gnar, v.
(nɑː(r))
Also 5 gnare, 6 gnarr(e, 9 gnarr; see also nar.
[Onomatopœic: cf. MLG. gnarren, MDu. gnerren, gnorren to grunt; G. knarren, knirren to creak, knurren (Da. knurre, Sw. knorra) to grumble, snarl; also OE. gnyrran (Wulfstan 138/29; cf. gnyrende, rendering L. stridens, Sax. Leechd. III. 210).]
intr. To snarl, growl. (Cf. gnarl v.1)
| 1496 Dives & Paup. (W. de W.) i. lviii. 100 He shall gnasche or gnare with his teeth. 1522 Skelton Why not to Court 297 For and this curre do gnar, They must stande all a far, To holde vp their hande at the bar. 1583 Golding Calvin on Deut. li. 305 Let those mastife dogs barke and gnarre as much as they list. 1630 J. Taylor (Water P.) Taylor's Motto Wks. ii. 44/2 Those will in their kennels lye And gnar and snarle, and grumble secretly. 1737 Albania 196 No lion here the traveller assails With midnight roar, nor ruthless panther gnars. 1868 Atkinson Cleveland Gloss., Gnarr, to growl, as a dog. |
| transf. and fig. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. xcviii, A thousand wants Gnarr at the heels of men. 1880 Webb Goethe's Faust iv. xvi, When the storm in the forest roars and gnarrs. |
Hence
ˈgnarring vbl. n.| 1652 Urquhart Jewel Wks. (1834) 238 Like a snarling curr that in his gnarring snatcheth at the taile. a 1693 ― Rabelais iii. xiii, He..was..surrounded..with the barking of Currs..gnarring of Puppies. 1843 Carlyle Past & Pr. iii. iv, With preternatural gnarring, growling and screeching..there began..this song. |