fankle

F4A1N1K5L1E1
/ˈfæŋkəl/

verb

To tangle or entangle.

OriginScots fankle →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

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

present singular third person fankles · participle present fankling · participle past fankled · past fankled

  1. ambitransitiveTo tangle or entangle.
nounfankle (plural fankles)

plural fankles

  1. A tangled condition.

    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 […]

    1954, The Nautical Magazine, volumes 171-172, page 31

Origin

  1. Scotsfankle
  2. Englishfankle

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

More words from Scots

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with fankle

ankleFranklranklecranklewankle
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

fankle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fankle

MLA

“fankle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fankle. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fankle,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fankle.

Source: fankle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.