Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CURL, v.i.

1. To bend in contraction; to shrink into ringlets. – Boyle.
2. To rise in waves or undulations; to ripple; and particularly, to roll over at the summit; as, a curling wave.
3. To rise in a winding current, and to roll over at the ends; as, curling smoke.
4. To writhe; into twist itself. Then round her slender waist be curled. – Dryden.
5. To shrink; to shrink back; to bend and sink. He curled down into a corner.