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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

DINNLE, DINLE, v. and n. Also dinnel, dinnil, dindle, dynle, dunnle. Vbl.n. and ppl.adj. din(d)lin(g). [′dɪn(ə)l, ′dɪ̢n(ə)l]

I. v.

1. intr.

(1) To tremble, to shake, to vibrate (Sc. 1710 T. Ruddiman Gl. to Douglas Aeneis, dynle; Bnff.², Abd.⁹, Fif.¹⁰, Kcb.¹⁰ 1940; Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 173). Of bells, thunder, etc.: to peal, roll, drone.Sc. 1808 Jam.:
We say, The floor's dynland, to denote the quick tingling occasioned by a stroke, or the fall of any heavy body on it.Sc. 1814 Scott Waverley (1817) xliv.:
Garring the very stane and lime wa's dinnle wi' his screeching.Sc. 1933 W. Soutar Seeds in the Wind 12:
A rottan reeshl'd as I ran be the sike, An' the deid-bell dunnl'd owre the auld kirk-dyke.Fif. 1827 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd 43:
Frae its foundation to its spinnel The steeple's length did dirl and dinnel.Lnl. 1892 R. Steuart Leg. from Lothians 172:
Tired o' hearin' Robbie aye dinnlin' awa' at the same tin.Edb. 1772 R. Fergusson Poems (1925) 21:
The dinlin drums alarm our ears.Edb. 1843 J. Ballantine Gaberlunzie's Wallet xii.:
To say naething o' the dinlin' your lugs wad get wi' their drums an' fifes rattling and squeaking.Lnk. 1922 T. S. Cairncross Scot at Hame 21:
And you're grymy and sair cauld, Or burnin' in a bleeze . . . In the bed you dunt and dinle.Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.:
The thunner's dinnlin'.

(2) To tingle with cold or pain (Sc. 1721 Ramsay Poems Gl., dynle), esp. used of the fingers; to twinge. Gen.Sc. Also fig.Sc. c.1811 in Scots Mag. (Sept. 1815) 696:
On his cauld fingers he may blaw Wi' chilly breath, that scarce can thaw Their dinlin' points.Sc. 1819 J. Rennie St Patrick I. xiv.:
Odsake my fingers is dinlin aff at the nails wi' that blae win'.Sh. 1745 Rev. J. Mill Diary (S.H.S. 1889) 5:
Never felt the least tincture of the distemper since, except a little dindling by extraordinary colds.Abd. a.1879 W. Forsyth Sel. from Writings (1882) 192:
But pleasure's daft stonn sair dinnelt wi' pain.Edb. 1843 J. Ballantine Gaberlunzie's Wallet ix.:
And thy wee feet, sae jimp an' tender, An' dinlin' sair!Ayr. 1887 J. Service Dr Duguid 80:
The twa knobs of the Leyden jar touched his arm, and gied him a shock that dinnled to his finger ends.Uls. 1879 W. G. Lyttle Readings 10:
I . . . dunted the daur that hard that my knee dinneled.

2. tr. To cause to tremble, vibrate, or tingle with pain (Fif.¹⁰ 1940 Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.); to shake.Sc. 1823 Blackwood's Mag. (May) 595:
I can gang into the traveller's room, and get pleasant company whenever my fingers are dinnelt wi' driving the pen.Sc. 1825 Jam.²:
Dinna dinnle the table.Sc. 1832–46 Mouldybrugh in Whistle-Binkie, 3rd Series (1890) 379:
A kirk and a steeple, that dinlit the skye Wi' a clinkin' auld timmer-tongued bell.Sc. 1912 P. M'N. T. in Scotsman (19 Jan.):
When holding a hammer or pickshaft too firm when striking an object, it dinnles the arm.Ags. 1988 Raymond Vettese The Richt Noise 17:
here's the wyce tune
aince mair awa an' dinnillin lugs
wi a wow! that disna lippen on drugs ... m.Sc. 1919 J. Buchan Mr Standfast xiii.:
My feet are dinnled wi' standin' in the snaw.

II. n.

1. A vibration, tremor (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Abd.⁷ 1925; Ags.² 1940).

2. A vibrating or tingling sensation, such as is caused by a knock on the elbow (Sc. 1825 Jam.²; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.); a sharp knock, causing such a sensation (Dmf. 1925 W. A. Scott in Trans. Dmf. and Gall. Antiq. Soc. 23; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.). Known to Bnff.², Abd.⁹, Ags.² 1940. Also fig.: the thrill (of some emotion).Sc. 1818 Scott H. Midlothian xxv.:
Ane aye thinks at the first dinnle o' the sentence, they hae heart enough to die rather than bide out the sax weeks.Sc. 1858 M. O. W. Oliphant Laird of Norlaw III. 90:
It's something to succeed in what you attempt, even though you do get a dinnle thereby in some corner of your own heart.Sc. 1928 J. G. Horne Lan'wart Loon 15:
An' clean forgot his hoven cuits, His stechy stumps an' mendit claes In ae graun' dinnle o' amaze.m.Sc. 1928 “O. Douglas” Pink Sugar 45:
“Ay, and it's weel kent that to some folk losing a husband is no worse than a dinnle on the elbow,” Miss Wotherspoon observed drily.Lnk. 1922 T. S. Cairncross Scot at Hame 45:
“It's a sair elbow dinle,” says Wattie Dunlap.Kcb. 1894 S. R. Crockett Lilac Sunbonnet viii.:
Took Saunders what he himself called a “dinnle on the elbuck.”

Hence dim. dinly, “pins and needles.”Sc. 1881 J. Napier in Folk-Lore Record IV. 175:
Cure for a sleepy foot: — “Spit in your Hock, chap on your knee, And say, dinly, dinly, gang frae me.”

†3 “A slight sprain” (Rxb. 1825 Jam.²).Sc.(E) 1897 E. Hamilton Outlaws xvii.:
It's just a bit dinle o' the fetlock joint.

†4. Fig. A rumour, a vague report (n.Sc. 1808 Jam.).ne.Sc. a.1835 J. Grant Tales (1836) 59:
I've heard a din'le o' that story, . . . but it was frae fouk wha leugh at it, and made it an unco ravell't kind o' a tale.

5. A peal of thunder (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.).

6. A rattling or rumbling noise (Abd. 1949 (per Abd.²⁷)).