▪ I. hurl, v.
(hɜːl)
Also 4–5 hourle, 4–6 horle, (9 dial. horl, hull).
[Akin in form and (in branch 1) in sense, to LG. hurreln to toss, sling, throw, precipitate, thrust, push, dash: cf. also mod.Du. horrel a push, a jog. The connexion of the other senses is doubtful; but sense 10 agrees with mod.E.Fris. hurreln to roar or bluster as the wind; cf. Upper Ger. dial. hurlen to roll, rumble as thunder. None of these continental words can be traced back even to the Middle period; and they are generally connected with the onomatopœic hurr expressing rapid motion. In early ME. there appears to have been frequent confusion of hurl and hurtle, partly scribal, but largely through contact of sense in the notion ‘dash’; similarly also of hurl and harl to drag; in later times there seems to have been association with whirl, esp. in hurlpit, hurlpool, hurlwind.]
I. Referring to motion.
1. intr. To move, or be carried or driven with violence or impetuosity; to rush impetuously; to dash. Obs. or arch.
(The first quot. is doubtful; it may be hurt or hurtle.)
| [a 1225 Ancr. R. 166 Iðe worldes þrunge, mid a lutel hurlunge [MS. T. hurtlinge] ȝe muhten al uor-leosen, ase þeo wrecches iðe worlde, þet hurleð togederes & to-brekeð hore uetles, & schedeð hore clennesse.] a 1300 Curson M. 23932 Þi leme leuedi vs light emell, Þat he mot haueles hurl to hell. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 376 Water..wonez þat stryede, Hurled in-to vch hous. 1382 Wyclif 1 Sam. xxi. 13 He..hurlide hidir and thider bitwix the hoondis of hem. ― Matt. vii. 25 Flodis camen, and wyndis blewen and rusheden [v.r. hurliden] in to that hous. c 1400 Destr. Troy 1365 Maydons for mornyng hade þere mynde loste, Hurlet out of houses. 1513 Douglas æneis iii. x. 39 A huge peple we se Of Ciclopes cum hurland to the port. 1585 Jas. I Ess. Poesie (Arb.) 62 Zour wordis to be cuttit short, and hurland ouer heuch. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. ii. 20 We rolling climbe, then hurling fall beneath. 1728–46 Thomson Summer 450 The very streams..impatient, seem To hurl into the covert of the grove. 1816 Scott Antiq. xvii, Its waters were seen hurling clear and rapid under their silvan canopy. |
† b. app. identified or confused with hurtle.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 1198 When helmes and hard stele hurlet to-gedur. Ibid. 6638 Mony hurlit doun hedstoupis to þe hard vrthe! 1470–85 Malory Arthur x. ii, He hurled vnto sir Tristram, & smote hym clene from his sadel. 1609 Spenser's F.Q. i. iv. 16 Suddaine vpriseth..The royall dame, and for her coche doth call: All hurlen [ed. 1590 hurtlen] forth, and she with princely pase, As faire Aurora in her purple pall. |
† c. app. associated or confused with whirl.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. C. 271 He [Jonas] glydez in by þe giles..Ay hele ouer hed, hourlande aboute. 1632 Lithgow Trav. i. 21 Mens mindes..They hurling come and goe, like fish at baits. |
2. trans. To drive or impel with impetuous force or violence. (In early use the passive was = sense 1.)
| c 1305 Judas Iscar. 25 in E.E.P. (1862) 108 Þe see him hurlede vp and doun: as a liþer clot. c 1386 Chaucer Man of Law's T. 199 O firste moeuyng crueel firmament With thy diurnal sweigh that..hurlest al from Est to Occident. 1535 Coverdale Jonah i. 4 The Lorde hurled a greate wynde in to the see. 1688 S. Sewall Diary 28 Nov. (1878) I. 237 Scarce any sleeping all night, things in the Cabbin were so hurled to and again. 1735 Pope Prol. Sat. 87 Pit, Box, and gall'ry in convulsions hurl'd. 1884 A. J. Butler Coptic Ch. Egypt i. 179 Amr hurled his troops and his engines in vain against the solid walls of Babylon. |
b. refl. To throw oneself impetuously; = 1.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 10680 Þai hurlet hom full hard with hor hoge dynttes. 1886 Stokes Celtic Ch. (1888) 251 The Scandinavians hurled themselves..upon England. |
† c. app. identified with hurtle and whirl. Obs.
