fankle
English edit
Etymology edit
From Scots fankle, (compare English fangle), equivalent to fank (“coil, noose, vang”) + -le (frequentative suffix). Doublet of fangle.
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
fankle (third-person singular simple present fankles, present participle fankling, simple past and past participle fankled)
- (transitive, intransitive) To tangle or entangle.
Noun edit
fankle (plural fankles)
- A tangled condition.
- 1954, The Nautical Magazine, volumes 171-172, page 31:
- But sometimes they didn't go the way they should - and jammed, and each one behind it started to jam too, and I had to work like a madman to catch up, before the anchor-chain fouled into a fankle […]
Scots edit
Noun edit
fankle (plural fankles)
- A tangle of rope, string, wool etc