Where does “whittle” come from?
Whittle derives from Middle English whittel, from Middle English thwitel, from Middle English thwiten, from Old English þwītan, from Proto-Germanic þwītaną, from Proto-Indo-European tweys-.
whittle (English): A knife; especially, a pocket knife, sheath...
Definitions
- A knife; especially, a pocket knife, sheath...
Ancestry of “whittle”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | whittel | large knife |
| 2 | Middle English | thwitel | — |
| 3 | Middle English | thwiten | to whittle |
| 4 | Old English | þwītan | to cut, cut off; to thwite; cut; cut off; to... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | þwītaną | to split |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | tweys- | to shake, hurl, toss; to shake, agitate; to hurl,... |
Words derived from “whittle”