To bend or wind in a crooked manner; to move with a twisting or winding motion.
From Middle English cranklen, possibly from crank meaning 'bent' or 'twisted' (related to Dutch kronkelen 'to wind'). An old word describing sinuous or serpentine movement.
Crankle appears in old English poetry to describe snakes and rivers—it's one of those wonderful Old English onomatopoeia where the word's physical shape seems to mimic the winding motion it describes.
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