BUCK'LE, noun 1. An instrument made of some kind of metal, for fastening together certain parts of dress, as the straps and bands, as in a harness. The forms are various, but it consists of a ring or rim with a chape and tongue. 2. A curl, or a state of being curled or crisped, as hair. 3. In coats of arms, a token of the surety, faith and service of the bearer. BUCK'LE, verb transitive To fasten with a buckle or buckles. 1. To prepare for action; a metaphor, taken from buckling on armor. 2. To join in battle. 3. To confine or limit A span buckles in his sum of age. BUCKLE, verb intransitive To bend; to bow; as, to buckle under life. To buckle to, to bend to; to apply with vigor; to engage with zeal. To buckle in, to close in; to embrace or seize the body, as in a scuffle; a popular use in America. To buckle with, to encounter with embrace; to join in close combat.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI