Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To hang loosely and swing or sway to and fro.
  • intransitive verb To cause to hang loosely or swing.
  • intransitive verb To offer as an inducement or an enticement.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One of the points, bobs, rings, or the like, that dangle from an object.
  • To hang loosely; be suspended so as to be swayed be the wind or any slight force.
  • Hence To dance attendance; hover longingly or importunately, as for notice or favors: used of persons, with about or after: as, to dangle about a woman; to dangle after a great man.
  • To carry suspended so as to swing; hold up with a swaying motion.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To hang loosely, or with a swinging or jerking motion.
  • intransitive verb to hang upon importunately; to court the favor of; to beset.
  • transitive verb To cause to dangle; to swing, as something suspended loosely.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb intransitive to hang loosely with the ability to swing
  • verb intransitive, slang, ice hockey, lacrosse the action of performing a move or deke with the puck in order to get past a defender or goalie. Probably from It looks like he's dangling the puck on a string.
  • verb transitive to hang or trail something loosely
  • noun An agent of one intelligence agency or group who pretends to be interested in defecting or turning to another intelligence agency or group.
  • noun slang, ice hockey, lacrosse The action of dangling; a series of complex stick tricks and fakes in order to defeat the defender in style.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb cause to dangle or hang freely
  • verb hang freely

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Perhaps from Danish dangle or Swedish dangla.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Perhaps of Scandinavian origin, akin to Danish dingle.

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