WHITTLE

I. noun Etymology: Middle English whittel, alteration of thwitel, from thwiten to ~, from Old English thwītan; akin to Old Norse thveita to hew Date: 15th century a large knife, II. verb (~d; whittling) Date: 1552 transitive verb 1. to pare or cut off chips from the surface of (wood) with a knife, to shape or form by so paring or cutting, to reduce, remove, or destroy gradually as if by cutting off bits with a knife ; pare , intransitive verb to cut or shape something (as wood) by or as if by paring it with a knife, to wear oneself or another out with fretting, ~r noun