rankle

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To cause irritation, bitterness or acrimony.

   My colleague's gratuitous criticism still rankles with me.

2. 2
   verb

   To fester.

   A splinter rankles in the flesh.

3. 3
   noun

   A festering, embittering object or condition, either mental, or a physical sore or ulcer.

   To this the Prince appeared to acquiesce; but I saw it did not please, and left a rankle in his mind.

From Middle English ranklen, ranclen, from Old French rancler, räoncler, draoncler (“to ulcerate, to form a boil”), from Old French draoncle (“a boil”), from Latin dracunculus (“little serpent”), diminutive of Latin dracō (“serpent, dragon”).

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