from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Buckle \Buc"kle\ (b[u^]k"k'l), v. i.
1. To bend permanently; to become distorted; to bow; to curl;
to kink.
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Buckled with the heat of the fire like parchment.
--Pepys.
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2. To bend out of a true vertical plane, as a wall.
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3. To yield; to give way; to cease opposing. [Obs.]
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The Dutch, as high as they seem, do begin to buckle.
--Pepys.
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4. To enter upon some labor or contest; to join in close
fight; to struggle; to contend.
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The bishop was as able and ready to buckle with the
Lord Protector as he was with him. --Latimer.
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In single combat thou shalt buckle with me. --Shak.
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{To buckle to}, to bend to; to engage with zeal.
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To make our sturdy humor buckle thereto. --Barrow.
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Before buckling to my winter's work. --J. D.
Forbes.
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