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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

knurly en · ADJ

Pronunciation

  • /ˈnɜː(ɹ)li/

Etymology

From knurl + -y.

Meanings

  1. Gnarled or knotty; hard and misshapen.
    • "Well, I swow!" ejaculated the Cap'n, rubbing his knurly forefinger under his nose, and glancing first at the parrots and then at the lady. 1911, Holman Day, The Skipper and the Skipped:
    • It seems too much like a great tree, beautiful, symmetrical, and full of leaves, but raised or desired only for fruit, yet bearing little, and some of that little not of good quality, but knurly or bitter. 1851, Goold Brown, The Grammar of English Grammars:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
knurlier Degree=Cmp lexicographic
more knurly Degree=Cmp lexicographic
most knurly Degree=Sup lexicographic
knurliest Degree=Sup lexicographic