Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Whittle
Whit′tle
,Noun.
(a)
A grayish, coarse double blanket worn by countrywomen, in the west of England, over the shoulders, like a cloak or shawl.
C. Kingsley.
(b)
Same as
Whittle shawl
, below. Whittle shawl
, a kind of fine woolen shawl, originally and especially a white one.
Whit′tle
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Whittled
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Whittling
.] 1.
To pare or cut off the surface of with a small knife; to cut or shape, as a piece of wood held in the hand, with a clasp knife or pocketknife.
2.
To edge; to sharpen; to render eager or excited; esp., to excite with liquor; to inebriate.
[Obs.]
“In vino veritas.” When men are well
whittled
, their tongues run at random. Withals.
Whit′tle
,Verb.
I.
To cut or shape a piece of wood with am small knife; to cut up a piece of wood with a knife.
Dexterity with a pocketknife is a part of a Nantucket education; but I am inclined to think the propensity is national. Americans must and will
whittle
. Willis.
Webster 1828 Edition
Whittle
WHITTLE
,Noun.
1.
A small pocket knife. [In this sense, I believe the word is not used in America.]2.
A white dress for a woman; a double blanket worn by west countrywomen in England, over the shoulders, like a cloke. [Not used in the United States.]WHITTLE
, v.t.1.
To pare or cut off the surface of a thing with a small knife. Some persons have a habit of whittling, and are rarely seen without a penknife in their hands for that purpose. [This is, I believe, the only use of this word in New England.]2.
To edge; to sharpen. [Not in use.]Definition 2024
whittle
whittle
English
Noun
whittle (plural whittles)
- A knife; especially, a pocket knife, sheath knife, or clasp knife.
- Dryden
- A butcher's whittle.
- Macaulay
- Rude whittles.
- Betterton
- He wore a Sheffield whittle in his hose.
- Dryden
Translations
large knife
Verb
whittle (third-person singular simple present whittles, present participle whittling, simple past and past participle whittled)
- (transitive or intransitive) To cut or shape wood with a knife.
- (transitive) To reduce or gradually eliminate something (such as a debt).
- (transitive, figuratively) To make eager or excited; to excite with liquor; to inebriate.
- Withals
- When men are well whittled, their tongues run at random.
- Withals
Derived terms
- whittle down
- whittling
Translations
cut or shape wood with a knife
reduce or gradually eliminate something
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Etymology 2
From an Old English word for "white"; akin to an Icelandic word for a white bedcover.
Noun
whittle (plural whittles)
- (archaic) A coarse greyish double blanket worn by countrywomen, in the west of England, over the shoulders, like a cloak or shawl.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Charles Kingsley to this entry?)
- (archaic) A whittle shawl; a kind of fine woollen shawl, originally and especially a white one.
References
- Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967