Found 2 items, similar to whittle.
English → English (WordNet)
Definition: whittle
whittle
v : cut small bits or pare shavings from;
“whittle a piece of
wood” [syn:
pare]
English → English (gcide)
Definition: Whittle
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.
[1913 Webster]
Whittle shawl, a kind of fine woolen shawl, originally and
especially a white one.
[1913 Webster]
Whittle
\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.
[1913 Webster]
He wore a Sheffield whittle in his hose. --Betterton.
[1913 Webster]
Whittle
\Whit"tle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p.
Whittled; p. pr. & vb.
n.
Whittling.]
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
2. To edge; to sharpen; to render eager or excited; esp., to
excite with liquor; to inebriate. [Obs.]
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“In vino veritas.” When men are well whittled,
their tongues run at random. --Withals.
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Whittle
\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.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]