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DANGLE

 - 3 dictionary results

dan⋅gle

  [dang-guhl] verb, -gled, -gling, noun
Use DANGLE in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to hang loosely, esp. with a jerking or swaying motion: The rope dangled in the breeze.
2. to hang around or follow a person, as if seeking favor or attention.
3. Grammar. to occur as a modifier without a head or as a participle without an implied subject, as leaving the tunnel in The daylight was blinding, leaving the tunnel.
–verb (used with object)
4. to cause to dangle; hold or carry swaying loosely.
5. to offer as an inducement.
–noun
6. the act of dangling.
7. something that dangles.
—Idiom
8. keep someone dangling, to keep someone in a state of uncertainty.
Origin:
1580–90; expressive word akin to Norw, Sw dangla, Dan dangle dangle

Related forms:
dangler, noun
dan⋅gling⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. swing, sway, flap.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To DANGLE
dan·gle   (dāng'gəl)   
v.   dan·gled, dan·gling, dan·gles

v.   intr.

  1. To hang loosely and swing or sway to and fro.

  2. To be a hanger-on.

v.   tr.

  1. To cause to hang loosely or swing.

  2. To cause (one's expectations or hopes) to hang uncertainly or remain unresolved.

n.  

  1. The act or an instance of dangling.

  2. Something dangled.


[Perhaps from Danish dangle or Swedish dangla.]
dan'gler n., dan'gly adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

dangle 
c.1590, probably from Scandinavian (cf. Dan. dangle, Norw. dangla), perhaps via N.Fris. dangeln.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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