Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Whittle?

\Whit"tle\, n. [AS. hw[=i]tel, from hwit white; akin to Icel. hv[=i]till 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. [OE. thwitel, fr. AS. pw[=i]tan to cut. Cf. {Thwittle}, {Thwaite} a piece of ground.] 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. 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.