WHITTLE
Whittle, Frank Whittle, Sir Frank Whittle
(noun) English aeronautical engineer who invented the jet aircraft engine (1907-1996)
whittle, pare
(verb) cut small bits or pare shavings from; “whittle a piece of wood”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Noun
whittle (plural whittles)
A knife; especially, a pocket knife, sheath knife, or clasp 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, figurative) To make eager or excited; to excite with liquor; to inebriate.
Etymology 2
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.
(archaic) A whittle shawl; a kind of fine woollen shawl, originally and especially a white one.
Proper noun
Whittle (plural Whittles)
A surname.
Statistics
• According to the 2010 United States Census, Whittle is the 4828th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 7307 individuals. Whittle is most common among White (80.22%) and Black/African American (13.14%) individuals.
Source: Wiktionary
Whit"tle, n. Etym: [AS. hwitel, from hwit white; akin to Icel.
hvitill a white bed cover. See White.]
(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, n. Etym: [OE. thwitel, fr. AS. pwitan to cut. Cf. Thwittle,
Thwaite a piece of ground.]
Definition: A knife; esp., a pocket, sheath, or clasp knife. "A butcher's
whittle." Dryden. "Rude whittles." Macaulay.
He wore a Sheffield whittle in his hose. Betterton.
Whit"tle, v. 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, v. i.
Definition: 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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition