▪ I. † shirl, n. Obs. rare—1.
[f. shirl a.; cf. skirl n.]
A shrill cry.
| 1598 Queen Elizabeth tr. Plutarch iii. 21 Lest stranger..shirles might heare that maiden gaue for Skourge. |
▪ II. shirl, a. and adv. Obs. exc. dial.
(ʃɜːl)
Forms: 4 schirlle, 5–6 schyrle, 6 shirle, shyrle, (compar. shirler, superl. shirllest), 6, 9 dial. shirl.
[Metathetic form of shrill a.]
A. adj.
1. = shrill a. Obs. exc. dial.
| 1418–20 J. Page Siege of Rouen in Hist. Coll. Citizen Lond. (Camden) 45 With that they cryde alle ‘Nowe welle’, Al so schyrle as any belle. 1530 Palsgr. 726/1, I sownde schyrle, as a mannes or womannes voice that crieth lowd, je clicque. c 1567 Abp. Parker Ps. F iij b, Of which instruments some as the harpe were lowde and shirle. 1594 Plat Jewell-ho. i. 14 This salt giveth sound.., and without the sounde no mettall will ring in his shirle voyce. 1828 [Carr] Craven Gloss. s.v. Her shirl voice rings i my ears. 1869 Lonsdale Gloss., Shirl, shrill. |
† 2. Of the hair: Rough. Obs. rare.
| 1567 Golding Ovid's Met. viii. 995 Hir heare was harsh and shirle [Hirtus erat crinis]. Ibid. xv. 235 With shirle thinne heare as whyght as snowe. |
† B. adv. Shrilly. Obs.
| a 1300 Leg. Gregory 415 Rede and sing schirlle. 1583 Golding Calvin on Deut. viii. 45/2 Gods voyce ought to sounde shirler noweadayes in the Gospell, than it did in the Lawe. |
▪ III. shirl, v.1 Now dial.
(ʃɜːl)
Also 7 shurl, 9 sherl.
[app. an extended form of shear v.: see -le 3.]
trans. To trim with shears, spec. (see quot. 1802–19). Hence ˈshirling vbl. n. Also shirl n., a trimming.
| 1688 Lond. Gaz. No. 2323/4 Stolen..a bright bay Gelding.., his mane shirled half way. 1688 Holme Armoury ii. 252/2 Shurling of a Cock, is to trim the ends of his band, or neck feathers. 1775 J. Watson Hist. Halifax 546 [Vocab.] Shirl, to cut with shears. 1802–19 Rees Cycl., Sherling, or Shirling Lambs, in Rural Economy, the practice of cutting or shearing the short woolly coats or coverings of these young animals in the summer season. 1828 [Carr] Craven Gloss. s.v., ‘To shirl a fleece of wool’, to cut off the clotted ends before it be teazed or carded. 1869 Lonsdale Gloss., Shirlin's, the fleeces of lambs. 1897 Leeds Merc. Suppl. 22 May (E.D.D.), Ah doan't want pollin' cloise; Ah nobbut want shirlin. Ibid., Ah've nobbut hed a shirl this time. |
▪ IV. shirl, v.2 north.
(ʃɜːl)
In 8 shurl.
[App. formed (with frequentative suffix: see -le 3) on a vb. corresponding to G. dial. schurren, schorren, to slide on the ice.]
intr. To slide (see also quot. 1826). Hence ˈshirling vbl. n. Also ˈshirler, one who ‘shirls’; shirl n., a slide.
| 1790 Grose Prov. Gloss. (ed. 2), Shurl, to shurl, to slide, as upon ice. North. 1826 Southey Let. 25 Jan., Lett. 1856 III. 525 My girls are good shirlers... Shirling is neither sliding nor skating, but a sort of intermediate motion, performed in the common clogs of this country [Cumberland]. 1898 Lakeland Words in Penrith Observer 17 May (E.D.D.), Ther's a grand shirl on t' pond. |
▪ V. shirl
obs. form of schorl.
| 1776 G. Edwards Elem. Fossilogy 109 Basaltes, or shirl, or cockle. 1789 T. Williams Min. Kingd. II. 178 Shirl is a hard and heavy substance, of a shining jet black. |