▪ I. thirl, n.1 Now dial.
(θɜːl)
Forms: 1 þyrel, -il, þyrl, 3 þirl, þurl, 4 therl, 9 thurl, 4– thirl. See also thrill n.1
[OE. þ{yacu}rel, for older *þyrhil, *þurh-il, f. þurh thorough + -el1. Cf. OHG. dur(i)hhil, MHG. dürchel, dürkel, OE. þ{yacu}rel adjs., pierced, perforated.]
1. A hole, bore, perforation; an aperture.
| a 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iv. iii. (1890) 272 Þonne is on þæm medmicel þyrel ᵹeworht. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xix. 24 Ðerh ðyril nedles. c 1000 ælfric Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 113/29 Orificium, ælces kynnes muð vel ðyrl. a 1225 Ancr. R. 202 He..þet lette makien swuche þurles in him uorte huden us inne. a 1300 Cursor M. 528 Mans hefd has thirls seuen. 1513 Douglas æneis vii. x. 59 A thyrll or aynding stede Of terribyle Pluto. a 1640 Jackson Creed xi. xxxviii. §10 They could not peck the least hole in the mitre, or make the least thirl in the surplice, without working [etc.]. 1866 J. E. Brogden Provinc. Wds. Lincoln. s.v., Fetch a nail passer and make a thirl through this board. |
b. Each of the two holes or orifices of the nose; a nostril: see nose-thirl.
| a 1350 St. Barthol. 89 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 120 His nese es euyn, with thirles small. 1382 Wyclif Job xli. 11 Of his nose therlis goth forth smoke. 1513 Douglas æneis xii. Prol. 29 The flambe owtbrastyng at his neys thyrlys. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 222 b, With her wyde mouthe and nose thirlles. 1828 Craven Gloss., Thirl, the orifice of the nose; nose-thirl, alias nostril. |
2. An aperture or opening in a wall or the like; e.g. a door or window in a house (obs.), a sheep-hole in a wall, etc. Also fig.
| a 1050 Liber Scintill. xxxviii. 140 Hwæt framað þæt onᵹean feonda searwa eal ceaster byþ ᵹehealden ᵹif an þyrl open byð forlæten. a 1225 Ancr. R. 62 Þe kerneaus of þe castel beoð hire huses þurles. Ibid. 96 Ȝif eni..worpe his hond forð touward þe þurl cloð, swiftliche anonriht, schutteð al þet þurl [MS. T. windohe] to, & letteð hine iwurden. 1340 Ayenb. 204 Huerby þe dieuel geþ in ofte ine þe vif þerles of þe house. 14.. MS. Lincoln A. i. 17, lf. 241 (Halliw.) If..alle the thirlles, dores and wyndows ware stokyne that na sone myght enter. 1794 W. Hutchinson Hist. Cumbld. I. 64 Thirl..of common acceptation in the north, for an opening left in moor fences, for sheep to pass to and from the commons adjacent to inclosed grounds. 1904 Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v. (n. Yorks.), A lot o' sheep..wantin' to go threw a thirl at yance. |
† 3. A small cavity or recess: in quot. a closet.
| a 1300 E.E. Psalter civ. [cv.] 30 He forth-broght froskes þe land of þa, In thirles [L. in cubilibus] of þar kinges ma. |
4. See quots. and cf. thirling vbl. n.1 2.
| 1847–78 Halliwell, Thurl, a long adit in a coal-pit. 1871 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engin. I. 304 These would be thurled (cross-cut) at every forty or sixty feet, or at such a distance as the air could be induced to pass the last thurl made. 1899 Prevost Cumbld. Gloss., Thirls, openings made between a pair of exploring places or drifts, for the purpose of ventilation. |
5. = thrill n.3 1.
| 1879 J. White Jottings 226 (E.D.D.) Yer sang..gied me a thirl. 1897 W. Beatty Secretar xlii. 343 ‘I kend that’, she said with a thirl of gladness in the words. |
▪ II. thirl, n.2 Sc.
(θɜːl)
Also 6 thyrile, thyrll, 6–8 thirle.
[f. thirl v.2]
1. a. Astriction (usually to a particular mill; in quot. 1564 to a smithy): see thirlage 2. b. The duty and liability of tenants in thirlage. c. The astricted lands or district, = sucken.
