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gnarl

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gnarl

1  [nahrl]
Use gnarl in a Sentence
–noun
1. a knotty protuberance on a tree; knot.
–verb (used with object)
2. to twist into a knotted or distorted form.
Origin:
1805–15; back formation from gnarled

Synonyms:
2. contort, distort.
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gnarl

2  [nahrl]
–verb (used without object)
to growl; snarl.
Origin:
1585–95; var. of gnar
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To gnarl
gnarl 1   (närl)   
intr.v.   gnarled, gnarl·ing, gnarls
To snarl; growl.

[Frequentative of gnar.]
gnarl 2   (närl)   
n.  A protruding knot on a tree.
tr.v.   gnarled, gnarl·ing, gnarls
To make knotted; twist.

[Back-formation from gnarled.]
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

gnarl 
"contort, twist," 1814, a back-formation from gnarled, which appears only in Shakespeare ("Measure for Measure," 1603) but was picked up 19c. by romantic poets and brought into currency. It is probably a variant of M.E. knar "knot in wood" (1382), originally "a rock, a stone," of uncertain origin. Gnarly first attested 1829; picked up 1970s as surfer slang to describe a dangerous wave; it had spread in teen slang by 1980s, where it meant both "excellent" and "disgusting."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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