rankle

ran·kle  (rngkl)

v. ran·kled, ran·kling, ran·kles

v.intr.

1. To cause persistent irritation or resentment.

2. To become sore or inflamed; fester.

v.tr.

To embitter; irritate.

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[Middle English ranclen, from Old French rancler, alteration of draoncler, from draoncle, festering sore, from Latin dracunculus, diminutive of drac, dracn-, serpent; see dragon.]

Word History: A persistent resentment, a festering sore, and a little snake are all coiled together in the history of the word rankle. "A little snake" is the sense of the Latin word dracunculus to which rankle can be traced, dracunculus being a diminutive of drac, "snake." The Latin word passed into Old French, as draoncle, having probably already developed the sense "festering sore," because some of these sores resembled little snakes in their shape or bite. The verb draoncler, "to fester," was then formed in Old French. The noun and verb developed alternate forms without the d-, and both were borrowed into Middle English, the noun rancle being recorded in a work written around 1190, the verb ranclen, in a work probably composed about 1300. Both words had literal senses having to do with festering sores. The noun is not recorded after the 16th century, but the verb went on to develop the figurative senses having to do with resentment and bitterness with which we are all too familiar.

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rankle

Verb

[-kling, -kled] to continue to cause resentment or bitterness [Old French draoncle ulcer]

Thesaurus

Verb

1.

rankle - gnaw into; make resentful or angry; "The injustice rankled her"; "his resentment festered" eat into, grate, fret annoy, devil, gravel, irritate, nark, rile, vex, nettle, rag, bother, chafe, get at, get to - cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations; "Mosquitoes buzzing in my ear really bothers me"; "It irritates me that she never closes the door after she leaves"

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rankle

verb annoy, anger, irritate, gall, fester, embitter, chafe, irk, rile, get on your nerves (informal) get your goat (slang) hack you off (informal)

Translations

rankle [ˈræŋkl] vi [insult] → doler

rankle [ˈræŋkl] vi [insult] → rester sur le cœur

rankle [ˈræŋkl] vi (insult) → nachwirken;

to rankle with sb → jdn wurmen

rankle [ˈræŋkl] vi to rankle with sb → bruciare (a qn)