THIRL

Etymology 1

Noun

thirl (plural thirls)

(archaic or dialectal) A hole, aperture, especially a nostril.

(dialectal) A low door in a dry-stone wall to allow sheep to pass through; a smoot.

Etymology 2

Verb

thirl (third-person singular simple present thirls, present participle thirling, simple past and past participle thirled)

To pierce, perforate, penetrate.

(obsolete) To drill or bore.

Etymology 3

Verb

thirl (third-person singular simple present thirls, present participle thirling, simple past and past participle thirled)

(obsolete) To throw (a projectile).

Etymology 4

Verb

thirl (third-person singular simple present thirls, present participle thirling, simple past and past participle thirled)

(historical, transitive) To legally bind (a tenant) to the use of one's own property as an owner.

Noun

thirl (plural thirls)

(historical) A thrall.

Source: Wiktionary


Thirl, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Thirled; p. pr. & vb. n. Thirling.] Etym: [See Thrill.]

Definition: To bore; to drill or thrill. See Thrill. [Obs. or Prov.] That with a spear was thirled his breast bone. Chaucer.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

27 May 2025

DIRECTIONALITY

(noun) the property of being directional or maintaining a direction; “the directionality of written English is from left to right”


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Coffee Trivia

Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.

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