| 1564 in Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. (1586) 301/2 Cum astrictione fabricandi ferrum infra terras suas de Angus (the haille thirle of the irne werk of oure landis of Angus usit and wont). 1582 Calr. Laing Charters (1899) 258 In primis, The thyrile, the haile toun..to haif twa chaldyr of schilling. Ibid. 259 This is the just thyrll that we fermoraris of Crummy aw to our mile. 1681 Stair Inst. Law Scot. xvii. §19. 351 A Clause of thirlage granted by a Town to a Miln..found to be extended to all Corns Kilned or Steeped within the Thirle. a 1722 Fountainhall Decisions (1759) I. 276 That the building a mill within his thirle could be interpreted to be done with no other design but in aemulationem vicini. 1773 Erskine Inst. Law Scot. ii. ix. §20 The astricted lands are called the thirl, or the sucken; and the persons subjected to the astriction get the name of suckeners. 1821 Scott Pirate xi, Plaguing themselves about baron's mills, and thirls. |
2. A bondsman, a thrall. rare.
| 1871 Waddell Ps. lxxix. 11 Lat the sigh o' the weary thirl win ben afore yer sight. |
3. Comb. thirl-band, chain or bond of servitude; thirl-folk, bondmen; thirl-man, bondman, serf; thirl-service (see thirl v.2 2, quot. 1609).
| 1871 Waddell Ps. ii. 3 Lat's rive their thirlbans syndry. Ibid. lxxxix. 50 O Lord, hae min' o' yer thirlfolk's pine. Ibid. lxxviii. 70 He lightit on David his thirlman. |
▪ III. thirl, a. Sc.
(θɜːl)
[? attrib. use of thirl n.2 1.]
Bound in thirlage to.
| 1582 Calr. Laing Charters (1899) 258 Ouir mile that we ar thyrll to. 1897 Sarah Tytler Witch-wife vi. 82 Malt and meal from the mill to which he was ‘bound thirl’. |
▪ IV. thirl, v.1 Obs. exc. dial. and local.
(θɜːl)
Forms: 1 þyrlian, þirlian, 2–4 þurle(n (ü), 3–4 þorle, 4 þerle, thirll, 4–5 therle, þirle, thurle, 4–7 thyrl(e, 4–8 thirle, 5 thorle, 5–6 thyrll, 7–9 thurl, 4– thirl. See also thrill v.1
[OE. þyrlian, f. þ{yacu}r(e)l thirl n.1: cf. MHG. dürkeln.]
1. trans. To pierce, to run through or into (a body) as a sharp-pointed instrument does; to pierce (anything) with such an instrument; to bore a hole in or through; to perforate.
| c 1000 ælfric Exod. xxi. 6 Þirlie his eare mid anum æle. c 1205 Lay. 4541 Þer wes moni breoste mid brade spere i-þurlud [c 1275 iþorled]. c 1320 Cast. Love 1151 He lette boþe þurlen his feet and honden. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1852 Namely oon That with a spere was thirled his brest boon. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. cvi. (Bodl. MS.), These wormes beþ icleped Terodenes for þey þorleþ & eteþ trees. c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. i. 925 They thurle a nutte, and stuffe hit so withynne With brymstoon, chaf, and cedria, this thre. 1578 in Scot. Poems 16th C. (1801) II. 127 Remember the speir that thirlit my hart. 1674 Ray N.C. Words, To Thirl, to bore a hole. 1706 Sibbald Hist. Picts in Misc. Scot. I. 118 Being thirled or pierced in many places. 1825 Brockett N.C. Words, Thirl, to pierce, to perforate. 1878 Cumbld. Gloss., Thirl, Thurl, to bore through. |
† b. With the weapon or instrument as object.
| a 1400 Prymer (1891) 41 A spere in to his syde was therled of a knyȝt. a 1400 Stac. Rome 568 There is..A thorne thyrlyd in crystis hed, when he suffyrde for us. |
c. To make (a hole) by piercing, to bore. Obs.
| 1609 Holland Amm. Marcell. xxiv. ii. 244 The forcible and violent push of the Ram had thirled an hole through a corner-tower. |
† d. To fix with a nail or the like; to transfix.
| c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun 2506 Thai..thirlid thaym to the crosse with one naille cruwelly. |
e. fig. To ‘pierce’.
| c 1315 Shoreham iv. 194 Hy beþ men,..Wyþ sennes al þorȝ-þerled. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xliv. 7 Þi wordis ere sharpe þat thirlis mennys thoghtis. c 1470 Henry Wallace x. 394 The pytuous payn so sor thyrllyt his thocht. c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xviii. 34 Throw langour of my sueit So thirlit is my spreit. 1742 R. Forbes Ajax xxix, Whare now thy groans in dowy dens The yerd-fast stanes do thirle. |
† 2. transf. To pass right through, penetrate, traverse (anything). Obs.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 85 Þet corn þet þurleð þe wind, þet smal chef þet flið forð mid þe winde. a 1350 Peter & Paul 492 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 70 Goddes sun now hardily es he; He thyrles heuyn. 1496 Dives & Paup. (W. de W.) i. xv. 47/2 The prayer of hym that loweth hym in his prayer thyrleth the clowdes. 1541 R. Copland Guydon's Quest. Chirurg. F ij b, The Meri otherwyse called Ysophagus..commeth out of the throte and thyrleth the mydryfe vnto y⊇ bely or stomacke. c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xiv. 1 Rycht as þe glass bene thirlit thru{supt} w{supt} bemis Off Phebus..visage bricht. |
† 3. To make a hole in (the earth); to excavate.
