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swingle

Today it means: An implement used to separate the fibres of flax by beating them; a scutch. Full definition →

Middle English swingel ← Old English swingel

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swingle · noun, verb¹

Middle English · inherited fromswingelen
Old English · inherited fromswingel
Middle English · inherited fromswingel
English todayswingle

The noun is from Middle English swingel, from Old English swingel, swingelle (“whip, scourge”), equivalent to swing + -le. Related to Middle Dutch swingel, swengel, Dutch zwingel, zwengel. Doublet of swingel. The verb is from Middle English swingelen, from the noun. Related to Middle Dutch swingelen, swengelen.

swingle · verb²

From swing + -le (frequentative suffix).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.