treadle C2+ Topic:Tools, Machines & Construction US /ˈtrɛdəl/ UK /ˈtrɛdəl/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun a lever worked by the foot to drive a machine She pumped the treadle steadily to keep the sewing machine humming. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a lever worked by the foot... pedalleverfoot-lever Word family Related forms treadtreadmill Etymology AI details From Old English tredel ('step, stair, sole of the foot'), from tredan ('to tread, step on') + the instrumental suffix -le, from Proto-Germanic *trudan. tredel Old English tredan Old English *trudana Proto-Germanic View etymology graph -> Topics Tools, Machines & Construction External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # treadle **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈtrɛdəl/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈtrɛdəl/ ## Meanings 1. a lever worked by the foot to drive a machine ## Examples - She pumped the treadle steadily to keep the sewing machine humming. ## Synonyms - pedal - lever - foot-lever ## Related Forms - tread - treadmill ## Roots and Affixes - Root: tredel - Root: tredan - Root: *trudana ## Etymology From Old English tredel ('step, stair, sole of the foot'), from tredan ('to tread, step on') + the instrumental suffix -le, from Proto-Germanic *trudan. ## AI Etymology Treadle is from Old English tredel ('step, stair, sole of the foot'), from tredan ('to tread, step on') + the instrumental suffix -le, from Proto-Germanic *trudan. Important recorded forms include tredel (Old English), tredan (Old English), and *trudana (Proto-Germanic). Morphologically, the word preserves a built structure whose named elements carry the historical sense into English. The modern sense continues the older lexical line without requiring a separate origin. In current use it covers a lever worked by the foot to drive a machine. The wider family includes related words such as tread and treadmill. ## Topics - Tools, Machines & Construction markdown