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



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Word of the Day

29 April 2024

SUBDUCTION

(noun) a geological process in which one edge of a crustal plate is forced sideways and downward into the mantle below another plate


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Coffee Trivia

Decaffeinated coffee is not caffeine-free. Studies from the National Institute of Health (US) have shown that virtually all decaf coffee types contain caffeine. A 236-ml (8-oz) cup of decaf coffee contains up to 7 mg of caffeine, whereas a regular cup provided 70-140 mg.

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