English

Alternative forms

• kittel

Verb

kittle ‎(third-person singular simple present kittles, present participle kittling, simple past and past participle kittled)

1. (transitive, Scotland and Northern England) To tickle, to touch lightly.

Adjective

kittle ‎(comparative kittler, superlative kittlest)

1. (Scotland and Northern England) Ticklish.
2. (Scotland and Northern England) Not easily managed; troublesome; difficult; variable.

Etymology 2

From Middle English kitelen, from Norwegian kjetla ‎(“to bring forth young”), equivalent to kit +‎ -le.

Verb

kittle ‎(third-person singular simple present kittles, present participle kittling, simple past and past participle kittled)

1. (intransitive, Scotland and Northern England) To bring forth young, as a cat; to kitten; to litter.

References

• kittle in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• Northumberland Words, English Dialect Society, R. Oliver Heslop, 1893–4
• A List of words and phrases in everyday use by the natives of Hetton-le-Hole in the County of Durham, F.M.T.Palgrave, English Dialect Society vol.74, 1896,
• Todd's Geordie Words and Phrases, George Todd, Newcastle, 1977