tangle

name

1. A barangay of Mexico, Pampanga, Philippines.

noun

Etymology: Of North Germanic origin, such as Danish tang or Swedish tång, from Old Norse þongull, þang. See also Norwegian tongul, Faroese tongul, Icelandic þöngull.

1. Any large type of seaweed, especially a species of Laminaria.

   “[…] if with thee the roaring wells ⁠Should gulf him fathom-deep in brine; ⁠And hands so often clasp’d in mine, Should toss with tangle and with shells.”

   “You've never smelled the tangle o' the Isles.”

2. An instrument consisting essentially of an iron bar to which are attached swabs, or bundles of frayed rope, or other similar substances, used to capture starfishes, sea urchins, and other similar creatures living at the bottom of the sea.
3. Any long hanging thing, even a lanky person.

verb

Etymology: From Middle English tanglen, probably of North Germanic origin, compare Swedish taggla (“to disorder”), Old Norse þǫngull, þang (“tangle; seaweed”), see Etymology 2 below.

1. To mix together or intertwine.
2. To become mixed together or intertwined.

   “Her hair was tangled from a day in the wind.”

   “By the afternoon it seemed as if the storm had passed and that frost was setting in; but in the evening the wind rose to gale force, bringing telegraph poles down like skittles and tangling power and telephone lines.”

3. To enter into an argument, conflict, dispute, or fight.

   “Don't tangle with someone three times your size.”

   “He tangled with the law.”

4. To catch and hold.

   “tangled in amorous nets”

   “When my simple weakness strays, / Tangled in forbidden ways.”