birling

Verb

birl (third-person singular simple present birls, present participle birling, simple past and past participle birled)

1. (Scotland, ambitransitive) To spin.
   • About nine in the morning, in a burst of wintry sun between two squalls of hail, I had my first look of Holland - a line of windmills birling in the breeze.1893, Robert Louis Stevenson, chapter XXII, in Catriona, Helvoetsluys
2. (transitive) To cause (a floating log) to rotate by treading on it.
   • "That's nothing!" my companion repressed me, "anybody can birl a log. Watch this."
     Roaring Dick for the first time unfolded his arms. With some appearance of caution he balanced his unstable footing into absolute immobility. Then he turned a somersault.1903 April, Stewart Edward White, “The Riverman”, in McClure's Magazine, volume 20
3. (transitive) To throw down a coin as one's share in a joint contribution.

See all 5 meanings of birl

Noun

birlinn (plural birlinns)

1. (Scotland, historical) A type of boat used especially in the Hebrides and West Highlands of Scotland in the Middle Ages.