drinkle

English[edit]

From Middle English drinklen, drinkelen, drenklen (“to plunge, drown”), from Old English *drenclian (“to drown”), frequentative form of Old English drenċan (“to give to drink, give drink to, drench, make drunk, ply with drink; soak, saturate; submerge, drown, plunge; sink”), equivalent to drink +‎ -le and drench +‎ -le. Compare dronkle, drunkle.

drinkle (third-person singular simple present drinkles, present participle drinkling, simple past and past participle drinkled)

(transitive) To drink (an alcoholic beverage); also, to cause (someone) to drink such a beverage; to drench; to drown.
- 1965, John Treadwell Nichols, The Sterile Cuckoo:
  We built a fire in the huge fireplace, then sat around drinkling bootleg beer and whiskey, compliments of Joe himself, Valley High's greatest athlete.
(intransitive) To drink an alcoholic beverage; also, to become intoxicated; to get drunk.
- 2009, Claire Kilroy, All Names Have Been Changed:
  'Get this one into bed and it's a royal flush!' His face twinkled, his gums sparkled, his eyes kindled, his brow darkened. I bridled and bristled, nettled and rankled, then drinkled and drankled some more.
(intransitive) To drown.
- 1900, George Borrow, “Notes to Lavengro, with Corrections, Identifications and Translations”, in Lavengro […], new edition, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 562:
  And the Mercury states that "the heavy rain drenched the field, and most betook themselves to a retreat, but the rats were all drinkled".