Swingle

[swiŋgl]

Definition

(v. i.) To dangle; to wave hanging.

(v. i.) To swing for pleasure.

(v. t.) To clean, as flax, by beating it with a swingle, so as to separate the coarse parts and the woody substance from it; to scutch.

(v. t.) To beat off the tops of without pulling up the roots; -- said of weeds.

(n.) A wooden instrument like a large knife, about two feet long, with one thin edge, used for beating and cleaning flax; a scutcher; -- called also swingling knife, swingling staff, and swingling wand.

Inputed by Davis

Synonyms and Synonymous

n. Swingle-staff, swingling-staff, swingling-knife, swingling-wand.

v. a. Dress with a swingle (as flax), beat with a swingle.

Checker: Shari

Definition

v.t. to dress or separate the fibrous parts of flax from the woody substance by beating.—n. an implement for this purpose.—ns. Swing′le the part of the flail which falls on the grain in threshing; Swing′le-tree Sing′le-tree the cross-piece of a carriage plough &c. to which the traces of a harnessed horse are fixed.

Editor: Mervin