-ld adjective
Etymology: probably alteration of knurled
1. : warped or twisted with or as if with gnarls : cross-grained , knotty
the hand all gnarled with work — D.H.Lawrence
three gnarled cedars stand at the entrance — American Guide Series: Louisiana
2. : crabbed in disposition, aspect, or character : hard-bitten
public life abounds in gnarled and striking figures; and the literary scene presents a splendid row of great eccentrics — Times Literary Supplement
a prose … knotty and gnarled — D.L.Morgan
in an environment tightly gnarled , among unimaginative folk, dependent upon agriculture for a living — Saturday Review