curl

verb

1》 form or cause to form a curved or spiral shape.

    ↘(curl up) sit or lie with the knees drawn up.

2》 move or cause to move in a spiral or curved course.

3》 (in weight training) lift (a weight) using only the hands, wrists, and forearms.

4》 play at the game of curling.

noun

1》 a thing forming a spiral or coil, especially a lock of hair.

    ↘the tendency of hair to form curls.

2》 a weightlifting exercise involving movement of only the hands, wrists, and forearms.

3》 Mathematics a function giving a measure of the rotation of a vector field.

Phrases

make one's hair curl informal shock or horrify one.

Origin

ME: from obs. crulle 'curly', from MDu. krul.