentin D. xxxi, You have had as meikle good fortune as if you had been born with a lucky-hood on your head. |
| ε 1720 Ramsay Edinb.'s Salut. to Ld. Carnarvon iv, I'll no make muckle vaunting. 1816 Scott Old Mort. xiv, Neither of our sorrows will do muckle gude, that I can see. a 1859 in J. Watson Living Bards of Border 8 They were nae folk o' muckle gear. 1872 C. Gibbon For the King xxii, Madam, your father has not brought you muckle comfort. |
† b. Qualifying
folk,
people: A great number of, many.
Obs.| β c 1275 Passion of our Lord 49 in O.E. Misc. 38 Mochel volk hym vulede. |
| γ c 1200 Ormin 15748 He full wel wisste Þatt tær wass sammnedd mikell follc Þatt heȝhe daȝȝ to frellsenn. |
| δ c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 60 Mekle peple þat was in þe kurk war sparrid in with þe watir. |
3. Comb.:
mickle-hammer (see
quot.);
mickle-mouthed,
muckle-mouthed a., applied proverbially to one whose face is rather disfigured by the disproportionate size of the mouth;
micklewame, the stomach,
esp. that of the ox used for culinary purposes;
† mickle-what (
cf. little-what), a great deal, something of many kinds;
mickle wheel, the great wheel of a spinning wheel.
| 1843 Holtzapffel Turning I. 171 The spallers employ heavy axe-formed or *muckle-hammers, for spalling or scaling off smaller flakes [of granite]. |
| 1721 Kelly Sc. Proverbs 253 *Mickle mouth'd Folk are happy to their Meat. |
| 1951 J. D. Salinger Catcher in Rye xi. 93 She was sort of muckle-mouthed... When she was talking and got excited,..her mouth sort of went in about fifty directions. |
| 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. 1. 94 Thay take the hail *meklewame of ane slain ox [etc.]. |
| 1390 Gower Conf. I. 320 As he which cowthe *mochel what. a 1400–50 Alexander 130 Quadrentis coruen all of quyte siluyre full quaynte, Mustours & mekil quat mare þen a littill. Ibid. 5468. |
| 1821 Galt Ann. Parish xii, Both little wheel and *meikle wheel. 1824 Scott St. Ronan's xvi, She..talked something of matrimony, and the mysteries of the muckle wheel. |
B. absol. and n. I. The
adj. used
absol. 1. a. A great quantity or amount; much.
to make mickle of: to make much of, cherish.
| α a 1123 O.E. Chron. an. 1101 His men mycel to hearme æfre ᵹedydon. |
| γ c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxx. (Theodera) 350 Hyme þat mykil of hyre mad. c 1400 Sowdone Bab. 1016 Mikille of my people have thay slayn. a 1529 Skelton Col. Cloute 559 The Church hath to mykel, And they haue to lytell. a 1701 Sedley Poet. Pieces Wks. 1722 II. 9 Hold, there's enough; nay, 'tis o'er mickle. |
| δ c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xiii. (Marcus) 10 Sanct Ione þe ewangeliste, þat of cristis priwete mekil wyste. a 1400–50 Alexander 4397 Bot ay mekill wald haue mare as many man spellis. 1508 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 60 Birdis hes ane better law na bernis be meikill. |
| ε 1865 G. Macdonald A. Forbes 2 There'll be no muckle o' him to rise again. 1871 C. Gibbon Lack of Gold i, How muckle will this be worth, think ye. |
† b. Most, the greatest part (
of something).
Obs.| a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 324 Quhene George Douglas come to Sanctandrois and remanitt thair mekill of ane day in dressing of his bussieness. |
c. so mickle (in 17th c.
