whittling

Main Entry:

¹whit·tle

Pronunciation:

\ˈhwi-t^əl, ˈwi-\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English whittel, alteration of thwitel, from thwiten to whittle, from Old English thwītan; akin to Old Norse thveita to hew

Date:

15th century

archaic : a large knife

verb

Main Entry:

²whittle

Function:

verb

Inflected Form(s):

whit·tled; whit·tling \ˈhwit-liŋ, ˈwit-; ˈhwi-t^əl-iŋ, ˈwi-\

Date:

1552

transitive verb1 a: to pare or cut off chips from the surface of (wood) with a knife b: to shape or form by so paring or cutting2: to reduce, remove, or destroy gradually as if by cutting off bits with a knife : pare <whittle down expenses>intransitive verb1: to cut or shape something (as wood) by or as if by paring it with a knife2: to wear oneself or another out with fretting

— whit·tler \ˈhwit-lər, ˈwit-; ˈhwi-t^əl-ər, ˈwi-\ noun