Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1847
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SNURKLE, v. 1. intr. Of hard-twisted thread: to tangle, to run into knots (Slk. 1825 Jam.; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B., Rxb. 1971).
2. To become wrinkled or shrivelled (Watson).Rxb. 1847 J. Halliday Rustic Bard 138:
My riggit ribs, where snurk'lt skin is fatit To lanely hing where flesh could stay nae langer.
3. tr. To cause to shrivel or twist (Watson).
[Prob. of Scand. orig. and poss. a variant deriv. form of Snirk, v.2 Cf. Norw., Dan. snirkel, a spiral, twirl, and Norw. dial. snerka, to wrinkle, make to curl up. Cf. also Mid.Eng. snorkil, a wrinkle, crease.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Snurkle v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/snurkle>
