Whittle \Whit"tle\, n. [AS. hw[imac]tel, from hwit white; akin to Icel. hv[imac]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]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

Whittle \Whit"tle\, n. [OE. thwitel, fr. AS. pw[imac]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]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

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.]

[1913 Webster]

"In vino veritas." When men are well whittled, their tongues run at random. --Withals. [1913 Webster]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

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]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

51 Moby Thesaurus words for "whittle": amputate, ax, bisect, blade, butcher, carve, chop, cleave, cold steel, cut, cut away, cut in two, cut off, cutlery, cutter, dagger, dichotomize, dissever, edge tools, excise, fissure, gash, hack, halve, hew, incise, jigsaw, knife, lance, naked steel, pare, pigsticker, point, prune, puncturer, rend, rive, saw, scissor, sever, sharpener, slash, slice, slit, snip, split, steel, sunder, sword, tear, toad sticker

Source: Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
 

whittle v : cut small bits or pare shavings from; "whittle a piece of wood" [syn: pare]

Source: WordNet (r) 2.0
 

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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

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.

He wore a Sheffield whittle in his hose. --Betterton.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Whittle \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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

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.

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 Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)