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Muckle

Dialect
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Much, great, or large; used to indicate size or quantity, as in "muckle worth."

Detailed Definition
"Muckle" is one of the most characteristically Scots of words, its sound immediately evoking the dialect. It appears in proverbs ("Mony a mickle maks a muckle"), in Burns, and throughout folk tradition to indicate size, quantity, or importance. In poetry its emphatic vowels give it physical weight, and it contributes to the sense of robust, unhurried Scots speech. The word is also a gentle comic tool, its exaggerated sound lending itself to mock-heroic or affectionate inflation of the everyday.
Example
Example in poetry:
"Muckle" means large, great, or much; Burns writes "Muckle thought has broke a stout heart" and uses the word often; A poet might write: "A muckle storm came off the sea — / and nothing stood where things used tae be." for dramatic effect; "He had muckle love but little skill / at showing it, and struggles still." explores emotional inarticulacy; "Muckle fuss for little gain — / the noise of effort, not the rain." offers a satirical observation; "A muckle heart in a small frame — / she lived large without the fame." praises modest heroism; "Muckle the debt we owe the dead — / they ploughed the field where we were fed." uses the word for elegiac weight; "Muckle care makes a muckle mess — / sometimes wisdom means doing less." offers counterintuitive advice
Additional Notes
Muckle is one of the fundamental quantity words of Scots, as basic to the dialect as "much" is to English but with a more emphatic, physical quality — "muckle" things are not merely great in degree but great in presence. The Scottish proverb "Mony a mickle maks a muckle" (many small things make a great thing) — often misquoted as "mickle" and "muckle" being different words, when in fact they are variants of the same — is one of the most quoted pieces of Scottish proverbial wisdom. For students, "muckle" is an essential quantity word, and its appearance in verse invariably signals emphasis. Compare with "hantle" (a good number) and "fouth" (abundance) for related terms.
Also Known As
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