whitn.¹

Brit.

/wɪt/, U.S.

/(h)wɪt/

Forms: late Middle English quytte, late Middle English qwyll (transmission error), late Middle English wite, late Middle English–1500s whyt, late Middle English–1500s whytt, 1500s whyht, 1500s whytte, 1500s wyt, 1500s–1600s whitte, 1500s–1700s whitt, 1500s– whit, 1600s–1700s wit; also Scottish pre-1700 quheet, pre-1700 quheit, pre-1700 quhit, pre-1700 quite, pre-1700 vheet.

Origin: Probably a variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: wight n.

Etymology: Probably a variant of wight n., although the phonological development is difficult to account for.An alternative suggestion (O. Jespersen, ‘Symbolic Value of the Vowel i ’, in Philologica 1 (1922) 1–19) takes the word as an extended use of white n. (compare forms at white adj. and n.), perhaps originally meaning ‘a small white spot’, with the selection of the short-vowel variant reflecting a supposed sound-symbolic association with smallness.

Now somewhat archaic or literary.

1. A very small, or the least, part or amount; an iota, a jot, a bit.

a. Without negative, esp. in every whit: every last thing, every little bit; the whole.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > wholeness > the whole or all > [noun] > the whole quantity, number, or amount > the whole lot

every whita1450

every stitch?a1500

the devil and all1543

prow and poop1561

Christ-cross-row1579

every snip1598

thread and thrum1600

boodle1625

hair and hoof1705

rag-tag (also rag, tag) and bob-tail1725

tutti quanti1772

lot1791

lock, stock, and barrel1824

stock and fluke1825

the whole boiling1837

box and dice1839

the whole caboodlea1848

sub-cheese1859

the whole kit and boiling (boodle, caboodle, cargo)1859

the whole jingbang1866

the whole hypothec1871

the whole ball of wax1882

the whole (entire) shoot1884

(at) every whip-stitch1888

work1899

issue1919

guntz1958

full monty1979

the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > a small quantity or amount > the smallest amount > a jot

cornc888

grotc888

prickleOE

prickOE

pointc1300

grain1377

hair1377

motec1390

twynt1399

mitec1400

tarec1405

drop1413

ace?1440

tittlea1450

whita1450

jot1526

Jack1530

plack1530

farthingc1540

minima1585

scintil1599

atom1626

scintillation1650

punct1653

doit1660

scintilla1674

rap1792

haet1802

dottle1808

smiggot1823

hooter1839

heartbeat1855

pick1866

filament1868

hoot1878

a1450 Castle Perseverance (1969) l. 359 (MED) To þe World wolde he not flyt But forsok it euery whytt.

a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Diii What he sayth and she sayth to lay good ere And tell to his sufferayne euery whyt.

1539 Bible (Great) 1 Sam. iii. 18 Samuel tolde him euery whitt, & hidd nothing from him.

c1590 J. Stewart Poems (1913) 198 His maist prencelie Spreit,..vill appaise thy hoip in euerie quheit.

1665 J. Bunyan Holy Citie (1669) 182 Thou must enter in by every whit of Christ, or thou shalt enter in by never a whit of him.

1792 A. Geddes tr. Bible I. Deut. xiv. 16 All its spoil ye shall collect into the midst of its street, and shall burn with fire both the city and every whit of its spoil, in honour of the Lord.

1828 F. Corbyn Biogr., Sacred & Interesting 158 But one was to come into the world, who should fulfil every whit of the law.

1921 A. M. Royden Sex & Common-sense iv. 84 Is there one whit of difference, morally, between the prostitution that has no legal recognition and the prostitution that has?

1978 I. Doig This House of Sky (1992) 249 Latham House, if any single sum can be put to it, was a scuffed, restive, Aleutian-atoll of a place to spend one's college years—and every whit of it suited me.

2012 Columbian (Vancouver) (Nexis) 6 Aug. a6 We can't even find two candidates for the presidency who have a whit of difference between them beyond the timing of hardly dissimilar proposals.

b. With negative expressed or implied, esp. in never a whit, not a whit: not at all, not in the least.Recorded earliest in no whit adv.For the negation expressed by devil, e.g. in quots. c1500, 1528, 1533, see devil n. Phrases 1e(b).

ΚΠ

c1450 (c1350) Alexander & Dindimus (Bodl.) (1929) l. 354 (MED) We no wante no wite of worldliche fode.

c1500 Lyfe Roberte Deuyll 212 in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. (1864) I. 227 The deuyll have the whyt that he was forye [1798 sorye] therfore.

1528 Rede me & be nott Wrothe sig. d vii^v I trowe thou arte a syngynge man?.. The devil of the whit that I can.

1533 J. Heywood Mery Play Iohan Iohan sig. A.i Thynke ye that she wyll amende yet. Nay by our lady the deuyll spede whyt.

a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 62 Some have to much some to lytyl & some never a wyt.

1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 713 It can shew scarce any whit of the ancient state it had.

