withe
/wɪθ/ noun, verb
Forms withes withing withed with
- noun A flexible, slender shoot or twig, especially when used as a band or for binding; a withy.
- noun A band of twisted twigs.
- noun An elastic handle to a tool to save the hand from the shock of blows.
- noun (nautical) An iron attachment on one end of a mast or boom, with a ring, through which another mast or boom is rigged out and secured.
- verb (transitive) To bind with withes.
- verb (transitive) To beat with withes.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English withe, from Old English wiþþe (“band, tie”), from Proto-Germanic *wiþiz, *wiþjǭ (“cord, rope”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéh₁itis (“that which twines”), from *weyt- (“that which winds or bends, branch, switch”), from Proto-Indo-European *wey- (“to turn, wind, bend”).
Cognate with Danish vidje (“wicker”), Icelandic viðja (“willow”), Swedish vidja (“withe”), French guiche (“strap; kiss-curl”), Italian guiggia (“armstrap; sandal strap”), Finnish vitja (“chain; ponyfoot”), vitsa (“birch; twig, wicker”), Ingrian vitsa (“branch, twig”), Livonian vitsā (“twig; strap”), Veps vic (“twig”), Votic vittsõ (“cane; twig; wire”); also Irish féith (“calm, still; smooth; bashful, shy”), Manx feagh (“calm, docile, still”), Scottish Gaelic fèath (“calm”), Welsh gwden (“withe; snare; noose”), Latin vītis (“vine”), Greek ιτιά (itiá, “willow”), Old Prussian witwan (“willow”), Belarusian ве́йка (vjéjka, “eyelash”), Czech větev (“branch”), Old Polish wiećw (“vine branch”), Russian ветвь (vetvʹ, “branch, bough, limb”), Slovak vetva (“branch”), Slovene veja (“branch”), Ukrainian віта (vita, “branch, twig”), Armenian գի (gi, “juniper tree; cypress”), գիհի (gihi, “juniper tree”), Central Kurdish بی (bî, “willow”), Northern Kurdish bî (“willow; poplar”), Pashto وله (wala, “willow”), Persian بید (bēd / bid, “willow”), Sanskrit वेत्र (vetra, “large tree; cane”). Doublet of vice (“a type of tool, etc.”).
The brickwork and chimney architecture senses may have a different etymology, see wythe.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A flexible, slender twig or branch used as a band; a willow or osier twig; a withy.
- noun A band consisting of a twig twisted.
- verb To bind or fasten with withes.
Etymology [OE. withe. Withy, n.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “withe”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details