Nearby Words

dangles

[dang-guhl] Origin

dan·gle

[dang-guhl] verb, -gled, -gling, noun
verb (used without object)
1.
to hang loosely, especially 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.

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Dangles is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
noun
6.
the act of dangling.
7.
something that dangles.
8.
keep someone dangling, to keep someone in a state of uncertainty.

Origin:
1580–90; expressive word akin to Norwegian, Swedish dangla, Danish dangle dangle

dan·gler, noun
dan·gling·ly, adverb


1. swing, sway, flap.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

dangle
c.1590, probably from Scandinavian (cf. Dan. dangle, Norw. dangla), perhaps via N.Fris. dangeln.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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