n. 1. [ Cf. Icel. þöngull. See Tang seaweed. ] (Bot.) Any large blackish seaweed, especially the Laminaria saccharina. See Kelp. [ 1913 Webster ]
Coral and sea fan and tangle, the blooms and the palms of the ocean. C. Kingsley. [ 1913 Webster ]
2. [ From Tangle, v. ] A knot of threads, or other thing, united confusedly, or so interwoven as not to be easily disengaged; a snarl; as, hair or yarn in tangles; a tangle of vines and briers. Used also figuratively. [ 1913 Webster ]
3. pl. An instrument consisting essentially of an iron bar to which are attached swabs, or bundles of frayed rope, or other similar substances, -- used to capture starfishes, sea urchins, and other similar creatures living at the bottom of the sea. [ 1913 Webster ]
Blue tangle. (Bot.)See Dangleberry. --
Tangle picker (Zool.), the turnstone. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]