trickle
trickle
UK[ˈtrɪk(ə)l]US[ˈtrɪk(ə)l]
v
(of a liquid) to flow in a small, gentle, and unsteady stream.
v
to come or go somewhere slowly or gradually in small numbers or amounts.
n
a small, gentle, and unsteady flow of liquid.
n
a small number or amount of something that comes or goes slowly.
Etymology
The word 'trickle' is a simplex word, meaning it is not productively formed from separable morphemes in modern English. It is an example of onomatopoeia, where the sound of the word imitates the action it describes. It likely originated as a frequentative verb in Middle English, based on the sound of dripping or small flows of liquid, and is related to similar imitative words like 'trick' and 'strike'. This sound symbolism directly connects the word's form to its core meaning of a light, intermittent flow, a concept that was later extended metaphorically to describe the slow, gradual movement of people or things.
Analysis
[not applicable for unsegmentable words]
Examples
Water began to trickle from the cracked pipe.
News about the event trickled out over the following days.
After the initial rush, customers reduced to a mere trickle.