Whittle Definition
wĭtl, hwĭtl
whittled, whittles, whittling
verb
whittled, whittles, whittling
To cut or pare thin shavings from (wood) with a knife.
Webster's New World
To make or fashion (an object) in this manner.
Webster's New World
To whittle wood; often, specif., to cut away aimlessly at a stick, etc.
Webster's New World
To reduce, destroy, or get rid of gradually, as if by whittling away with a knife.
To whittle down the cost of a project.
Webster's New World
(figuratively) To make eager or excited; to excite with liquor; to inebriate.
Wiktionary
noun
whittles
A large knife.
Webster's New World
(archaic) A coarse greyish double blanket worn by countrywomen, in the west of England, over the shoulders, like a cloak or shawl.
Wiktionary
(archaic) A whittle shawl; a kind of fine woollen shawl, originally and especially a white one.
Wiktionary
Synonyms:
- sir frank whittle
- Frank Whittle
Origin of Whittle
From Middle English whittel (“large knife"), an alteration of thwitel, itself from thwiten (“to whittle"), from Old English thwitan. Compare Old Norse þveita (“to hurl")
From Wiktionary
From Middle English whyttel knife variant of thwitel from thwiten to whittle from Old English thwītan to strike, whittle down
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
From an Old English word for "white"; akin to an Icelandic word for a white bedcover.
From Wiktionary
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