| a 1000 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 201/32 Cauantur, euacuantur, þyrliaþ. 1577 Stanyhurst Descr. Irel. in Holinshed (1808) VI. 9 The toad..began to thirle and as it were to dig the earth, where finding an hole, it slunke awaie. |
4. spec. Coal Mining. To cut through (a wall of coal, etc.). Also absol. or intr.
| 1686, 1797 [cf. thirling vbl. n.1 2]. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 987 The stenting walls 6 or 8 yards thick,..are holed or thirled at such a distance as may be most suitable for the state of the air. 1871 [see thirl n.1 4]. 1881 G. F. Jackson Shropsh. Word-bk. s.v., We'n thirled out o' our Top-end into Smith's Level to-day. 1883 Gresley Coal Mining Gloss., Thirl,..to cut away the last web of coals, etc., separating two headings or other workings. |
† 5. intr. or absol. To pierce, penetrate (as a sharp instrument). Also fig. Obs.
| c 1374 Chaucer Anel. & Arc. 214 So thirlleþe with þe poynt of Rememberaunce Þe swerde of sorowe. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. viii. xxviii. (Bodl. MS.), Light is a bodilich substaunce..moste meuable and passinglich þorling. Ibid. ix. xix, Þis moneth [November] for his coldenes þorleþ inward and greueþ bodies wele sore. 1513 Douglas æneis x. viii. 114 Quhill throu the cost thyrlit the deidly pryk. Ibid. xi. xvii. 26 A wofull wyfly cry Went to the starnys and thyrlyt throw the sky. a 1600 Montgomerie Misc. Poems xv. 26 Ten thousand dairts..Thirlis throu my hevy hart. |
† 6. intr. To pass through or penetrate (into or to a place or thing). Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 21098 (Cott.) Thomas..soght þat estrin thede, And thirlid intil haiþen-hede. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. iv. ii. (Tollem. MS.), Þat oon abideþ with blood, and þurleþ þerwith in to þe membris. Ibid. v. v. (Bodl. MS.), For þe spirite of siȝt may not þurle and come þereto, for þe lette þat is bitwene. 1565 Golding Ovid's Met. iii. (1567) 31 The piercing dart..Whereas the ioynts doe knit the backe it thirled through the skin. |
7. = thrill v.1 in various constructions. dial.
| 1725 Ramsay Gentle Sheph. i. ii, His words they thirle like music thro' my heart. 1785 Burns Epist. to J. Lapraik iii, It thirl'd the heart-strings thro' the breast, A' to the life. 1819 R. Anderson Cumbld. Ball. 60 A single luik will thirl ye thro; A single word ensnare ye! 1868 J. Salmon Gowodean i. iv. 27 Yon roof-tree, which had sae often dirled As Willie's gladsome voice around it thirled. |
Hence thirled ppl. a.1, pierced, perforated.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 199 Neddre..cumeð to ane þurlede ston, and criepeð nedlinge þureh nerewe hole, and bileueð hire hude baften hire. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. cxcvi. (1495) X iv b/1 Not thyrllyd nother hoolyd. c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. iv. 821 Their nasis thorlid wide and patent be. c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xviii. 26 My thirlit hairt dois bleid. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. i. 387 And now the pipes of thyrled box On euery side resound. |
▪ V. thirl, v.2 Chiefly Sc.
(θɜːl)
Also 6 thirll, 6–7 thirle.
[A metathetic variant of thrill v.2]
† 1. trans. To reduce to or hold in bondage or servitude; to enslave (a person, country, etc.).
| 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. (Rolls) I. 538 This land..wes thirlit and ouirthrawin Be this tirrane that now is laitlie deid. 1536 Bellenden Cron. Scot. (1821) I. 109 That daye, behuffit thay othir to recover thair liberte, or ellis be thirlit to perpetual servitude. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 35 Father gif me my part of geir,..I will na mair be thirlit heir. |
† b. To subject or bind to some condition. Obs.
| 1541 Bellenden Descr. Albion i. in Cron. Scot. B j b, All thyngis (quhilkis ar comprehendit within the speir of the mone) ar sa thirlit to deith & alteration, y{supt} [etc.]. 1586 Reg. Privy Council Scot. IV. 102 To..thirll him to the pament of certane ministeris stipendis to be modifeit be thame. |
2. Sc. Law. To bind or astrict (lands or tenants) to a servitude, esp. to a particular mill (usually that of the landlord or superior) for the grinding of their corn: see thirlage 2.