1630 R. Norton tr. W. Camden Hist. Princesse Elizabeth iii. 60 Hauing sacked the Towne, they found not a whit of gold.

1631 J. Mabbe tr. F. de Rojas Spanish Bawd xviii. 183 The divell awhit shall I be able to tell them.

1678 R. Barclay Apol. True Christian Divinity iv. §2. 97 We do not ascribe any whit of Adam's Guilt to Men.

1710 B. Hoadly Ans. Dr. Atterbury 23 in Orig. & Inst. Civil Govt. It is not one whit of more importance than to say that [etc.].

1830 Ld. Tennyson Owl ii. ii Not a whit of thy tuwhoo, Thee to woo to thy tuwhit.

1867 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest I. iii. 152 It was not their policy to destroy or to change one whit more than was absolutely necessary.

1874 C. E. Norton Let. 10 Jan. (1913) II. 29 No whit of faith in the good as good..has vanished from my soul.

1902 Monthly Rev. Sept. 163 Nor with waxing years had he abated of his duties a whit.

1924 B. S. Aldrich Mother Mason (1987) viii. 190 Hang onto your faith that these minor ups and downs make not a whit of difference with the great love you bear each other.

2012 Washington Times (Nexis) 3 Dec. b4 Well over the hill, he finds himself a bit creakier, perhaps a step slower, but not a whit less sharp.

2. In phrases used adverbially, with connotation of extent or degree.

a. With negative expressed or implied. never, not (etc.) a whit (†awhit, a-whit), any whit, one whit: not in the least, not at all. See also no whit adv.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [noun] > none or not any one of

noneeOE

never, not (etc.) a whit (awhit, a-whit)1523

the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > small of quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > not at all

never-a-dealc1250

no dealc1250

not a dealc1250

no grue13..

not a (one) grue13..

for no (kin) meedc1330

in (also by and without preposition) no mannerc1330

nothing like?a1425

by no (manner of) means (also mean)c1440

at no handa1500

never, not (etc.) a whit (awhit, a-whit)1523

not a quincha1566

by leisure1590

1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. cccxliv. f. ccix^v/2 He loued hym nat one whyt the better [Fr. ne len ayma pas mieulx].

1558 W. Ward tr. G. Ruscelli Secretes Alexis of Piemount (1568) 7 Leaue the water vpon the fournesse, without mouing it any whit.

1564 Briefe Exam. ****iij You helpe your selues neuer awhyt.

1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie i. ii. 51 Nor is the freedom of the wil of God any whit abated..by meanes of this.

1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 ii. v. 374 Falst. Art thou not horribly afraid?..Prin. Not a whit.

1607 ‘W. S.’ Puritaine i. 1 Shee cryed nere a whitte at all.

1642 D. Rogers Naaman 871 It never troubles you awhit!

1727 T. Fuller Introductio ad Prudentiam II. 234 Their own Heart will tell them they have been not a Whit better than highway Rogues.

1773 J. Hawkesworth Acct. Voy. Southern Hemisphere III. ii. ix Not a whit behind them in cheerfulness and vivacity.

1775 R. B. Sheridan Rivals iv. iii You don't seem one whit the happier at this.

1809–10 S. T. Coleridge Friend (1865) 175 He..is not a whit the better Christian for being a bad patriot.

1873 J. A. Symonds Stud. Greek Poets v. 135 Grief will profit us no whit.

1893 M. Pemberton Iron Pirate ii The novelty..did not surprise me one whit.

1909 H. James Golden Bowl (1985) Pref. 20 He..makes us see the things that may most interest us..and yet after all never a whit to the prejudice of his being just as consistently a foredoomed, entangled, embarrassed agent.

1947 Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) 1 June 28/2 The Monster, not a whit discouraged by being referred to as..‘Frankenstein,’..was set to mow down a Puritanian populace.

2012 Wall St. Jrnl. 24 July a15/5 I don't care a whit whether the Aurora killer was a loner.

b. Without negative. a whit: to a very small extent, a very little. any whit, one whit: to the least amount, in the least degree, at all. every (†each) whit: completely, altogether, thoroughly, quite (in later use almost always with as in comparisons of equality).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > small of quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > to a small extent or a little

littlec1175

a litec1290

a little quantityc1330

little whata1387

wee1513

a whit1526

thought1581

a wee bita1661

a small (also little) matter1690

a trifle1859

a wheen1869

a taste1894

smitch1895

a lick1902

mite1939

a skosh1959

a tidge1959

a tad1969

the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > small of quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > in the least or the slightest degree

the leastc1400

any whit1526

one whit1526

(not) a wink1596

in the least1608

in the smallesta1616

in the leastwise1676

tint1886

the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > completely [phrase] > in full or to fullest extent

to the full1340

at the fulla1375

at one's righta1425

in (the) wholea1475

every (each) whit1526

full due1574

in gross1606

in full habitudea1661

to capacity1958

1526 Bible (Tyndale) John vii. f. cxxx^v Disdayne ye at me, be cause I made a man every whit whoale on the saboth daye?

a1529 J. Skelton Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng in Certayne Bks. (?1545) 411 Elynour made the pryce For good ale eche whyt.

