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tan·gle¹

(tănggəl)

v. tan·gled, tan·gling, tan·gles

v.tr.

1. To mix together or intertwine in a confused mass; snarl: The fishing lines from the two boats were tangled.

2. To catch or ensnare in an intertwined or confused mass: A turtle was tangled in the fishing net.

3. To involve in a complicated situation or in circumstances from which it is difficult to disengage: He got tangled up in a scheme to commit fraud.

v.intr.

1. To be or become entangled.

2. Informal To enter into argument, dispute, or conflict: tangled with the law.

1. A confused, intertwined mass: a tangle of blood vessels.

2. A jumbled or confused state or condition: a tangle of conflicting reports.

3. Informal An argument or altercation.

[Middle English tangilen, to involve in an embarrassing situation, variant of tagilen, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Swedish dialectal taggla, to entangle.]

tangly adj.

tan·gle²

(tănggəl)

Any of several large edible seaweeds, especially a kelp.

[Of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse thöngull, seaweed.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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