To tangle, twist, or knot together; to become tangled or confused, especially in Scottish dialect.
Scottish dialectal word, possibly from Scandinavian origins or folk etymology from 'fang' (seize) and '-kle' (intensive suffix). The word appears frequently in Scottish literature from the 17th century onward.
Fankle is so specific to Scottish speech that linguists use it as a perfect example of how dialects preserve ancient words—'fankled' means so twisted that it resembles something caught by fangs!
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