Swingle

Full definition of swingle

Verb

1. to beat or flog, especially for extracting the fibres from flax stalks; to scutch
• 1858, John Harland (editor), The House and Farm Accounts of the Shuttleworths of Gawthorpe Hall, in the County of Lancaster,The first operation in dressing flax is to swingle or beat it, in order to detach it from the harle or skimps.
2. To beat off the tops of (weeds) without pulling up the roots.

Noun

1. An implement used to separate the fibres of flax by beating them; a scutch

swing + -le

Verb

1. To dangle; to wave hanging.
2. (obsolete, UK, dialect) To swing for pleasure.

Anagrams

• slewing