buckle

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a clasp for fastening a strap; to fasten, bend, or collapse under strain

   The bridge began to buckle under the weight of the crowd.

From Old French bocle ('boss of a shield, buckle'), from Latin buccula ('cheek strap of a helmet'), diminutive of bucca ('cheek'). The verb sense 'bend, collapse' comes from a separate borrowing of French boucler ('to bulge').

Topics