| 1382 Wyclif Luke vi. 49 Flood was hurtlid to that hous..His hous..in to which the flood was hurlid [v.r. hurtlid]. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 16 [The monster Error] hurling her hideous taile About her cursed head. 1617 Markham Caval. iii. 76 When you come euen to the brim of the ditch, you shall hurle your horse suddainly vpon that side which is from your aduersary. |
3. trans. To throw or cast with violence (from some position); to precipitate, throw down, overthrow. lit. and fig.
| c 1350 Will. Palerne 1243 Hetterly boþe hors & man he hurled to þe grounde. c 1400 Destr. Troy 10208 He hurlit of helmys, hedis within. c 1400 York Myst. xxx. 222 He bese hurled for [? fro] þe highnes he haunted. c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) iii. 142, I xal hovrle of yower hedes. c 1585 R. Browne Answ. Cartwright 1 Let vs shortly gather vp his vntrueths..and hurle them out by manifest and knowen markes. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 532 An Earth⁓quake, that hurled downe Temples and Pallaces. 1757 Gray Desc. Odin 93 Till wrap'd in flames, in ruin hurl'd, Sinks the fabric of the world. 1805 A. Duncan Mariner's Chron. IV. 63 One of those by the pump was suddenly torn away by a breaker..and hurled into the abyss. 1821 Byron Heav. & Earth iii. 668 The first..hath been hurl'd From his once archangelic throne. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 632 Raised to power and hurled from it. 1855 Ibid. xvi. III. 674 A mine exploded, and hurled a fine German battalion into the air. |
| refl. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 529 Hanging a great stone about their neckes..[they] hurle themselves into the Sea. 1871 L. Stephen Playgr. Europe viii. (1894) 186 The grand glacier..hurled itself madly downwards. |
4. To throw or cast (a missile, projectile, or the like); to project; to fling.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 2224 Oure pepill..hurled out arowis. 1530 Palsgr. 588/1, I horle, I throwe a thynge..I holde the a peny that I hurle this stone over yonder house. 1663 Charleton Chor. Gigant. 46 Profaning the Lord's Day with hurling the Ball. a 1735 Ld. Lansdowne Beauty & Law 47 The Sire Omnipotent prepares the brand..Then flaming hurls it hissing from above. 1874 Boutell Arms & Arm. ii. 21 Hector and Ajax hurl their lances at each other. 1874 Green Short Hist. i. §3. 20 Leaping on horse⁓back, he hurled his spear into the sacred temple. |
† b. generally. To throw, cast, toss; to ‘throw’ in wrestling. Obs.
| 1563–87 Foxe A. & M. (1684) III. 679 Here is a Testament in my hand, if I hurl him in the Fire and burn him, have I burned Gods Word, or not? c 1611 Chapman Iliad xiv. 150 A heavenly veil she hurls On her white shoulders. 1611 Beaum. & Fl. Knt. Burn. Pestle iii. ii, Why, Nell, I saw him wrestle with the great Dutchman, and hurl him. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 539 Flesh-pottage, which they hurle by handfuls into their mouthes. 1615 Markham Eng. Housew. (1660) 92 Pull it all in pieces, and hurl in a good quantity of currants. 1659 D. Pell Impr. Sea 148 Though hee hurl the rod into the fire after all is done. |
c. absol.
| 1530 Palsgr. 588/2 He can hurle as far by hande as some man can do with a slynge. 1611 Bible Num. xxxv. 20 If he..hurle at him by laying of waite that he die. |
d. spec. To play the game of ‘hurling’.
