I came across the word striggle /ˈstrɪg(ə)l/ – a wavy line, while looking for something else in the OED. It’s a portmanteau of straggle and wiggle, and it caught my attention because I hadn’t encountered it before, and because it appeals to me.
Other words that look and sound like they’re related include squiggle (to work wavy or intricate embroidery, to squirm or wriggle, squirm); sniggle (to wriggle, crawl, creep stealthily; a snigger or snicker), and wriggle (to twist or turn the body about with short writhing movements; to move sinuously; to writhe, squirm, wiggle). The etymology of these is uncertain and they are perhaps of imitative origin, though apparently wriggle comes from the (Middle) Low German wriggeln, which comes from wriggen (to twist or turn).
Does the -iggle part of these words suggest anything to you in terms of size, shape, or other qualities?
