What does "mickle" mean?
A great amount.
Mickle
/ˈmɪk(ə)l/ adj, adv, det, name, noun, pron
adj, adv, det, name, noun, pron ·Uncommon ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A great amount.
- Grammar: mickle is listed as adj, adv, det, name, noun, pron.
- Nearest alternatives: batch, deal, flock, good deal.
- Usage evidence: I make a considerable sum of money out of it, and each of my men contributes a mickle toward it.
How to use "mickle"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "mickle" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "mickle" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "mickle" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "mickle" is acting as adj, adv, det, name, noun, pron in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "mickle", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A great amount. Scotland, archaic, countable, uncountable
"Many a little makes a mickle."
- 2 (often followed by ‘of’) a large number or amount or extent wordnet
- 3 A small amount. Scotland, archaic, countable, uncountable
"While we boast of our farming, we must repeat again and again, the secret of our prosperity. It is a regular rotation of crops, making a little out of many articles, rather than attempting to make much of one; remembering the Scotch proverb, that "many a mickle makes a muckle"; […]"
- 4 Great or important people as a class. countable, obsolete, uncountable
- 5 Greatness, largeness, stature. countable, obsolete, uncountable
Adjective
- 1 (Very) great or large. Northern-England, Northumbria, Scotland, archaic, especially
"Oh mickle is the powerfull grace that lies / In hearbes, plants, ſtones, and their true qualities: / For nought ſo vile, that vile on earth doth liue, / But to the earth ſome ſpeciall good doth giue: […]"
Adverb
- 1 To a great extent. Scotland, archaic
"They ſay here, […] that ye deſired not the king and England to agree, becauſe it would rack the noblemen, […] I anſwered in your name that I was aſſured you had never ſpoken it. Mr. Archibald [Douglas] is the ſpeaker of it, who I aſſure your lordſhip has been a poiſon in this matter, for they lean very mickle to his opinion."
- 2 Frequently, often. obsolete
Determiner
- 1 Much; a great quantity or amount of. Northern-England, Northumbria, Scotland, archaic, especially
"There was mickle melody at that Childës [Jesus Christ's] birth, / All that were in heaven's bliss, they made mickle mirth."
- 2 Most; the majority of. Northumbria, Scotland, archaic
"[H]e that tellt me saw wi' his ain ee'n, an' heard wi' his ain ears, the mickle part o' what I'm gaun to say—an' what he didna see or hear hissell, he learned frae those wha'd kent a' frae the beginnin'"
Pronoun
- 1 A great extent or large amount. Scotland, archaic
"Seek mickle, and get ſomething; ſeek little, and get nothing."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"I make a considerable sum of money out of it, and each of my men contributes a mickle toward it."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "mickle"?
Common synonyms include: batch, deal, flock, good deal, great deal, hatful.
How do you use "mickle" in a sentence?
I make a considerable sum of money out of it, and each of my men contributes a mickle toward it.
How do you pronounce "mickle"?
Pronounced /ˈmɪk(ə)l/.
Etymology
From Middle English mickle, michel, mikel, mochel, muchel, mukel (“much; many; large, tall; great”), from Old English miċel, myċel (“big, large; great; much”), from Proto-Germanic *mikilaz (“great, large; many, much”), from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s (“big, great”). The word is cognate with Faroese mikil (“large, great, much”), Icelandic mikill (“large in quantity or number; much; great”), Middle High German michel (“large, much”). Doublet of much and muckle. For the adverb and noun forms, compare Middle English muchel (“extensively, greatly, much”, adverb) and Middle English muchel (“large amount”, noun). The noun sense “a small amount” was due to the proverb many a little makes a mickle being incorrectly rendered as many a mickle makes a muckle, leading to mickle being thought to mean “a small quantity” and muckle to mean “a large quantity”, even though muckle is a variant of mickle and both mean “a large quantity”.