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birl

English

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birl¹

  • /bɝl/ US
  • /bɜːl/ UK

Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)l

Where it comes from

Inherited from Middle English birlen.

verb birls · birling · birled

  1. Scotland, ambitransitive To spin. About nine in the morning, in a burst of wintry sun between two squalls of hail, I had my first look of Holland - a line of windmills birling in the breeze.
  2. transitive To cause (a floating log) to rotate by treading on it. "That's nothing!" my companion repressed me, "anybody can birl a log. Watch this." Roaring Dick for the first time unfolded his arms. With some appearance of caution he balanced his unstable footing into absolute immobility. Then he turned a somersault.
  3. transitive To throw down a coin as one's share in a joint contribution.

noun birls

  1. A type of grace note movement that quickly switches between low-A and low-G several times, producing a low rippling sound.

birl²

Where it comes from

See birle.

verb birls · birling · birled

  1. alternative Alternative form of birle (“to drink, carouse”). So saying, he led the way out through halls and trances that were weel kend to my gudesire, and into the auld oak parlour; and there was as much singing of profane sangs^([sic]), and birling of red wine, and speaking blasphemy and sculduddry, as had ever been in Redgauntlet Castle when it was at the

birl³

Where it comes from

Blend of boy + girl.

noun birls

  1. Internet A girl of boyish appearance. Affirmation of the desirability of birls is a key element throughout this online site even when complex issues of gender and sexual positioning are being worked through.

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MLA

"birl." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/birl. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

birl. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/birl

Chicago

"birl." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/birl.

BibTeX
@misc{birl_2026,
  title = {birl},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/birl},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}