tikilnesse
Middle English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From tikel + -nesse. Compare English tickle (“changeable, capricious; insecure”).
Noun
[edit]tikilnesse
- (nonce word) unsteadiness
- a. 1401, Geffray Chaucer [i.e., Geoffrey Chaucer], “Gode Counsaile”, in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], [London: […] Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], published 1542, →OCLC:
- Flie fro the prese, and dwell with sothfastnesse; / Suffice unto thy Gode, though it be small, / For horde hath hate, and climbyng tikilnesse […]
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Further reading
[edit]- “tikelnesse, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.