| 释义 |
▪ I. witter, n.1 Sc. and north.|ˈwɪtə(r)|
Also 6 wittir, 9 waiter, wutter, wyttyr.
[prob. of Scand. origin: cf. Norw. vitr, vitring warning, sign (f. vitra to warn = ON. vitra to reveal), and witter a.1 and v.]
1. Something that serves as a mark, sign, or token.
1513Douglas æneis v. iii. 52 A mark or wittir of ane greyn aik tre. a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 272 Ane wyspe wpoun ewerie speir heid to be ane signe and witter to thame. 1644D. Hume Hist. Douglas & Angus 98 He snatched away his spear with his guidon or witter. 1798J. Naismith Agric. Clydesdale 105 To leave 20 or 25 select trees, called reserves or witters,..at each cutting. 1808Jamieson, Waiter, a token, a sign. 1894Northumbld. Gloss., Wutter, the rod which is put in the tithe stooks of corn.
2. Curling. The tee (tee n.3) towards which the stones are aimed.
1789D. Davidson Seasons 166 Next Robin o' Mains, a leader good, Close to the witter drew. 1811Acc. Game Curling 4 A..witter..is a small hole made in the ice, round which two circles of different diameters are drawn, that the relative distances of the stones from the tee may be calculated at sight.
3. attrib.: † witter hole, a hole serving as a mark in a witter stone; witter length Curling, as far as the tee; so witter shot, a shot that sends the stone exactly to the tee; † witter stone, a boundary stone, a ‘march stone’.
1615Extr. Aberd. Reg. (1848) II. 323 Ane great merche stane, havand four *witter hollis.
1824Mactaggart Gallovid. Encycl. 65 Old wary curlers..won't waste stones on the guards. They sail them past the sentinels, nigh *wutter length.
1823J. Kennedy Poems 29 Their outer, and their inner wicks, And *witter shot. 1824Mactaggart Gallovid. Encycl. 184 Draw a Wutter Shot, a curling phrase, signifying to give the stone so much strength, that it may slide the length of the mark, and no farther.
1615Extr. Aberd. Reg. (1848) II. 322 Ane great *witter stane in the muir, merkit with four hollis. 1679Sir J. Lauder Decis. (1759) I. 66 The Lords..Find..that the stone called the witterstone is not a stone for the regulating thereof [sc. the ‘regorging’ of water].
▪ II. witter, n.2 Sc. and north.|ˈwɪtə(r)|
Also 8 wetter, 9 wither, w(h)utter, etc. (see E.D.D.).
[Of obscure origin; cf., however, ME. wither-hoked (wither-1 3) and dial. witter-huked (Lonsdale Gloss. 1869).]
pl. The barbs of an arrow, fishing-spear, fish-hook, or the like. (rare in sing.) Hence ˈwittered a., barbed.
1775H. Foord in Trans. Soc. Arts (1784) II. 197 The other [whale] was lost,..by the Wetters, or Feathers of the Harpoon, giving way and bending. Ibid. 198 With one Wetter towards the Fish's head, the other towards her tail. 1792Archaeol. Scot. I. 392 In process of time, the lozenge form fell into disuse, and the arrow head was formed with two witters. 1815Scott Guy M. xxvi, He deserved his paiks for't—to put out the light when the fish was on ane's witters! 1820Scoresby Acc. Arctic Regions II. 223 The harpoon..consists of three conjoined parts, called the ‘socket’, ‘shank’, and ‘mouth’; the latter of which includes the barbs or ‘withers’. a1824in Mactaggart Gallovid. Encycl. 6 They'd soon be darting in him Mony a witterd poisonous stang. 1894Northumbld. Gloss., Wuttered, barbed.
▪ III. † ˈwitter, a.1 Obs.
Also 3–4 witer, 4 wyter, 4–5 wittur.
[Late OE. or early ME., a. ON. vitr wise, f. OTeut. wit-: see wit v.1]
Knowing, cunning, wise. Also, cognizant, aware (cf. wise a. 3 b).
c1100O.E. Chron. (MS.D) an. 1067 Se kyng..wislice hine beþohte swa he full witter wæs. c1205Lay. 9600 Heo wes witer, heo wes wis. c1250Gen. & Ex. 168 So made god wid witter miȝt, Al erue,..and wilde der. Ibid. 1308 Ðo wurð ðe child witter and war Ðat ðor sal offrende ben don. Ibid. 2330 Ne wiste ȝe noȝt Ðat ic am o wol witter ðoȝt? a1300Cursor M. 698 Ne þe nedder was noght bittur Þan, þowf he was euer wittur. c1320Cast. Love 75 Ac whose is witer and wys of wit. a1400–50Wars Alex. 629 Sone wex he witter & wyse.