| 1766 E. Griffith Lett. Henry & Frances IV. 285 The Mob used to hurle there on every St. James's Fair⁓day. 1780 A. Young Tour Irel. I. 365 Sometimes one barony hurls against another, but a marriageable girl is always the prize. 1836 W. H. Maxwell Capt. Blake I. xi, I..danced, hurled, and was happy. a 1843 Southey Comm.-pl. Bk. IV. 563 The Irish custom of horsing a girl, and then hurling for her, that the winner may marry her. 1857 Trench Proverbs ii. (ed. 4) 34 note, ‘The man on the dyke always hurls well;’ the looker-on at a game of hurling, seated indolently on the wall, always imagines that he could improve on the strokes of the actual players. |
5. transf. and fig. To throw out or forth with force; to utter (words, threats, etc.) with vehemence; to dart (rays, a glance, etc.).
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. ii. 29 For golden Phoebus..From fiery wheeles of his faire chariot Hurled his beame. 1602 Marston Ant. & Mel. iv. Wks. 1856 I. 44 His spirit hovers in Piero's court, Hurling about his agill faculties, To apprehend the sight of Mellida. c 1611 Chapman Iliad iv. 86 Jove, brandishing a star, which men a comet call, Hurls out his curled hair abroad. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 669 Hurling defiance toward the vault of Heav'n. 1792 J. Barlow Conspir. Kings 86 Truth's blest banners, o'er the regions hurl'd. 1858 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. vi. ix. II. 221 Hurling a glance at Grumkow. 1875 Manning Mission H. Ghost vii. 189 The accusations that may be hurled at you. |
† 6. To drag or pull with violence; = harl v.1 1. (Also absol.) Obs.
| c 1305 Pol. Songs (Camden) 211 Whan menne horlith ham here and there, Nego savith ham fram care. c 1400 Destr. Troy 10311 He..Festnyt hym..by his fete euyn, Hard by the here of his horse tayle, And hurlit hym with hethyng þurgh þe hoole ost. c 1420 Anturs of Arth. (Douce MS.) 187 Þey hurle [Irel. MS. hurlun, Thornt. MS. harle] me vnhendely. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxii. 20 In yre thai hurlit him heir and thair. 1663 R. Blair Autobiog. ii. (1848) 22 The new creature was assaulted, hurled and holed as a captive. |
† 7. To jostle; = hurtle v. Obs.
| 1388 Wyclif Ezek. xxxiv. 21 For that that ȝe hurliden [1382 punchiden, Vulg. impingebatis] with sidis, and schuldris..alle sike beestis. |
8. To wheel or drive (a vehicle, or in a vehicle, esp. one that goes heavily). (Also intr.) Sc. and north.
| a 1745 W. Meston Poems (1767) 126 Ne'er hackney hurl'd On better wheels in the wide world. 1786 Burns ‘Sir, Yours this moment’, If on a beastie I can speel Or hurl in a cartie. 1795 Fortnight's Ramble 18 Their shopmen..are hurling their whiskies along the villages. a 1810 Tannahill Poems (1846) 16 Now and then we'll hurl in a coach. 1893 Northumbld. Gloss., Horl,..to wheel, to trundle. ‘Where ye gan ti horl yor gords’ (i.e. hoops)? |
† II. 9. intr. To strive, contend: see hurling vbl. n. 3. Obs.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 253/2 Hurlyn, or debatyn, incursor. |
† III. 10. intr. To roar or bluster as the wind; to howl: see hurling vbl. n. 4. Obs.
| 1530 Palsgr. 589/1, I Hurle, I make a noyse as the wynde dothe, je bruys. Ibid., The wynde hurled so sore that none of us coulde nat here an other. c 1535 Hye Way Spyttel Hous 101 in Hazl. E.P.P. IV. 27 The sharp north wynd hurled bytterly. 1598 Drayton Heroic. Ep. xxi. 76 The shrugging Ayre about thy Temples hurles. |
IV. 11. dial. (intr.) To be chill, to be pinched with cold (Craven Dial. 1828).
Hence hurled ppl. a.
| 1638 F. Junius Paint. of Ancients 231 When..finding of fault begins to interrupt our worke, it is impossible that the force of our hurled invention should keepe her course. |
▪ II. hurl, n.
