Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1880-1908
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CUNGLE, KUNGLE, n.1 [kʌŋl]
1. A large water-worn stone, rounded by the action of the sea (Sc. 1887 Jam.6; Ork. 1929 Marw., kungle).Ork.(D) 1880 Dennison Sketch Bk. 120:
His yakels girned a a'fu' show, Like scawid cungles i' a geo.Ork. 1908 J. A. Pottinger in Old-Lore Misc. I. iv. 173:
And sittin' on the cungles three o' them playin' awa' like guid eens.
2. "Coarse gravel" (Sc. 1887 Jam.6 cungles). Hence cungly, "gravelly; covered with shingles or roundish water-worn stones; as, 'a cungly shore'" (Ork., Ayr. Ib.).
[Etym. uncertain. Gen. ascribed to Norw. kongle, a fir-cone, phs. from the resemblance of a shingly beach to the floor of a fir wood.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Cungle n.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 17 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/cungle_n1>