Sc. written
sameikill)
= so much.
| 1437 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 503/2 Yef so mekill be necessarie yerto. c 1440 Generydes 6451 Ye will doo so mekill as take y⊇ payn, To come so ferre. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj. i. 39 b, Ilke ane of them sall haue sameikill, as is within his awin lordship and dominion. Ibid., Stat. Alex. II, 15 b, Quhat he hes taken fra anie man, he sall restore sameikill to him. |
d. In certain adverbial phrases:
for as mickle as, forasmuch as;
in as († sa) mickle as, in so far as, inasmuch as;
† unto so mickle, so much that;
† as mickle to say as = ‘as much as to say’.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 19596 Sua aght all preistes..In als mikel als in þaim es. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) Pref. 2 For als mykill as it es lang tyme passed sen þare was any general passage ouer þe see in to þe haly land [etc.]. c 1420 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 92 In as mekyll as hit ys now soo That ye hym here haue as your prysonere, I shall you shew my compleynt loo. c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 145 Hur moder..blamyd hur & reprovid hur þerfor, vnto so mekle, sho slew hur moder. c 1550 Exam. W. Thorpe in Foxe A. & M. (1583) I. 534 For as mikle as your asking passeth my vnderstanding, I dare neither deny it nor graunt it. 1563 J. Davidson in Wodrow Misc. (1844) I. 192 For that war als mekle to say as God had appointit the Kirk to be judge betuix the thing that is and is not. a 1572 Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. 1846 I. 283 Never twa of thame universallie aggreing in all pointis, in samekle as thei ar of men. |
† 2. (the) mickle: those who are great.
Obs.| c 1220 Bestiary 548 Ðo arn ðe little in leue laȝe, Ðe mikle ne maiȝ he to him draȝen. a 1400 Octavian 1 Lytyll and mykyll, olde and yonge, Lystenyth now to my talkynge. |
II. n. † 3. Size, stature; bigness.
Obs.| c 1369 Chaucer Dethe Blaunche 454 A wonder wel farynge knyght..Of good mochel [v.r. mykil] and right yong therto. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 142 Bot mon most I algate mynn hym to bene, & þat þe myriest in his muckel þat myȝt ride. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xvi. 182 Þre leodes in o lith non lenger þan other, Of one mochel & myȝte in mesure and in lengthe. c 1400 Destr. Troy 6246 Ector..Of whose mykill, & might, & mayn strenght, Dares..duly me tellus. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxi. 96 Þe mykill of a mannes thee. Ibid. xxii. 103 Þai er riȝt faire and wele proporciound of þaire mykill. 1622 Drayton Poly-olb. xxviii. 335 Stones of a Spherick forme of sundry Mickles fram'd. |
4. A large sum or amount. Chiefly in proverb,
many a little (or pickle) makes a mickle.
| 1599 Middleton Micro-Cynicon Wks. (Bullen) VIII. 126 Some little dirty spot..Nothing in many's view, in her's a mickle. 1605 Camden Rem., Prov. (1614) 310 Many a little makes a micle. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 509 ¶6 But, I think, a Speculation upon Many a Little makes a Mickle..would be very useful to the World. 1905 Westm. Gaz. 29 Apr. 3/1 Mony a pickle maks a muckle. |
C. adv. [
OE. has in
advb. use several cases of the
adj.:
accus. neut.
micel, genit.
micles (early
ME. mucheles),
dat. pl. miclum, instrumental
micle.]
1. To a great extent or degree; greatly; by far. Also in relative sense with
as,
how,
so (see the corresponding use of
much adv.).
In
Sc. so mickle was in 16–17th c. often written
sameikill.