Hence † ˈwitterhed [-head], † ˈwitterness, wisdom, prudence, knowledge.
c1250Gen. & Ex. 3667 Ches ðe nu her seuenti Wise men to stonden ðe bi, And ic sal hem geuen witter-hed. a1300Cursor M. 9728 Fader,..þi sun i es O þi strenght and þi witernes. Ibid. 23510 Godd, þat all wate þat es..Vte of his witernes be þai neuer.
▪ IV. † ˈwitter, a.2 Obs.
Also 3 Orm. witerr.
[Back-formation from witterly, or prec. adj. with meaning transferred from the same: cf. MSw. vitterliker, (1) = ON. vitrligr wise, (2) manifest (so also early Da. vitterlig).]
Clear, evident, certain.
c1200Ormin 3363 Her icc wile shæwenn ȝuw summ þing to witerr takenn. c1250Gen. & Ex. 2903 Min milche witter name eley He knewen wel. 1357Lay Folks Catech. (T.) 542 Idelnesse is..witter wissyng and wai till alkyns vices.
▪ V. † ˈwitter, v.1 Obs. (cf. next).
Forms: 3–4 witere, 4–5 wyter(e, wytter, 5 wyttyr(e, witter.
[f. witter a.1 or a.2: cf. ON. vitra to reveal.]
trans. To inform, instruct; in some early quots. perh. to make clear (to a person what to do).
c1205Lay. 1200 Heȝe Diana..wise me & witere [c 1275 witte me]..whuder ich mæi liðan. a1225Juliana 33 (Bodl.) Wite me & were & witere & wisse þurh þi wisdom to wite me wið sunne. 13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 1552 To wayte þe wryt þat hit wolde & wyter hym to say. Ibid. 1587 When ho was wytered bi wyȝes what was þe cause. a1375Joseph Arim. 466 Ho has witered hire of þis? a1400Morte Arth. 1239, I witter þe þe emperour es entirde in-to Fraunce. c1425Wyntoun Cron. vi. 2284 (Wemyss) Þai thocht..for to cum in prevate One him or he suld witterit [Cott. MS. wyttride] be.
▪ VI. witter, v.2 colloq. (orig. Sc. and dial.).|ˈwɪtə|
Also whitter.
[Perh. a variant of whitter v.: cf. whitter n.1]
To chatter or mutter; to grumble; to speak with annoying lengthiness on trivial matters. Occas. trans. Freq. const. on.
1808A. Scott Poems 82 The winking swankies whitter, An' fondly ee some female band. 1854A. E. Baker Northamptonshire Gloss., Whitter, to murmur, to grumble, to complain... ‘Don't whitter so.’ 1886R. E. G. Cole Gloss. Words S.W. Lincs. 168, I witter my-sen at times, and my husband tells me I'm a regular wittering old woman. 1925E. C. Smith Mang Howes 21 A clecken o guidweives at a gairdeen-yett whuttert ti other whan they eyed iz. 1959[see suicide blonde s.v. suicide n.2 d]. 1966‘O. Mills’ Enemies of Bride ii. 16 You might..try making the tea, instead of wittering on about Cordon Bleu methods. 1973Where Jan. 13/2 Don't whitter away at every item [on the agenda], giving up at the first unsatisfactory explanation. Make your choice of issue, then take your time. 1981R. D. Edwards Corridors of Death i. 4 The questions which those who had spotted him as the man-in-the-know were wittering at him. Ibid. xxxvi. 164 It wasn't like Robert to witter on like this. 1982Observer 3 Oct. 9/2 If I wasn't going to hear the Tories wittering on in Brighton this week, I'd be in Frankfurt listening to publishers wittering on at the annual Book Fair.
Hence ˈwittering ppl. a.
1886[see witter v.2]. 1983Listener 20 Jan. 5/2 A really wittering, patronising speech programme is a worse insult to the intelligence than the most fatuous disc jockey. |