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Webster's Dictionary (1865)

3 entries under this word

Pickle

Pick'le, n.

noun

(pĭk'l), n. [D. pekel, L. Ger. pökel, H. Ger. pökel, Up. Ger. piechel; according to some etymologists, so called after William Pōkel, who is said to have invented the art of pickling herrings, in the fourteenth century.]

Sense 1. A solution of salt and water, in which fish and meat may be preserved or corned.

Sense 2. Vinegar, sometimes seasoned with spices, in which vegetables, fish, oysters, &c., may be preserved.

Sense 3. Any article of food which has been preserved in vinegar.

Sense 4. A troublesome child; as, a little pickle.

To be in a pickle, to be in a disagreeable position; to be in a condition of embarrassment, difficulty, or disorder. “Thou shalt be whipped with rue, and stewed in brine, smarting in lingering pickle.” Shak.—To put a rod in pickle, to get ready a punishment which will cause smarting.

Pick'le, n.

noun

(pĭk'l), n. [See PICLE.] A parcel of land inclosed with a hedge. [Prov. Eng.]

Pick'le, v. t.

verbtransitive

(pĭk'l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. PICKLED; p. pr. & vb. n. PICKLING.]

  1. To preserve in brine or pickle; as, to pickle herring.
  2. To season in pickle.
  3. To imbue highly with any thing bad; as, a pickled rogue.
  4. To prepare, as an imitation, and sell as genuine;—said of copies or imitations of paintings by the old masters. Art Jour.
  5. To subject, as pins and needles, to the action of certain chemical agents in the process of manufacture.