Whit"tle (?), n. [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.
© Webster 1913.
Whit"tle (?), n. [OE. thwitel, fr. AS. pwitan 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.
© Webster 1913.
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.
© Webster 1913.
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.
© Webster 1913.