Etymology

gnarled

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Today it means: Knotty and misshapen. Full definition →

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gnarled · adjective, verb1

First attested Shakespeare 1603: : Thy sharpe and sulpherous bolt Splits the vn-wedgable [unwedgable] and gnarled Oke [oak]. : Measure for Measure, Act II, scene ii, line 116 Variant of knurled, from knurl. By surface analysis, gnarl + -ed, though gnarl is a later back-formation. Popular use by 19th century.

gnarled · verb2

See gnarl (Etymology 2).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.