WATTLE

wattle

(noun) framework consisting of stakes interwoven with branches to form a fence

wattle, lappet

(noun) a fleshy wrinkled and often brightly colored fold of skin hanging from the neck or throat of certain birds (chickens and turkeys) or lizards

wattle

(noun) any of various Australasian trees yielding slender poles suitable for wattle

wattle

(verb) interlace to form wattle

wattle

(verb) build of or with wattle

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

wattle (countable and uncountable, plural wattles)

A construction of branches and twigs woven together to form a wall, barrier, fence, or roof.

A single twig or rod laid on a roof to support the thatch.

A wrinkled fold of skin, sometimes brightly coloured, hanging from the neck of birds (such as chicken and turkey) and some lizards.

A barbel of a fish.

A decorative fleshy appendage on the neck of a goat.

Loose hanging skin in the neck of a person.

Any of several Australian trees and shrubs of the genus Acacia, or their bark, used in tanning.

Coordinate terms

• (skin on head of birds): caruncle, comb, cockscomb, crest, snood

Verb

wattle (third-person singular simple present wattles, present participle wattling, simple past and past participle wattled)

(transitive) To construct a wattle, or make a construction of wattles.

(transitive) To bind with wattles or twigs.

Source: Wiktionary


Wat"tle, n. Etym: [AS. watel, watul, watol, hurdle, covering, wattle; cf. OE. watel a bag. Cf. Wallet.]

1. A twig or flexible rod; hence, a hurdle made of such rods. And there he built with wattles from the marsh A little lonely church in days of yore. Tennyson.

2. A rod laid on a roof to support the thatch.

3. (Zoöl.) (a) A naked fleshy, and usually wrinkled and highly colored, process of the skin hanging from the chin or throat of a bird or reptile. (b) Barbel of a fish.

4. (a) The astringent bark of several Australian trees of the genus Acacia, used in tanning; -- called also wattle bark. (b) (Bot.) The trees from which the bark is obtained. See Savanna wattle, under Savanna. Wattle turkey. (Zoöl.) Same as Brush turkey.

Wat"tle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wattled; p. pr. & vb. n. Wattling.]

1. To bind with twigs.

2. To twist or interweave, one with another, as twigs; to form a network with; to plat; as, to wattle branches.

3. To form, by interweaving or platting twigs. The folded flocks, penned in their wattled cotes. Milton.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

25 December 2024

UNAMBIGUOUS

(adjective) having or exhibiting a single clearly defined meaning; “As a horror, apartheid...is absolutely unambiguous”- Mario Vargas Llosa


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.

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