1555 in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) III. App. l. 161 Every Child..that can any whit speak.

1568 Newe Comedie Iacob & Esau ii. iv. sig. D.ij^v He eaten vp euery whit.

1574 J. Whitgift Def. Aunswere to Admon. ii. 104 Master Zuinglius (who woulde haue beene lothe one whit to strengthen the Papistes).

1618 in W. Foster Eng. Factories India 1618–21 (1906) 49 Yf they be suffred but a whit longer, they will make claime to the whole Indies.

1672 Duke of Buckingham Rehearsal ii. 15 I have written..a whole cart-load of things, every whit as good as this.

1700 S. Parker 6 Philos. Ess. 12 The Primæval Earth will be e'ery whit as ill shaped as that we poor Mortals inhabit.

a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 274 Every whit as wild and extravagant.

1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward II. xiii. 309 Were my situation one whit less perilous.

1868 W. Morris Earthly Paradise i. 342 At the King's command A clerk that day did note it every whit.

1869 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest III. xii. 231 The narrative of this campaign..is every whit as puzzling.

1903 I. Zangwill Grey Wig vi. 110 Mrs. Drabdump felt a whit uneasy.

1966 B. Brophy Don't never Forget 223 And really a talking animal is only a whit more startling than a talking star.

1992 B. Unsworth Sacred Hunger xxiv. 214 Thurso and Yellow Henry were using the argument from quantity too, and every whit as rigorously.

†3. As a term of contempt or abuse: an insignificant thing. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > inferior person > [noun] > as abused

warlockOE

swinec1175

beastc1225

wolf's-fista1300

avetrolc1300

congeonc1300

dirtc1300

slimec1315

snipec1325

lurdanc1330

misbegetc1330

sorrowa1350

shrew1362

jordan1377

wirlingc1390

frog?a1400

warianglea1400

wretcha1400

horcop14..

turdc1400

callet1415

lotterela1450

paddock?a1475

souter1478

chuff?a1500

langbain?c1500

cockatrice1508

sow1508

spink1508

wilrone1508

rook?a1513

streaker?a1513

dirt-dauber?1518

marmoset1523

babiona1529

poll-hatcheta1529

bear-wolf1542

misbegotten1546

pig1546

excrement1561

mamzer1562

chuff-cat1563

varlet1566

toada1568

mandrake1568

spider1568

rat1571

bull-beef1573

mole-catcher1573

suppository1573

curtal1578

spider-catcher1579

mongrela1585

roita1585

stickdirta1585

dogfish1589

Poor John1589

dog's facec1590

tar-boxa1592

baboon1592

pot-hunter1592

venom1592

porcupine1594

lick-fingers1595

mouldychaps1595

tripe1595

conundrum1596

fat-guts1598

thornback1599

land-rat1600

midriff1600

stinkardc1600

Tartar1600

tumbril1601

lobster1602

pilcher1602

windfucker?1602

stinker1607

hog rubber1611

shad1612

splay-foot1612

tim1612

whit1612

verdugo1616

renegado1622

fish-facea1625

flea-trapa1625

hound's head1633

mulligrub1633

nightmare1633

toad's-guts1634

bitch-baby1638

shagamuffin1642

shit-breech1648

shitabed1653

snite1653

pissabed1672

bastard1675

swab1687

tar-barrel1695

runt1699

fat-face1740

shit-sack1769

vagabond1842

shick-shack1847

soor1848

b1851

stink-pot1854

molie1871

pig-dog1871

schweinhund1871

wind-sucker1880

fucker1893

cocksucker1894

wart1896

so-and-so1897

swine-hound1899

motherfucker1918

S.O.B.1918

twat1922

mong1926

mucker1929

basket1936

cowson1936

zombie1936

meatball1937

shower1943

chickenshit1945

mugger1945

motherferyer1946

hooer1952

morpion1954

mother1955

mother-raper1959

louser1960

effer1961

salaud1962

gunk1964

scunge1967

1612 B. Jonson Alchemist iv. vii. sig. K4^v Then you are an Otter, and a Shad, a Whit, A very Tim.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2015; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

Whitn.²

Brit.

/wɪt/, U.S.

/(h)wɪt/

Forms: 1500s– Whit, 1600s–1700s White.

Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: Whitsunday n.

Etymology: < whit- (in Whitsunday n.).

I. Compounds.

1. Designating the days of Whitsun week (Whitsun week n. at Whitsun n. Compounds 3), as Whit Monday, Whit Tuesday, Whit Wednesday, etc. Cf. Whitsunday n.Whit Saturday is used to denote the Saturday before Whitsunday (cf. Whitsun eve n. at Whitsun n. Compounds 3).

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Pentecost > [noun] > Tuesday following

Whit Tuesdaya1697

society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Pentecost > [noun] > Wednesday following

Whit Wednesday1778

society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Pentecost > [noun] > Thursday following

Whit1839

1557 Queen Mary I Let. 2 June in Hist. MSS Comm.: 15th Rep., App. Pt. II (1897) 31 in Parl. Papers (C. 8327) XLVIII. 423 Untill the viiith daye of this present moneth whiche shall be Whitmondaye.

1665 Wonders if not Miracles V. Gertrux 5 I went up thither..on White-munday.

a1697 J. Aubrey Nat. Hist. Surrey (1718) III. 227 Here are two Fairs, viz. on September 12th, and Whit-Tuesday.

1774 J. Woodeforde Diary 24 May (1924) I. 132 Cary Fair to-day being White Tuesday.

1778 S. Whatley England's Gazetteer (ed. 2) Llanbeder, Cardiganshire..has..fairs on Whit-Wednesday, July 10 [etc.].

1839 Penny Cycl. XIII. 403/1 Whit-Thursday.

1867 E. F. Bowden tr. Countess Hahn-Hahn Lives Fathers of Desert 365 In the night between Whitsunday and Whitmonday.

1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone III. xxii. 320 It was now Whit-Tuesday, and the lilacs all in blossom.

1960 Billboard 23 May 43/4 The telerecording Harry Belafonte made for BBC-TV last fall..gets a re-run Whit Saturday.

2013 Leicester Mercury (Nexis) 1 June (Features section) 12 Every Whit Monday my grandmother would take me to see the Bristol Morris Men.

2. Whit week n. the week beginning with Whitsunday; Whitsun week.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Pentecost > [noun]

PentecosteOE

WhitsundayOE

Whitsundaya1250

Whitsuntidec1275

Lok-Soundayc1315

Lokes1340

Whitsun Sunday1532

White Sunday1546

W.c1565

Whit week1728

society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Pentecost > [noun] > week beginning with Whit Sunday

Whitsun weekc1325

Whit week1728

1728 P. W. Descr. Counties Eng. & Wales 21 Sandbach, Wednesday in Whit-Week.

1899 Daily News 18 May 7/1 Whit-week would be a very good time to close the schools.

1912 E. A. Parry What Judge Saw v. 66 When you become a citizen of Manchester you recognise the sanity of the Whit-week festival.

2010 Worcester News (Nexis) 22 June Although the meeting was in Whit Week we still had a good attendance.

3. Relating to or occurring at Whitsun, or on Whitsunday.

ΚΠ

1816 Morning Post 1 June 2/4 Some routine business was then disposed of, and the House adjourned (for the Whit-Holidays) until Thursday next.

1893 S. C. Lowry Wks. Holy Spirit (ed. 3) xii. 102 My friends, it is well that we have our annual Whit-day to remind us of the presence and work of the blessed Comforter.

1963 Times 5 June 7/1 (heading) Whit road toll down by 19.

1976 T. Nichols & P. Armstrong Workers Divided 108 This morning our foreman told us that we've got to work Whit Bank Holiday.

2009 D. O'Briain Tickling Eng. xiv. 214 In Brighton that Whit weekend, about a thousand youths fought each other on the prom and beach.

4. Whit walk n. an event at Whitsun in which church congregations walk in procession through the streets.Whit walks have a particular association with the north of England, esp. Lancashire.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Pentecost > [noun] > procession during

Whit walk1931

1931 Guardian 22 May 11/4 (advt.) All about the Whit Walks.

1949 Times 7 June 4/6 At Manchester..the weather brightened up for the 143rd Whit-walk.

1999 D. Haslam Manchester, Eng. iii. 58 Church processions, especially the Whit walks, were a favourite subject for the camera crews.

II. Simple uses.

5. Whitsun.

ΚΠ

1921 G. V. Owen Life beyond Veil II. vi. 160 All those ideas which with you do cluster about such as Christmas and Epiphany and Easter and Whit and the like are reinforced from such colonies as these.

1965 E. Malpass Morning's at Seven (2001) v. 46 It was typical Christmas weather, warmer than Easter, drier than Whit.

1990 R. Hamilton With Love from Ma Maguire (1992) iii. 92 When they walked at Whit, all the brewery horses done up, banners flying in the breeze.

2014 R. Brooks Knight who saved Eng. ii. 82 Respites were shorter than in real wars: Advent to Epiphany, Easter, Whit, and All Saints.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2015; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

† Whitn.³

Forms: 1600s witt, 1600s–1700s whitt, 1600s–1800s whit, 1700s wit.

Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: proper name Whittington.

Etymology: Shortened < the name of Sir Richard Whittington, merchant and mayor of London (see Whittington n.), who bequeathed the funds for Newgate prison's renovation in the 1420s.The building was destroyed in the Great Fire of London but rebuilt in 1672, and a statue of Whittington and his cat stood outside it until 1776.

cant. Obsolete.

Chiefly with the. (A nickname for) Newgate prison; also used more generally with reference to other prisons. Cf. rub v.³

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun] > specific prisons

King's Bench1427

marshalsea1436

tunc1503

chateleta1513

clinkc1530

the Fleet1530

Bocardo1535

bastille1561

Poultry Compter1644

Whit1673

the Moor1869

the Ville1903

the Scrubs1923

H-block1976

Mandela University1986

1673 R. Head Canting Acad. 11 And when that we come to the Whit, Our Darbyes to behold, And for to do our pennance there We booz the Water cold.

1676 Warn. Housekeepers 5 They rub us to the whitt.

1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew at Bone The Cove is Bon'd and gon to the Whit, c. the Rogue is taken up and carried to Newgate, or any other Goal.

1708 J. Hall Mem. Right Villainous John Hall Gloss. 23 Wit, Newgate.

1811 Lexicon Balatronicum at Rub Don't rub us to the whit; don't send us to Newgate.

1859 G. W. Matsell Vocabulum 99 I may bid as high as your pintle, and make you squint like a bag of nails..though you rub us to whit for it.

This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

whitv.

Brit.

/wɪt/,

/hwɪt/, U.S.

/(h)wɪt/

Forms: also reduplicated.

Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: whit int.

Etymology: < whit int. Compare earlier weet v.²

Now somewhat rare.

intransitive. To make a shrill abrupt sound, as a bird's chirp, the whistle of a flying bullet, etc. Cf. whit int.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > shrill quality > sound shrill [verb (intransitive)] > make shrill sound

yellOE

pipec1275

treblec1425

shrillc1440

squail1526

squeal1600

skirl1827

blat1846

whine1874

whit1899

zing1899

whee1960

1899 ‘A. Raine’ By Berwen Banks ii. 22 He seated himself yesterday on a tombstone when we were in church, and whit, whit, whitted ‘Men of Harlech’ on his flute!

1902 Illustr. London News 8 Mar. 358/3 The nuthatch is whit-whitting in the elms.

1910 ‘R. Dehan’ One Braver Thing xxx. 247 The singing bullets went by or whit-whitted about them in the dust.

1973 R. D. Symons Where Wagon Led v. 65 We saw mallards and pintails in their nuptial flights, their wings whit-whitting as they cut the air.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2015; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

whitint.n.⁴

Brit.

/wɪt/,

/hwɪt/, U.S.

/(h)wɪt/

Forms: also reduplicated.

Origin: An imitative or expressive formation.

Etymology: Imitative. Compare tu-whit v., weet int.

A. int.

Expressing a shrill abrupt sound, as a bird's chirp, the whistling of a flying bullet, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > shrill quality > [adverb]

shilla1250

keenlyc1275

shirla1300

bremelya1375

sharp1377

shillya1400

shirlly1470

shrilly1582

whit1833

squeal1849

reedily1910

bleatingly1934

the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > shrill quality > shrill sound [interjection]

whit1833

1833 M. Scott Tom Cringle's Log I. viii. 232 The musket-balls were..plumping into the timber, whit whit!

1840 Peter Parley's Ann. 11/2 The same old owl, o'er the murder foul, Cry, whit, to whit, to woo.

1843 R. S. Surtees Handley Cross I. v. 86 ‘Whit’, cries the coachman to his horses, off they go.

1864 Ld. Tennyson Grandmother x, in Enoch Arden, etc. 119 And whit, whit, whit, in the bush beside me chirrupt the nightingale.

1997 State Jrnl.-Reg. (Springfield, Il.) (Nexis) 18 Jan. (Outdoors section) 13 I described to her the call of the Cardinal, our state bird: ‘What cheer! What cheer!’ or ‘Whit-whit-whit-whit’ or ‘Purity, purity, purity, purity’ and ‘Cue, cue, cue.’

B. n.⁴

An instance of this; a shrill abrupt sound.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > shrill quality > [noun] > sound

shrill1591

shrilling1639

scriding?1690

skirling1820

whit1853

squeal1867

blat1904

whee1920

whine1928

blatting1935

1853 Home Friend 2 57 Then it [sc. a sedge warbler] gives the whit, whit, whit, of the swallow, or the twink, twink, of the chaffinch, to perfection.

1867 J. W. De Forest Miss Ravenel's Conversion xxxii. 455 The leisurely hum of long-range bullets had changed into the sharp, multitudinous whit-whit of close firing.

1888 R. Kipling Ballad Boh Da Thone 134 Where the whit of the bullet, the wounded man's scream Are mixed.

1900 Longman's Mag. Jan. 230 The whit-whit of the scraping knives.

1974 Audubon May 7/1 We hear the spring-song of the white-breasted nuthatch—a short whit-whit-whit like calling up a dog.

