I. ˈwä]d. ə l, ]t ə l also ˈwȯ] noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English wattel, from Old English watel, watol, watul; akin to Old English wætla & wethel bandage, Old High German wadal
1.
a. : a fabrication of rods or poles interwoven with slender branches, withes, or reeds and usually especially formerly in building construction
the walls were of wattle and covered with moss — R.L.Stevenson
b. : material (as rods, branches, and reeds) for such construction
c. dialect England : stick , stave , wand
d. dialect England : hurdle 1a
e. wattles plural : poles laid on a roof to support thatch
2. : a fleshy dependent process usually about the head or neck of an animal: as
a. : a naked, fleshy, usually wrinkled, and highly colored process of the skin hanging from the chin or throat of a bird or reptile — see cock illustration
b.
(1) dialect England : a flap of loose hanging flesh on either side of the throat of some swine
(2) : loose flesh hanging from the human jaw
a wattle of flesh dangled from his jawbone — T.W.Duncan
c. : a barbel of a fish
d. : a livestock identification mark in which the skin on the dewlap or other part of the body is slit
3. Australia
a.
(1) archaic : a tree yielding slender poles suitable for wattle ; especially : a small slender swamp tree ( Callicoma serratifolia ) of the family Cunoniaceae
(2) : a tree or shrub of the genus Acacia — see black wattle , golden wattle , silver wattle
b. : wattle bark
II. transitive verb
( wattled ; wattled ; wattling ]d. ə liŋ, ]t( ə )l-\ ; wattles )
Etymology: Middle English walten, from watel, n.
1. : to form or build of or with wattle
soon wattled the sides and thatched the roof of a snug little camp
2.
a. : to form into wattle : interlace (as withes) to form wattle
b. : to unite or make solid and continuous by interweaving light flexible material (as withes or osiers)
wattling the stakes into a firm palisade
3. : to enclose (as sheep) with or as if with wattle : enfold
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English (Scots) wattell, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian dialect veitla, veitsla, veitsle entertainment, party, Old Norse veizla gift, entertainment, feast, from veita to grant, give, give a feast; akin to Old High German weizen to show, prove, wizzan to know — more at wit
: annual entertainment formerly provided the foud in the Orkney and Shetland islands ; also : tax paid in commutation of this service