| α c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. ix. 60 Se læce bið micles to bald..þe [etc.]. a 1000 Cædmon's Gen. 2713 Ic þeᵹnum þinum dyrnde & sylfum þe swiðost micle. c 1250 Kent. Serm. in O.E. Misc. 26 Herodes i-herde þet o king was i-bore þet solde bi king of geus, swo was michel anud. a 1325 Prose Psalter li[i]. 7 He was michel worþ in his vanite. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 841 Kynge Edgar was so mechel adredde. a 1425 Cursor M. 451 (Trin.) To god hym self wolde he be pere Not pere alone but mychel more. |
| β a 1200 Moral Ode 258 Þo þe sungede muchel a drunke and an ete. c 1205 Lay. 3201 He mochul a þa wodeloker wilnede þeos mæidenes. a 1225 Ancr. R. 292 Muchel luuede he us. c 1275 Wom. Samaria 74 in O.E. Misc. 86 Þo byleuede þat folk mucheles þe more. 1340 Ayenb. 57 Mochel hi wolden ham wreþi. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus i. 386 And ouer al þis ȝet muchel more he þouȝt what for to speke. c 1400 Rom. Rose 3442 Thy request Is not to mochel dis⁓honest. a 1425 Cursor M. 10981 (Trin.) Muchel for riȝte shal he swynke. |
| γ c 1220 Bestiary 235 Ðe mire is maȝti, mikel ȝe swinkeð In sumer and in softe weder. a 1300 Cursor M. 4082 It bitidd mikel in þaa dauus. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 1697 He triste to mykel on his myght. a 1340 Hampole Psalter Prol., In þe translacioun i folow þe lettre als mykyll as i may. c 1400 Rule St. Benet 11 Mikyl walde he fle pride, þe prophete, als hali writ sais. c 1420 Sir Amadace (Camden) xx, On the dede cors..Ful myculle his thoȝte was on! 1470–85 Malory Arthur x. xiii. 434 Kynge Marke rode after hym praysynge hym mykel. 1526 Skelton Magnyf. 1289 He wyll make it mykyll worse than it is. c 1620 A. Hume Brit. Tongue (1865) 13 They usurped y, a voual not mikle different from i. 1859 T. Moore Song. Sol., Durham Dial. iv. 10 How mickle better's the luv then weyne! |
| δ a 1300–1400 Cursor M. 6565 (Gött.) Mekil haue i trauayled for ȝou. c 1400 Destr. Troy 213 Mekyll comfordes me the crowne of this kyde realme. a 1400–50 Alexander 897 Þen merualid þam þe messangirs mekill of his speche. 1533 Gau Richt Vay (1888) 4, I traistit mekil of siclik orisons. 1573 Tyrie Refut. Knox To Rdr. 1 Thair is within his buke..sum thinges nocht meakle appertenand to the caus. 1588 A. King tr. Canisius' Catech. 66 Thay ar mair..to be lamentit, yat thay traist samekle in yair auin blinde iudgment. a 1600 Montgomerie Misc. Poems iii. 10 Sho is mair mobile mekle nor the mone. 1616 J. Maitland Apol. W. Maitland in Scot. Hist. Soc. Misc. (1904) II. 166 Abot of Londores he never wes, nor zit President of the Session, mekle les of the Privie Councell. 1813 E. Picken Misc. Poems II. 80 He reek'dna meikle on their trim. 1839 W. M'Dowall Poems 39 (E.D.D.) Meikle wish'd the coming light Might be fu' clear an' sinny. |
| ε 1786 Burns Brigs of Ayr 175 Ye've said enough, And muckle mair than ye can mak to through. 1818 Scott Br. Lamm. viii, I think it may do—I think it might pass, if they winna bring it ower muckle in the light o' the window! 1893 Crockett Stickit Minister, etc. viii. 104, I would be muckle the better o't. |
2. Comb., as
† micklewise adj., greatly wise.
| 1650 Bulwer Anthropomet. viii. 102 All which commodities our micklewise mothers defraud us of. |
▪ II. † ˈmickle, v. Obs. rare.
[OE. miclian, mycclian, f. micel mickle a.] trans. To magnify. (In
OE. also
intr. to increase.)
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 13 Lufian we hine nu & his noman mycclian. a 1000 Andreas 1526 Myclade mereflod. a 1225 Ancr. R. 182 Sicnesse..halt ine edmodnesse & mucheleð þe mede. a 1300 E.E. Psalter lxxi. 17 Alle genge mykel him þai salle. |