2006 K. Elliott Spirit Gate xv. 132 The whit whit of the knife strokes sounded like a bird's cry, heard from a distance.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2015; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

n.¹a1450

n.²1557

n.³1673

v.1899

int.n.⁴1833

单词	whit
释义	whitn.¹ Brit. /wɪt/, U.S. /(h)wɪt/ Forms: late Middle English quytte, late Middle English qwyll (transmission error), late Middle English wite, late Middle English–1500s whyt, late Middle English–1500s whytt, 1500s whyht, 1500s whytte, 1500s wyt, 1500s–1600s whitte, 1500s–1700s whitt, 1500s– whit, 1600s–1700s wit; also Scottish pre-1700 quheet, pre-1700 quheit, pre-1700 quhit, pre-1700 quite, pre-1700 vheet. Origin: Probably a variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: wight n. Etymology: Probably a variant of wight n., although the phonological development is difficult to account for.An alternative suggestion (O. Jespersen, ‘Symbolic Value of the Vowel i ’, in Philologica 1 (1922) 1–19) takes the word as an extended use of white n. (compare forms at white adj. and n.), perhaps originally meaning ‘a small white spot’, with the selection of the short-vowel variant reflecting a supposed sound-symbolic association with smallness. Now somewhat archaic or literary. 1. A very small, or the least, part or amount; an iota, a jot, a bit. a. Without negative, esp. in every whit: every last thing, every little bit; the whole. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > the whole or all > [noun] > the whole quantity, number, or amount > the whole lot every whita1450 every stitch?a1500 the devil and all1543 prow and poop1561 Christ-cross-row1579 every snip1598 thread and thrum1600 boodle1625 hair and hoof1705 rag-tag (also rag, tag) and bob-tail1725 tutti quanti1772 lot1791 lock, stock, and barrel1824 stock and fluke1825 the whole boiling1837 box and dice1839 the whole caboodlea1848 sub-cheese1859 the whole kit and boiling (boodle, caboodle, cargo)1859 the whole jingbang1866 the whole hypothec1871 the whole ball of wax1882 the whole (entire) shoot1884 (at) every whip-stitch1888 work1899 issue1919 guntz1958 full monty1979 the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > a small quantity or amount > the smallest amount > a jot cornc888 grotc888 prickleOE prickOE pointc1300 grain1377 hair1377 motec1390 twynt1399 mitec1400 tarec1405 drop1413 ace?1440 tittlea1450 whita1450 jot1526 Jack1530 plack1530 farthingc1540 minima1585 scintil1599 atom1626 scintillation1650 punct1653 doit1660 scintilla1674 rap1792 haet1802 dottle1808 smiggot1823 hooter1839 heartbeat1855 pick1866 filament1868 hoot1878 a1450 Castle Perseverance (1969) l. 359 (MED) To þe World wolde he not flyt But forsok it euery whytt. a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Diii What he sayth and she sayth to lay good ere And tell to his sufferayne euery whyt. 1539 Bible (Great) 1 Sam. iii. 18 Samuel tolde him euery whitt, & hidd nothing from him. c1590 J. Stewart Poems (1913) 198 His maist prencelie Spreit,..vill appaise thy hoip in euerie quheit. 1665 J. Bunyan Holy Citie (1669) 182 Thou must enter in by every whit of Christ, or thou shalt enter in by never a whit of him. 1792 A. Geddes tr. Bible I. Deut. xiv. 16 All its spoil ye shall collect into the midst of its street, and shall burn with fire both the city and every whit of its spoil, in honour of the Lord. 1828 F. Corbyn Biogr., Sacred & Interesting 158 But one was to come into the world, who should fulfil every whit of the law. 1921 A. M. Royden Sex & Common-sense iv. 84 Is there one whit of difference, morally, between the prostitution that has no legal recognition and the prostitution that has? 1978 I. Doig This House of Sky (1992) 249 Latham House, if any single sum can be put to it, was a scuffed, restive, Aleutian-atoll of a place to spend one's college years—and every whit of it suited me. 2012 Columbian (Vancouver) (Nexis) 6 Aug. a6 We can't even find two candidates for the presidency who have a whit of difference between them beyond the timing of hardly dissimilar proposals. b. With negative expressed or implied, esp. in never a whit, not a whit: not at all, not in the least.Recorded earliest in no whit adv.For the negation expressed by devil, e.g. in quots. c1500, 1528, 1533, see devil n. Phrases 1e(b). ΚΠ c1450 (c1350) Alexander & Dindimus (Bodl.) (1929) l. 354 (MED) We no wante no wite of worldliche fode. c1500 Lyfe Roberte Deuyll 212 in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. (1864) I. 227 The deuyll have the whyt that he was forye [1798 sorye] therfore. 