▪ I. langle, n. Obs. exc. dial.
(ˈlæŋg(ə)l)
Forms: 4 langald, langhalde, 6 langhold, 8 langel(l, 8, 9 dial. langle.
[Of obscure origin; both form and sense appear to point to an OF. *langle, *lengle:—L. lingula thong, strap, dim. of lingua tongue; but the word is app. not recorded in French. Cf. lingel.]
A thong, rope, or other contrivance used to confine the legs of an animal in order to prevent its straying; a hobble. Also fig.
| 1394–5 Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 599 In 3 Tethirs cum paribus de langalds 22d. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. xiv. (1495) 774 An oxe herde fedeth and nouryssheth oxen: and byndeth their fete with a langhaldes. 1609 J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa iii. 137 Certaine langols or withs, which the Africans put upon their horses feete. 1737 Ramsay Sc. Prov. (1797) 95 Ye ha'e ay a foot out o' the langle. 1880 Antrim & Down Gloss. s.v., A ‘sheep's langle’ is a short piece of any kind of rope, with a slip knot at each end. The loops are passed over the fore and hind leg of a sheep. |
▪ II. langle, v. Obs. exc. dial.
(ˈlæŋg(ə)l)
In 5, 8 langel, 7 langol.
[f. prec. n.]
trans. To fasten with a thong; to confine (the legs of an animal) with a thong, rope, or the like. Hence langled ppl. a.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 286/2 Langelyd, or teyyn to-gedyr, colligatus. Ibid., Langelyn or byynd to-geder, colligo (P. compedio). 1647 Trapp Comm. Rom. vii. 24 This carcase of sin to which I am tied and lungold [sic]. 1650 ― Comm. Gen. iv. 12 He was langold to it, and must abide by it. 1755 Forbes Ajax' Sp. 25 This..your sma banes wou'd langel sair. Ibid., Key, Langel, entangle. 1790 Grose Prov. Gloss. (ed. 2), Langled, having the legs coupled together at a small distance, North. 1880 Antrim & Down Gloss., Langle, to tie the hind foot and the fore foot of an animal together, to prevent it straying far. |