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The Connection Between Rankle and Dragon
When rankle was first used in English, it meant "to fester," and that meaning is related to French words referring to a sore and tracing to Latin dracunculus. The Latin is from draco, the word for a serpent and the source of English's dragon. The transition from serpents to sores is apparently from people associating the appearance of certain ulcers or tumors to small serpents.
Examples of rankle in a Sentence
Richard Fontaine, Foreign Affairs, 27 Oct. 2025
But several aspects of the sales tax measure have rankled Casey and organizations focused on fiscal responsibility.
—Devan Patel, Mercury News, 23 Oct. 2025
That rankled Aviation administrators, who saw a potential problem with FAA rules if the money ever made it to CountryFest or the mayors’ conference.
—Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 17 Oct. 2025
But while Loeb has often encouraged scientists to have an open mind about extraterrestrials, his theories and research have often rankled other astrophysicists in the field, who push back on some of his bolder claims.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 2 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Rankle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rankle. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Middle English ranclen "to fester," from early French rancler (same meaning), derived from earlier draoncle, raoncle "a festering sore," from Latin dracunculus "little serpent, little dragon," from earlier draco "serpent, dragon," from Greek drākon "serpent, dragon" — related to dragon
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