Tangle | Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Tăn'gle, v. t.

verbtransitive

(tăng/gl), v. t. [imp. & p. p. TANGLED; p. pr. & vb. n. TANGLING.] [Probably allied to Goth. tagl, hair. See TAIL.]

To unite or knit together confusedly; to interweave or interlock, as threads, so as to make it difficult to unravel the knot; to entangle.
To insnare; to entrap; as, to be tangled in the folds of dire necessity. “Tangled in amorous nets.” Milton.
To embroil; to embarrass.

When my simple weakness strays, Tangled in forbidden ways. Crashaw.

Tăn'gle, v. i.

verbintransitive

(tăng'gl), v. i. To be entangled or united confusedly.

Tăn'gle, n.

noun

(tăng'gl), n. 1. A knot of threads, or other things, united confusedly, or so interwoven as not to be easily disengaged; as, hair or yarn in tangles. 2. [Ger. & Dan. tang, Sw. tång.] (Bot.) An edible sea-weed of various species of Laminaria, having long, ribbon-shaped fronds of a leathery color and consistence, and growing at or below low-water mark; sea-girdles; oar-weed;—called also tang and sea-tang.