/θɝl/, /θɜːl/
OriginFrom Middle English thirl, thiril, from Old English þyrel (“hole”), from Proto-West Germanic *þurhil, from Proto-Germanic *þurhilą (“hole, opening”), from Proto-Indo-European *tr̥h₂kʷelo- which is *tr̥h₂kʷe + *-lo, from *terh₂-. Related to thrill, drill. By surface analysis, through + -le.
- A hole, an aperture, especially a nostril.
- dialectalA low door in a dry-stone wall to allow sheep to pass through; a smoot.
- obsoleteA short communication between adits in a mine.
- obsoleteA long adit in a coalpit.
- historicalA thrall.
- transitiveTo pierce; to perforate, penetrate, cut through.
“But yet his hardnesse savde him not against the piercing dart.
For hitting right betweene the scales that yeelded in that part
Whereas the joynts doe knit the backe, it thirled through the skin,
And p”
- obsolete, transitiveTo drill or bore; to cut through, as a partition between one working and another.
- obsoleteTo throw (a projectile).
“And many Authours doe in this manner wound the protection of their cause, by over-rashly running against that which they take hold-of, thirling [translating lanceant] such darts at their enemies, that”
- historical, transitiveTo legally bind (a tenant) to the use of one's own property as an owner.
- broadlyTo bind; to obligate to use or be associated with.
“Was everyone nowadays thirled to a formula?”
“And there are plenty of people — Labour politicians, for example — who want people to remain thirled to poverty, who do not want them to have any spirit or independence.”
Formsthirls(plural) · thurl(alternative) · thirls(present, singular, third-person) · thirling(participle, present) · thirled(participle, past) · thirled(past) · thrill(alternative)
Source: Wiktionary