Chiefly Sc. and dial. Forms: 4 brukel, 5 brukyl, 5–6 -ill, 6 -il, brukkil, -yll, brukle, brucle, 6– bruckle. [OE. brucol (in scipbrucol) f. stem bruk- of brekan to BREAK (see also BROCKLE): but in later use, perhaps phonetic variant of BRICKLE: cf. Sc. muckle and mickle.]
1. Liable to break; fragile, brittle.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, XII. xii. 114. As brukkyll ice.
1562. Turner, Herbal, II. 64 a. Rootes … not brukle or easy to breke.
1589. Puttenham, Eng. Poesie (Arb.), 219. Trusting vnto a piece of bruckle wood.
a. 1721. Kelly, Sc. Prov., 113 (Jam.). Lasses and glasses are bruckle ware.
1858. M. Porteous, Souter Johnny, 29. In bruckle stane and lime.
2. fig. Frail, uncertain, precarious, ‘shaky.’
c. 1325. Metr. Hom., 120. Noht of brukel blod and bane.
c. 1425. Wyntoun, Cron., V. xii. 1309. Yhe Devilys war noucht wroucht of brukyl kynd.
1509. Fisher, Wks., 91. What vessell may be more bruckle and frayle than is our body.
a. 1651. Calderwood, Hist. Kirk (Wodrow), III. 743. Founding them upon the bruckle authoritie of profane writers.
1814. Scott, Wav., lxvii. ‘My things are but in a bruckle state.’
1886. Long, I. Wight Dial., 8. Bruckle, brittle.
