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definitions

angling

[ang-gling]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR angling ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act or art of fishing with a hook and line, usually attached to a rod.

Origin of angling

First recorded in 1490–1500; angle2 + -ing1
Related formsnon·an·gling, adjective

angle

1
[ang-guh l]

noun

Geometry.
  1. the space within two lines or three or more planes diverging from a common point, or within two planes diverging from a common line.
  2. the figure so formed.
  3. the amount of rotation needed to bring one line or plane into coincidence with another, generally measured in radians or in degrees, minutes, and seconds, as in 12° 10prime; 30″, which is read as 12 degrees, 10 minutes, and 30 seconds.
an angular projection; a projecting corner: the angles of a building.
a viewpoint; standpoint: He looked at the problem only from his own angle.
Journalism.
  1. slant(def 11).
  2. the point of view from which copy is written, especially when the copy is intended to interest a particular audience: The financial editor added a supplementary article from the investor's angle.
one aspect of an event, problem, subject, etc.: The accountant emphasized the tax angle of the leasing arrangement.
Movies, Photography. angle shot.
Informal. a secret motive: She's been too friendly lately—what's her angle?
Astrology. any of the four interceptions of the equatorial circle by the two basic axes, the horizon and the meridian: commonly identified by the compass directions.
angle iron(def 2).

verb (used with object), an·gled, an·gling.

to move or bend in an angle.
to set, fix, direct, or adjust at an angle: to angle a spotlight.
Journalism. to write or edit in such a way as to appeal to a particular audience; slant: She angled her column toward teenagers.

verb (used without object), an·gled, an·gling.

to turn sharply in a different direction: The road angles to the right.
to move or go in angles or at an angle: The trout angled downstream.

Origin of angle

1
1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French < Latin angulus, of unclear orig.
Can be confusedangel angle

angle

2
[ang-guh l]

verb (used without object), an·gled, an·gling.

to fish with hook and line.
to attempt to get something by sly or artful means; fish: to angle for a compliment.

noun

Archaic. a fishhook or fishing tackle.

Origin of angle

2
before 900; Middle English v. angelen, noun angel, angul, Old English angel, angul; cognate with Frisian, Dutch angel, Old Saxon, Old High German angul (> German Angel), Old Norse ǫngull; Greek ankýlos bent, Sanskrit ankuśá- hook; akin to Old English anga, Old High German ango, Latin uncus, Greek ónkos hook; relation, if any, to Latin angulus angle1 not clear
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for angling

cast, connive, conspire, contrive, hint, hunt, invite, maneuver, plan, plot, scheme, seek, solicit, strive

Examples from the Web for angling

Contemporary Examples of angling

Historical Examples of angling

  • Will you have Isabella, who is angling for a coronet, but would not refuse you if you are rich enough?

    Tony Butler

    Charles James Lever

  • But the pleasure of angling, luckily, does not consist merely of the catching of fish.

    Angling Sketches

    Andrew Lang

  • But, while the same in essence, angling has been improved by human ingenuity.

  • "And that is angling with the fly," said he, still more decidedly.

    Days Off

    Henry Van Dyke

  • In these blue and frigid deeps the real sport of angling is unknown.

    Days Off

    Henry Van Dyke

British Dictionary definitions for angling

angling

noun

  1. the art or sport of catching fish with a rod and line and a baited hook or other lure, such as a fly; fishing
  2. (as modifier)an angling contest

angle

1

noun

the space between two straight lines that diverge from a common point or between two planes that extend from a common line
the shape formed by two such lines or planes
the extent to which one such line or plane diverges from another, measured in degrees or radians
an angular projection or recess; corner
standpoint; point of viewlook at the question from another angle; the angle of a newspaper article
informal a selfish or devious motive or purpose
See angle iron

verb

to move in or bend into angles or an angle
(tr) to produce (an article, statement, etc) with a particular point of view
(tr) to present, direct, or place at an angle
(intr) to turn or bend in a different directionthe path angled sharply to the left

Word Origin for angle

C14: from French, from Old Latin angulus corner

angle

2

verb (intr)

to fish with a hook and line
(often foll by for) to attempt to gethe angled for a compliment

noun

obsolete any piece of fishing tackle, esp a hook

Word Origin for angle

Old English angul fish-hook; related to Old High German ango, Latin uncus, Greek onkos

Angle

noun

a member of a West Germanic people from N Germany who invaded and settled large parts of E and N England in the 5th and 6th centuries a.d

Word Origin for Angle

from Latin Anglus, from Germanic (compare English), an inhabitant of Angul, a district in Schleswig (now Angeln), a name identical with Old English angul hook, angle ², referring to its shape
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for angling

angle

v.1

"to fish with a hook," mid-15c., from Old English angel (n.) "angle, hook, fishhook," related to anga "hook," from PIE *ang-/*ank- "to bend" (see angle (n.)). Cf. Old English angul, Old Norse öngull, Old High German angul, German Angel "fishhook." Figurative sense is recorded from 1580s.

It is but a sory lyfe and an yuell to stand anglynge all day to catche a fewe fisshes. [John Palsgrave, 1530]

Related: Angled; angling.

angle

n.

"space between intersecting lines," late 14c., from Old French angle "angle, corner," and directly from Latin angulus "an angle, corner," a diminutive form from PIE root *ang-/*ank- "to bend" (cf. Greek ankylos "bent, crooked," Latin ang(u)ere "to compress in a bend, fold, strangle;" Old Church Slavonic aglu "corner;" Lithuanian anka "loop;" Sanskrit ankah "hook, bent," angam "limb;" Old English ancleo "ankle;" Old High German ango "hook"). Angle bracket is 1875 in carpentry; 1956 in typography.

Angle

member of a Teutonic tribe, Old English, from Latin Angli "the Angles," literally "people of Angul" (Old Norse Öngull), a region in what is now Holstein, said to be so-called for its hook-like shape (see angle (n.)). People from the tribe there founded the kingdoms of Mercia, Northumbia, and East Anglia in 5c. Britain. Their name, rather than that of the Saxons or Jutes, may have become the common one for the whole group of Germanic tribes because their dialect was the first committed to writing.

angle

v.2

"to move at an angle, to move diagonally or obliquely," 1741, from angle (n.). Related: Angled; angling.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
angling in Medicine

angle

[ăng′gəl]

n.

The figure or space formed by the junction of two lines or planes.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
angling in Science

angle

[ăng′gəl]

A geometric figure formed by two lines that begin at a common point or by two planes that begin at a common line.
The space between such lines or planes, measured in degrees. See also acute angle obtuse angle right angle.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.