| [1480: see thrill v.2 2.] 1574 Reg. Privy Council Scot. II. 384 Quhilk haill lordschip is thirlit to the mylne of Mabroule. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj. i. 113 No..Fermour may thirle his Lord of his frie tenement, althought he within his time haue done thirle seruice [seruicium]..not aught be him... For the law sayes, that the deedes of the Fermour may not thirle, nor make prejudice to his Lords right. 1773 Erskine Inst. Law Scot. ii. ix. §21 Thirlage..may be constituted..by the proprietor thirling his tenants to his own mill. 1805 G. Barry Orkney Isl. (1808) 356 Mills, to which almost all the lands are thirled or astricted. |
| fig. 1834 Tait's Mag. I. 428/2 Earnest-money given by the Church, in sign that he has thirled himself to her mill. |
b. with the corn as object.
| 1881 J. Russell Haigs of Bemersyde v. 115 On the other part, Robert Haig [in contract of 1592]..‘thirles’ the whole of the corns of the lands of Bemersyde to the mill of Dryburgh,..the said corns to be thirled for all time coming. |
† 3. To mortgage (land, etc.). Obs.
| 1582 Reg. Privy Council Scot. III. 521 Thay..have spendit and warit thair commoun gude and rentis that the samin ar yit thirlit and not fre. 1582–3 Ibid. 554 His saidis landes..wilbe altogither thirlit and engadgit. 1587 Ibid. IV. 170 They have thirllit ane uthir parte of thair commoun gude. |
4. To bind or oblige (a person) to give his work, service, or custom to one particular party.
| 1871 A. S. Harvey in Gd. Words 614 Till this account is cleared off, the hapless knitter is hopelessly bound or ‘thirled’ to the merchant. 1890 H. Haliburton In Scot. Fields 125 The inhabitants were not, of course, ‘thirled’ to any particular tailor, as they used to be to a district mill. |
b. fig. To bind, confine, or restrict in service or action to (some party or thing); to tie to.
| 1864 W. Arnot Parab. our Lord iv. (1874) 119 The serpent, as a metaphor, was in practice as completely thirled to the indication of evil, as leaven had been. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. iv. lxxix. (1889) II. 266 Great is their power, because they are deemed to be less ‘thirled’ to a party or leader, because they speak from a moral standpoint. 1902 Union Mag. June 246/2 We don't ‘thirl’ ourselves enough to our duties. 1903 W. Dickie Chr. Ethics Soc. Life 18 God does not encourage us to be thirled to this world and its material things. |
Hence thirled (θɜːld) ppl. a.2, bound in servitude, service, or duty.
| 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 59 Till Christ..I gif my thirlit hart in gouernance. a 1722 Fountainhall Decisions (1759) I. 276 The defender ought not to have built a mill upon the thirled lands. 1898 Crockett Standard Bearer iv. 36 As a thirled labourer serves for his meat. |
▪ VI. † thirl, v.3 Obs.
[Chiefly of 16th c.: origin obscure. Sense 1 might possibly arise out of thirl v.1, and give origin to the intr. sense 2. But sense 3 appears to have some connexion with whirl: cf. note in etym. of thirlepoll.]
1. trans. To hurl (a missile, etc.), esp. with spinning or revolving motion. Hence thirled ppl. a.3
| 1567 Turberv. Epitaphs, etc. C ij b, First shall you see the shiuering shafts and vewe the thirled darts. 1587 Mirr. Mag. (1610) 477 These..who deem'd themselues in skies to dwell, She [Fortune] thirleth downe to dread the gulfes of gastly hell. 1603 Florio Montaigne i. iv. (1632) 9 On whom a Moore hath thirl'd his slinged speare. Ibid. xlviii. 157 With monstrous buzzing came a fire-dart thirled, As if a thunder-bolt had there beene whirled. |
2. intr. To pass or fly with darting or spinning motion.
| 1565 Golding Ovid's Met. viii. 98 b, He tooke the Chaplet from hir head, and vp to Heauen it threw, The Chaplet thirled through the Aire [l. 179 tenues volat illa per auras] and as it gliding flew [etc.]. 1567–a 1593 [see thirling ppl. a.2]. |
3. trans. To whirl, twirl, roll or wind round.
| 1582 Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 59 [The adder] hym self now youthfulye bleacheth, His tayle smoog thirling, slyke breast to Titan vpheauing [Lubrica convolvit sublato pectore terga]. 1594 Nashe Unfort. Trav. 16 Like a countrie huswiues banskin, which she thirles her spindle on. |
▪ VII. † thirl, v.4 Sc. Obs.
[Dialectal form of furl v.: see th initial (6).]
trans. = furl v. 1.
| 1549 Compl. Scot. vi. 41 Tak in ȝour top salis, and thirl them. 1632 Lithgow Trav. vii. 328 [We] thirle our Sailes, if Pirats but appeare. |