Etymology Borrowed from Hindi बंग्ली (baṅglī, “glass bracelet”).
1
A rigid bracelet or anklet, especially one with no clasp.
Mrs. MacAndrew smoothed down the lap of her gown, and gold bangles fell over her wrists.1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, “ch. 15”, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC:
Etymology Unknown, yet probably from bang + -le (frequentative suffix).
1
Obsolete to beat about or beat down, as corn by the wind.
2
Dialectal, Obsolete to waste away little by little; squander carelessly; fritter (away).
Thus betwixt hope and fear, suspicions, angers […] betwixt falling in, falling out, etc., we bangle away our best days, befool out our times […]., New York Review Books 2001, p.273
If we bangle away the legacy of peace left us by Christ, it is a sign of our want of regard for him. — Duty of Man.
3
(falconry) to beat about in the air; flutter: said of a hawk which does not rise steadily and then swoop down upon its prey.
4
to flap or hang down loosely, as a hat brim or an animal's ear.
Etymology Apparently from bang (verb) + -le (instrumental suffix), perhaps ultimately connected with Proto-Germanic *bangilaz. Compare Dutch bengel, German Bengel.
1
Dialectal The cut branch of a tree; a large, rough stick; the largest piece of wood in a bundle of twigs