D defs.my
Entry 5 senses · 3 variants Webster, 1913

Swingle

/swĭng'-gəl/ · Swin·gle · IPA /ˈswɪŋ(ɡ)əl/
01 v. i. To dangle; to wave hanging.
  1. 1.
    To dangle; to wave hanging.[Obs.]
  2. 2.
    To swing for pleasure.[Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
02 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.
imp. & p. p. Swingled; p. pr. & vb. n. Swingling
  1. 1.
    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.
  2. 2.
    To beat off the tops of without pulling up the roots; -- said of weeds.[Prov. Eng.]
03 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 …
  1. 1.
    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. Also: swingling knife, swingling staff, swingling wand