thwittle
nounEtymology From Middle English thwitel, equivalent to thwite + -le.
1
Obsolete A small knife; a whittle.
- Merc. […]And that in Jove's great dining Room, We were with each one a good thwittle Again set down to swill, and vittle, Provided (Signior) do you see, That you should not the Carver be[…]1675, Lucian of Samosata, translated by Charles Cotton, Burlesque upon burlesque, page 32:
- “Marry, what is't?” cried one fellow[…]“Is't a thwittle shaft?” “Ay, or it may be the half of a shuttle,” said another; “dost note, it tapers to the end, and is biggest i' the middle? I warrant Saint Dunstan was a clothier, and made many an ell of stout broella.” “'Tis more like he was a butcher,” cried one of that fraternity, “if ye go by likes; for 'tis the very model of a thwittle shaft, and white ash to boot.”1822, William Bennett, Malpas, volume 1, pages 300–301:
1 more example
- The butcher stood in the door-way, beating time with his thwittle, and humming[…]1879, Edwin Waugh, “The Swallowed Sixpence”, in The Chimney Corner, page 44:
- Related terms
- whittle