mickle
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
mickle /ˈmɪk(ə)l/ (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.
many a little makes a mickle (also many a mickle makes a muckle) many small amounts accumulate to make a large amount.
– origin OE micel ‘great, numerous, much’, of Gmc origin.
usage: The forms mickle and muckle are, by origin, 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’.
'mickle' also found in these Oxford entries:
