jangle

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Archived revision by JaS (talk | contribs) as of 14:41, 25 October 2019.
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

Etymology

From Middle English janglen (“to talk excessively, chatter, talk idly”), from Old French jangler (“to chatter, gossip, bawl, argue noisily”), perhaps from Frankish *jangelon (“to jeer”) (compare Middle Dutch jangelen (“to whine”)).

Pronunciation

Verb

jangle (third-person singular simple present jangles, present participle jangling, simple past and past participle jangled)

  1. (intransitive) To make a rattling metallic sound.
  2. (transitive) To cause something to make a rattling metallic sound.
    • Shakespeare
      Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune, and harsh.
  3. (transitive) To irritate.
    The sound from the next apartment jangled my nerves.
  4. To quarrel in words; to wrangle.
    • Shakespeare
      Good wits will be jangling; but, gentles, agree.
    • Carlyle
      Prussian Trenck […] jargons and jangles in an unmelodious manner.

Translations

Noun

jangle (plural jangles)

  1. A rattling metallic sound.
    • Longfellow
      the musical jangle of sleigh bells
    • 1967, Barbara Sleigh, Jessamy, 1993 edition, Sevenoaks, Kent: Bloomsbury, →ISBN, page 11:
      Jessamy tugged the scrolled iron bell-pull which hung down on one side of the gate. Somewhere behind, she could hear an answering jangle.
  2. (obsolete) Idle talk; prate; chatter; babble.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Chaucer to this entry?)

Translations

Usage notes

Derived terms

Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=jangle&oldid=57854543"