A variant or diminutive form referring to something small that bends or a small bend; not standard in modern English.
Possibly from 'bend' with a diminutive suffix (influenced by Germanic '-el' endings). Archaic or regional variation rarely used.
Diminutive suffixes like '-el' reveal how languages have informal ways of making things 'cute' or 'small'—English has mostly lost these, but you hear them in pet names and regional dialects!
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