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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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DUNKLE, v. and n. Also †dunc(k)le, †dunkel, erron. dankle (Ayr. 1835 Galt Rich Man (1925) 150). [′dʌŋkəl]

1. v. To dent, to make a slight hollow or depression in anything. Ppl.adj. dun(c)kled. Also used fig.Dmb. 1846 W. Cross Disruption xxxvii.:
I'm shure it's but sma' pleasure ye can ha'e to mak' up for the trouble o' flitting a cartload o' roosty, dunckled clamjamphrey every time ye move betwixt this and Embro.Rnf. 1846 W. Finlay Poems 190:
My hat's grown auld and dunkel'd.Ayr. 1822 Galt Sir A. Wylie ciii.:
Robin has gotten an awful cloor on the broo; we think his harnpan's surely dunklet.Ayr. 1830 Galt Lawrie Todd ii. i.:
Without very deeply dunkling the truth.Ayr. 1890 J. Service Notandums 80:
The broon square table dunkled wi' the dauds o' mony a chappin' stowp.Kcb.¹ 1941:
I was searching for an empty oil-drum, but the only one I could get was too badly dunkled to be of any use to me.

2. n. A dent or slight depression caused by a blow or fall (w.Sc. 1825 Jam.²; Rnf. c.1924; Ayr. 1950); a dimple (Cld. 1825 Jam.²). Also fig.Rnf. 1813 E. Picken Poems I. 149:
Tho' twall years tauld I've kenn'd your case — An' time leaves mony duncles; I've seen nae change upo' your face.Lnk. 1880 P. M'Arthur Amusements 76:
If it didna break my heart, it left a fearfu' duncle!Ayr. 1822 Galt Steam-boat 159:
Which [adventure], but for open-hearted innocency, would have left both cloors and dunkles in her character.Ayr. 1834 Galt Lit. Life III. ii.:
Shortly after the Forty-five, however, among the other heritable jurisdictions that were then put down, they gave canny auld Bleakrigs a dunkle, by taking the road round about by Dozent.Ayr. 1870 J. K. Hunter Life Studies II. 63:
It [hat] had got some dunkles wi' his fa'in.