Where does “gnarled” come from?

Gnarled comes from English knurl, from Middle English -el, from Old English -el and -ol, from Proto-Indo-European -elo- and -lós, ultimately denoting a small rounded protuberance or knot.

gnarled (English): Knotty and misshapen; Made rough by age or hard...

Definitions

  1. Knotty and misshapen; Made rough by age or hard...

Ancestry of “gnarled”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishknurledsimple past tense and past participle of knurl
2EnglishknurlA contorted knot in wood; A crossgrained...
3Middle Englishknarreknot in wood; a crag; twisted rock; knot in wood
4Germanknarrento creak

Words derived from “gnarled”

Every word from German knarren →