Quantcast
 
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

gnarled

 - 7 dictionary results

gnarled

  [nahrld]
–adjective
1. (of trees) full of or covered with gnarls; bent; twisted.
2. having a rugged, weather-beaten appearance: a gnarled old sea captain.
3. crabby; cantankerous.
Use gnarled in a Sentence
Origin:
1595–1605; var. of knurled

gnarl

1  [nahrl]
–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.

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. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To gnarled
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.]
gnarled   (närld)   
adj.  

  1. Having gnarls; knotty or misshapen: gnarled branches.

  2. Morose or peevish; crabbed.

  3. Rugged and roughened, as from old age or work: the gnarled hands of a carpenter.


[Probably variant of knarled, from knarl, tangle, knot, alteration of Middle English knarre, knot in wood; see knar.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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
Cite This Source
Search another word or see gnarled on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
ExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyThe Daily BeastUrbanspoonAsk AnswersBloglinesSendori