fankle

English

Etymology

From Scots fankle, (compare English fangle), equivalent to fank (“coil, noose, vang”) +‎ -le (frequentative suffix). Doublet of fangle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfæŋkəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æŋkəl

Verb

fankle (third-person singular simple present fankles, present participle fankling, simple past and past participle fankled)

1. (ambitransitive) To tangle or entangle.

Noun

fankle (plural fankles)

1. 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

Noun

fankle (plural fankles)

1. A tangle of rope, string, wool etc