mickle

(also muckle) archaic or Scottish & N. English

  • noun a large amount.

  • adjective very large.

  — PHRASES many a little makes a mickle (also many a mickle makes a muckle) many small amounts accumulate to make a large amount.

  — ORIGIN Old English.

  — USAGE The forms mickle and muckle are merely variants of the same (now dialect) word meaning ‘a large amount’. However, the alternative form of the proverb (originally a misquotation) has led to a misunderstanding that mickle means ‘a small amount’.

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