Definitions
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To drag upon the ground; drag along with force or violence; trail.
- To entangle; confuse.
- To cut a slit in one of the hind legs of (a dead animal), in order to suspend it.
- To rough-east (a wall) with lime.
- To be dragged or pulled.
- To trail; drag one's self.
- n. The act of dragging.
- n. Flax, hemp, wool, hair, or other filaments as drawn out or hackled.
- n. A barb of a feather from a peacock's tail, used as a hackle in dressing fly-hooks. Also herl, hurl.
- n. Property obtained by means not accounted honorable.
- n. A considerable but indefinite quantity.
- n. A leash (three) of hounds.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A filamentous substance; especially, the filaments of flax or hemp.
- n. A barb, or barbs, of a fine large feather, as of a peacock or ostrich, -- used in dressing artificial flies.
Examples
“To "harl" is to drag slowly, and with imperfect success; a "harl" of anything expresses defect both in value and form.”
“Perhaps "harl" is a vegan or something but I think it's more likely that s/he's a rabid Islamophobe.”
“Here's one from a "harl" commenting on a post by Roy Hattersley on CiF.”
“UPDATE 2: As of March 2009 Google's sorting algorithm has dropped this series down to the #4 return for "harl vincent".”
“UPDATE: Thanks to Google's sorting algorithm, which is weighted toward newer content, this series is now the #1 return for "harl vincent".”
“_ -- The Peacock Harl -- dubbed with ruddy peacock's harl, warped with green silk, and a red cock's hackle over that.”
“The Black Palmer -- dubbed with black copper coloured peacock's harl, and”
“White Palmer -- dubbed with white peacock's harl, and a black hackle over it.”
“A country fellow enumerating the miserable ailments that beset his poor Mother, added lastly, "and ony harl o 'health she has is ay about mealtime.”
“Carlyle keeps saying he is very bilious, etc., but he looks very passably, is not so desperately "/ill to deal wi '/" as you and I have known him, and has always a good "harl o 'health at meal-time.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘harl’.
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Words of the day
The list of Wordnik words of the day.
panurgic, chapfallen, billingsgate, latration, witticaster, slitheroo, rux, crotchet, mirliton, arenose, ruelle, jane-of-apes and 76 more...
grant_barrett This word was chosen as Wordnik word of the day. Nov 11, 2009