Obs. or ? dial. Also 9 tennle, tennel. [A deriv. of OE. tend-an, TIND v. to kindle, light: perh. a variant of TANDLE sb. Cf. also TINDLE.] a. In 15th c. Exact sense uncertain: perh. (as suggested by editors of Destr. of Troy) ‘a splint of resinous wood used as a candle’; but perh. rather = TANDLE, a beacon-fire or bonfire. b. In later use: see quot. 1887.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 6038. Brode firis & brem beccyn in þe ost, Torchis and tendlis the tenttes to light. Ibid., 7353. Tore fyres in the tenttes, tendlis olofte!
1887. Donaldson, Suppl. to Jamieson, Tendle, Tennle, Tennel, lit. Firewood; dried twigs, furze, scrub, &c., gathered for fuel. [No authority or locality given.]