(hɜːl)
[f. hurl v. Various groups of senses have arisen independently from different senses of the vb., and are practically distinct words.]
I. 1. The action or an act of hurling; a forcible or violent cast or throw.
| 1530 Palsgr. 233/1 Hurle or throwe with a stone, coup de pierre. a 1693 Urquhart Rabelais iii. xii. 93 The darting Hurls, or slinging Casts of the Vulcanian Thunderbolts. 1695 Congreve Taking of Namur viii, Beholding Mountain on Mountain thrown! With threatening hurl! that shook th' æthereal Firmament. 1813 Ld. Thurlow Poems 24 With weak and idle hurl Their darts had sped. |
2. The stick or club used in the game of hurling; in quot. 1791, a lacrosse-stick.
| 1791 W. Bartram Carolina 370 A company of young fellows..came in..with rackets or hurls in one hand. Ibid. 508 Each person having a racquet or hurl, which is an implement..somewhat resembling a laddle or scoop-net, with a handle near three feet in length, the hoop and handle of wood, and the netting of thongs of raw hide, or tendons of an animal. 1858 E. O'Curry Mann. Anc. Irish (1873) II. 359 He would give his ball a stroke of his hurl..he would throw his hurl at it. |
II. 3. ? The rush (of water); swirl. rare.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. C. 319 Þe pure poplande hourle playes on my heued. a 1400–50 Alexander 1154 Þe wawis of þe wild see apon þe wallis betis, Þe pure populande hurle [v.r. perle] passis it vmby. 1890 Clark Russell Ocean Trag. II. xviii. 109 A sea that had..lost the early snappish and worrying hurl put into it by the first of the dark blast. |
4. A downward rush; esp. a violent and noisy rush of stones, etc. down a steep slope. Sc.
| 1549 Compl. Scot. vi. 39, I herd mony hurlis of stannirs & stanis that tumlit doune vitht the land rusche. 1632 Lithgow Trav. vi. 262 Distempred feare brought him downe upon me with a rushling hurle. 1866 W. Gregor Banffsh. Gloss., Hurl (1) a quantity of any hard material thrown down, or falling down in confusion and accompanied with noise; as ‘A hurl o' stanes cam doon on's back’... In a hurl, means in a confused mass, accompanied with noise. (2) The noise caused by any hard material thrown down, or falling down of itself. |
† 5. Diarrhœa. Sc. Obs.
| 1508 Dunbar Flyting w. Kennedie 194 It is wittin..thow hes the hurle behind. |
III. 6. A ride in a cart or other wheeled vehicle, a drive. Sc.
| 1822 Carlyle Early Lett. (Norton) II. 144 We will not let you want a hurl up and down in the coach. 1826 J. Wilson Noct. Ambr. Wks. 1855 I. 236 I'll take a hurl wi' ye as far as the Harrow. |
IV. † 7. Strife, contention; commotion, tumult.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 253/2 Hurl, or debate, sedicio. 1553 N. Grimalde Cicero's Offices i. (1558) 36 Making a hurle [tumultuante] to be thrust from his place. 1587 Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 1028/1 About the same time that this rebellion..began in the west, the like disordered hurles were attempted in Oxfordshire, and Buckinghamshire. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 358 In this hurle a great part of the Christian armie..was speedily transported over the river. 1653 Urquhart Rabelais i. iv. 23 They all went out in a hurle. |
8. Sc. ‘The act of scolding; sometimes expressed, a hurl of a flyte’ (Jam.).
| ? a 1800 H. Blyd's Contract 6 (Jam.) She ga' me sic a hurl I never gat the like o't. |
▪ III. hurl
var. of harl n.1