Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1830-1963
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SWINGLE, v.2 [swɪŋl]
1. To swing from side to side, sway, be hung or suspended, oscillate. Rare and dial. in Eng. Combs.: (1) swingle-e'ed, squint-eyed (Rxb. a.1838 Jam. MSS. X. 309). Jam. associates this use with Swingle, v.1, swingle-tree, but cf. Eng. slang swivel-eyed, id.; (2) swingle-gate, a swing-gate, one that shuts of itself (Dmf. 1972).Slk. 1830 Hogg Poems (1874) 292:
Where clouds and mountains seem'd to swingle, And Ossa with Olympus mingle.(2) Dmf. 1917 J. L. Waugh Cute McCheyne 179:
A box-bordered walk leadin' frae a wee swingle gate up the gairden.
2. Specif. of a sheep: to suffer from swing-back (see Swing, v., 2. (1)), to walk with a swinging jerky motion of the spine due to disease. Hence swinglar, a sheep suffering from this disease (Cai. 1972).Cai. 1875 Trans. Highl. Soc. 249:
Sustaining considerable loss by his sheep taking "swinglin," or weak backs.Cai. 1963 Edb. John o' Groat Liter. Soc. Mag. 8:
'E good lamb, swinglar an shuttle gab.
3. Appar. to be dilatory or slack at work. Hence swingler, a lazy, idle person.Dmf. 1834 Carlyle Letters (Norton) II. 253:
Far better than a thief or swingler, as many of them [maid servants] are.
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"Swingle v.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Apr 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/swingle_v2>
