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swingle

1. To clean, as flax, by beating it with a swingle, so as to separate the coarse parts and the woody substance from it; to scutch.

2. To beat off the tops of without pulling up the roots; said of weeds.

Origin: See Swingel.

A wooden instrument like a large knife, about two feet long, with one thin edge, used for beating and cleaning flax; a scutcher; called also swingling knife, swingling staff, and swingling wand.