出典:Wiktionary
出典:『Wiktionary』 (2025/04/22 23:52 UTC 版)
From Late 中期英語 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:
Compare 古期英語 ġefetelsod (“provided with a belt; trimmed, polished, ornamented”).
Outside of dialects, this noun is a fossil, found only in the phrase in fine fettle; but the verb and the corresponding gerund remain in common use in British English (for example, "this will need a bit of fettling to get sorted").
fettle (third-person singular simple present fettles, present participle fettling, simple past and past participle fettled)