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fettle

English

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fettle

  • /ˈfɛtl̩/

Rhymes with -ɛtəl

Where it comes from

From Late Middle English fetlen (“(verb) to bestow; to fix, prepare, put in place; to prepare (oneself) for battle, gird up; to shape; to be about to, or to ready (oneself) to stay; (adjective) shaped (well or poorly)”) [and other forms], which possibly:

* from Old English fetel (“belt, girdle, fettle”), from Proto-Germanic *fatilaz, further etymology unknown; or

* from Old English fetian (“to fetch”), from Proto-Germanic *fatōną, *fatjaną (“to fetch”), from Proto-Indo-European *ped- (“foot”).

Compare Old English ġefetelsod (“provided with a belt; trimmed, polished, ornamented”).

noun fettles

  1. A state of physical condition; kilter or trim. These strong 2-8-2s […] appeared in good fettle, especially those shedded at Lublin and several arrivals and departures were photographed in the fine evening light.
  2. One's mental state; spirits.
  3. Sand used to line a furnace.
  4. A seam line left by the meeting of mould pieces.
  5. UK, dialectal The act of fettling.
  6. Cumbria, Geordie A person's mood or state, often assuming the worst. What’s yer fettle marra?

verb fettles · fettling · fettled

  1. Northern England, especially To sort out, to fix, to mend, to repair. He is getting his saddle altered: fettling about this and that; does not consider what danger he is in.
  2. intransitive To make preparations; to put things in order; to do trifling business. Nor list he now go whistling to the car, But sells his team , and fettleth to the war
  3. transitive To line the hearth of a furnace with sand prior to pouring molten metal.
  4. Geordie, reflexive To be upset or in a bad mood. Divint fettle yersel ower that!
  5. To remove (as by sanding) the seam lines left by the meeting of two molds.
  6. transitive To machine away seam lines or more generally to make small adjustments to a component or machine to improve its fit or operation. He wants to fettle his gearchange mechanism before the next competition.
  7. archaic, transitive To prepare. But fettle your fine joints 'gainst Thursday next...

Translations

Every language

noun state of physical condition — see also kilter, trim

DeutschZustand, Form, Einklang

noun one’s mental state — see also spirits

DeutschZustand, Geisteszustand, Verfassung

noun sand to line a furnace

DeutschFormsand

noun seam line left by the meeting of mold pieces

DeutschGrat

noun person’s mood or state, often assuming the worst

DeutschZustand

verb to sort out, fix, mend or repair

Deutschrichten, reparieren, flicken

verb to make preparations, put things in order or do trifling business

Deutschordnen, vorbereiten, arrangieren, prötteln

verb to line the hearth of a furnace with sand

Deutschauskleiden, ausfüllen

verb to remove seam lines left by the meeting of two molds

Deutschbeschroten, beschneiden, putzen

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MLA

"fettle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/fettle. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

fettle. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/fettle

Chicago

"fettle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/fettle.

BibTeX
@misc{fettle_2026,
  title = {fettle},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/fettle},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}