Whittle
Whittle , noun
[Anglo-Saxon hwītel, from hwit white; akin to Icelandic hvītill 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.
(b)
Same as Whittle shawl, below. — C. Kingsley
Collocations (1)
Whittle shawl , a kind of fine woolen shawl, originally and especially a white one.
Whittle , noun
[Old English thwitel, from Anglo-Saxon pwītan to cut. Compare Thwittle, Thwaite a piece of ground.]
A knife; esp., a pocket, sheath, or clasp knife.
A butcher's whittle.
Rude whittles.
He wore a Sheffield whittle in his hose.
Whittle , transitive verb
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. [Obsolete]
“In vino veritas.” When men are well whittled, their tongues run at random.
Whittle , intransitive verb
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.