Tangle
Tangle , transitive verb
[A frequentative from tang seaweed; hence, to twist like seaweed. See Tang seaweed, and compare Tangle, n.]
1.
To unite or knit together confusedly; to interweave or interlock, as threads, so as to make it difficult to unravel the knot; to entangle; to ravel.
2.
To involve; to insnare; to entrap; as, to be tangled in lies.
Tangled in amorous nets.
When my simple weakness strays,
Tangled in forbidden ways.
Tangle , intransitive verb
To be entangled or united confusedly; to get in a tangle.
Tangle , noun
[Compare Icelandic þongull. See Tang seaweed.]
1.
(Botany) Any large blackish seaweed, especially the Laminaria saccharina. See Kelp.
Coral and sea fan and tangle, the blooms and the palms of the ocean.
2.
A knot of threads, or other thing, united confusedly, or so interwoven as not to be easily disengaged; a snarl; as, hair or yarn in tangles; a tangle of vines and briers. Used also figuratively.
3.
An instrument consisting essentially of an iron bar to which are attached swabs, or bundles of frayed rope, or other similar substances, -- used to capture starfishes, sea urchins, and other similar creatures living at the bottom of the sea.
Collocations (2)
Tangle picker (Zoology) , the turnstone. [Provincial English]