wariangle means any of various aggressive shrikes of the genus Lanius, such as the red-backed shrike or great grey shrike, sometimes known as butcherbirds. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 91 out of 100.
Why “wariangle” is a great word
WARIANGLE — [Noun] An archaic name for certain shrikes of the genus Lanius, predatory songbirds noted for impaling prey on thorns. From Middle English wariangel, weryangle, possibly from Old English *weargincel, from wearg ("outlaw, criminal") + -incel (diminutive suffix), with later reanalysis of the second element—thus, a "little criminal." Unlike the neutral, ornithological "shrike" or the vividly descriptive "butcherbird," "wariangle" is a term weighted with moral judgment and folkloric menace. It is the silhouette on a bare thorn-tree, a small grey executioner presiding over a larder of beetles and mice; it is the old, accusatory name flung at a sharp-tongued neighbor; it is the feathered paradox of a beautiful song emerging from a creature deemed a felon—nature’s own verdict, both cruel and impartial.
Etymology
From Middle English wariangel, weryangle, possibly from Old English *weargincel with the second element reanalyzed as *weargengel. Compare Old English wearg (“outlaw, criminal”), German Würgengel (“destroying angel, destroyer, killer”), -incel (“diminutive suffix”) and English worry.
noun
- Any of various aggressive shrikes of the genus Lanius, such as the red-backed shrike or great grey shrike, sometimes known as butcherbirds.“This was Charles Albert de Luines, a gentleman of the country of Avignon, who was introduced to a familiarity with Louis XIII. by breaking wariangles to catch sparrows.”