1528 Rede me & be nott Wrothe sig. d vii^v I trowe thou arte a syngynge man?.. The devil of the whit that I can. 1533 J. Heywood Mery Play Iohan Iohan sig. A.i Thynke ye that she wyll amende yet. Nay by our lady the deuyll spede whyt. a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 62 Some have to much some to lytyl & some never a wyt. 1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 713 It can shew scarce any whit of the ancient state it had. 1630 R. Norton tr. W. Camden Hist. Princesse Elizabeth iii. 60 Hauing sacked the Towne, they found not a whit of gold. 1631 J. Mabbe tr. F. de Rojas Spanish Bawd xviii. 183 The divell awhit shall I be able to tell them. 1678 R. Barclay Apol. True Christian Divinity iv. §2. 97 We do not ascribe any whit of Adam's Guilt to Men. 1710 B. Hoadly Ans. Dr. Atterbury 23 in Orig. & Inst. Civil Govt. It is not one whit of more importance than to say that [etc.]. 1830 Ld. Tennyson Owl ii. ii Not a whit of thy tuwhoo, Thee to woo to thy tuwhit. 1867 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest I. iii. 152 It was not their policy to destroy or to change one whit more than was absolutely necessary. 1874 C. E. Norton Let. 10 Jan. (1913) II. 29 No whit of faith in the good as good..has vanished from my soul. 1902 Monthly Rev. Sept. 163 Nor with waxing years had he abated of his duties a whit. 1924 B. S. Aldrich Mother Mason (1987) viii. 190 Hang onto your faith that these minor ups and downs make not a whit of difference with the great love you bear each other. 2012 Washington Times (Nexis) 3 Dec. b4 Well over the hill, he finds himself a bit creakier, perhaps a step slower, but not a whit less sharp. 2. In phrases used adverbially, with connotation of extent or degree. a. With negative expressed or implied. never, not (etc.) a whit (†awhit, a-whit), any whit, one whit: not in the least, not at all. See also no whit adv. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [noun] > none or not any one of noneeOE never, not (etc.) a whit (awhit, a-whit)1523 the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > small of quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > not at all never-a-dealc1250 no dealc1250 not a dealc1250 no grue13.. not a (one) grue13.. for no (kin) meedc1330 in (also by and without preposition) no mannerc1330 nothing like?a1425 by no (manner of) means (also mean)c1440 at no handa1500 never, not (etc.) a whit (awhit, a-whit)1523 not a quincha1566 by leisure1590 1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. cccxliv. f. ccix^v/2 He loued hym nat one whyt the better [Fr. ne len ayma pas mieulx]. 1558 W. Ward tr. G. Ruscelli Secretes Alexis of Piemount (1568) 7 Leaue the water vpon the fournesse, without mouing it any whit. 1564 Briefe Exam. ***iij You helpe your selues neuer awhyt. 1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie* i. ii. 51 Nor is the freedom of the wil of God any whit abated..by meanes of this. 1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 ii. v. 374 Falst. Art thou not horribly afraid?..Prin. Not a whit. 1607 ‘W. S.’ Puritaine i. 1 Shee cryed nere a whitte at all. 1642 D. Rogers Naaman 871 It never troubles you awhit! 1727 T. Fuller Introductio ad Prudentiam II. 234 Their own Heart will tell them they have been not a Whit better than highway Rogues. 1773 J. Hawkesworth Acct. Voy. Southern Hemisphere III. ii. ix Not a whit behind them in cheerfulness and vivacity. 1775 R. B. Sheridan Rivals iv. iii You don't seem one whit the happier at this. 1809–10 S. T. Coleridge Friend (1865) 175 He..is not a whit the better Christian for being a bad patriot. 1873 J. A. Symonds Stud. Greek Poets v. 135 Grief will profit us no whit. 1893 M. Pemberton Iron Pirate ii The novelty..did not surprise me one whit. 1909 H. James Golden Bowl (1985) Pref. 20 He..makes us see the things that may most interest us..and yet after all never a whit to the prejudice of his being just as consistently a foredoomed, entangled, embarrassed agent. 1947 Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) 1 June 28/2 The Monster, not a whit discouraged by being referred to as..‘Frankenstein,’..was set to mow down a Puritanian populace. 2012 Wall St. Jrnl. 24 July a15/5 I don't care a whit whether the Aurora killer was a loner. b. Without negative. a whit: to a very small extent, a very little. any whit, one whit: to the least amount, in the least degree, at all. every (†each) whit: completely, altogether, thoroughly, quite (in later use almost always with as in comparisons of equality). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > small of quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > to a small extent or a little littlec1175 a litec1290 a little quantityc1330 little whata1387 wee1513 a whit1526 thought1581 a wee bita1661 a small (also little) matter1690 a trifle1859 a wheen1869 a taste1894 smitch1895 a lick1902 mite1939 a skosh1959 a tidge1959 a tad1969 the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > small of quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > in the least or the slightest degree the leastc1400 any whit1526 one whit1526 (not) a wink1596 in the least1608 in the smallesta1616 in the leastwise1676 tint1886 the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > completely [phrase] > in full or to fullest extent to the full1340 at the fulla1375 at one's righta1425 in (the) wholea1475 every (each) whit1526 full due1574 in gross1606 in full habitudea1661 to capacity1958 1526 Bible (Tyndale) John vii. f. cxxx^v Disdayne ye at me, be cause I made a man every whit whoale on the saboth daye? a1529 J. Skelton Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng in Certayne Bks. (?1545) 411 Elynour made the pryce For good ale eche whyt. 1555 in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) III. App. l. 161 Every Child..that can any whit speak. 1568 Newe Comedie Iacob & Esau ii. iv. sig. D.ij^v He eaten vp euery whit. 1574 J. Whitgift Def. Aunswere to Admon. ii. 104 Master Zuinglius (who woulde haue beene lothe one whit to strengthen the Papistes). 1618 in W. Foster Eng. Factories India 1618–21 (1906) 49 Yf they be suffred but a whit longer, they will make claime to the whole Indies. 1672 Duke of Buckingham Rehearsal ii. 15 I have written..a whole cart-load of things, every whit as good as this. 1700 S. Parker 6 Philos. Ess. 12 The Primæval Earth will be e'ery whit as ill shaped as that we poor Mortals inhabit. a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 274 Every whit as wild and extravagant. 1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward II. xiii. 309 Were my situation one whit less perilous. 1868 W. Morris Earthly Paradise i. 342 At the King's command A clerk that day did note it every whit. 1869 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest III. xii. 231 The narrative of this campaign..is every whit as puzzling. 1903 I. Zangwill Grey Wig vi. 110 Mrs. Drabdump felt a whit uneasy. 1966 B. Brophy Don't never Forget 223 And really a talking animal is only a whit more startling than a talking star. 1992 B. Unsworth Sacred Hunger xxiv. 214 Thurso and Yellow Henry were using the argument from quantity too, and every whit as rigorously. †3. As a term of contempt or abuse: an insignificant thing. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > inferior person > [noun] > as abused warlockOE swinec1175 beastc1225 wolf's-fista1300 avetrolc1300 congeonc1300 dirtc1300 slimec1315 snipec1325 lurdanc1330 misbegetc1330 sorrowa1350 shrew1362 jordan1377 wirlingc1390 frog?a1400 warianglea1400 wretcha1400 horcop14.. turdc1400 callet1415 lotterela1450 paddock?a1475 souter1478 chuff?a1500 langbain?c1500 cockatrice1508 sow1508 spink1508 wilrone1508 rook?a1513 streaker?a1513 dirt-dauber?1518 marmoset1523 babiona1529 poll-hatcheta1529 bear-wolf1542 misbegotten1546 pig1546 excrement1561 mamzer1562 chuff-cat1563 varlet1566 toada1568 mandrake1568 spider1568 rat1571 bull-beef1573 mole-catcher1573 suppository1573 curtal1578 spider-catcher1579 mongrela1585 roita1585 stickdirta1585 dogfish1589 Poor John1589 dog's facec1590 tar-boxa1592 baboon1592 pot-hunter1592 venom1592 porcupine1594 lick-fingers1595 mouldychaps1595 tripe1595 conundrum1596 fat-guts1598 thornback1599 land-rat1600 midriff1600 stinkardc1600 Tartar1600 tumbril1601 lobster1602 pilcher1602 windfucker?1602 stinker1607 hog rubber1611 shad1612 splay-foot1612 tim1612 whit1612 verdugo1616 renegado1622 fish-facea1625 flea-trapa1625 hound's head1633 mulligrub1633 nightmare1633 toad's-guts1634 bitch-baby1638 shagamuffin1642 shit-breech1648 shitabed1653 snite1653 pissabed1672 bastard1675 swab1687 tar-barrel1695 runt1699 fat-face1740 shit-sack1769 vagabond1842 shick-shack1847 soor1848 b1851 stink-pot1854 molie1871 pig-dog1871 schweinhund1871 wind-sucker1880 fucker1893 cocksucker1894 wart1896 so-and-so1897 swine-hound1899 motherfucker1918 S.O.B.1918 twat1922 mong1926 mucker1929 basket1936 cowson1936 zombie1936 meatball1937 shower1943 chickenshit1945 mugger1945 motherferyer1946 hooer1952 morpion1954 mother1955 mother-raper1959 louser1960 effer1961 salaud1962 gunk1964 scunge1967 1612 B. Jonson Alchemist iv. vii. sig. K4^v Then you are an Otter, and a Shad, a Whit, A very Tim. View more context for this quotation This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2015; most recently modified version published online December 2021). Whitn.² Brit. /wɪt/, U.S. /(h)wɪt/ Forms: 1500s– Whit, 1600s–1700s White. Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: Whitsunday n. Etymology: < whit- (in Whitsunday n.). I. Compounds. 1. Designating the days of Whitsun week (Whitsun week n. at Whitsun n. Compounds 3), as Whit Monday, Whit Tuesday, Whit Wednesday, etc. Cf. Whitsunday n.Whit Saturday is used to denote the Saturday before Whitsunday (cf. Whitsun eve n. at Whitsun n. Compounds 3). ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Pentecost > [noun] > Tuesday following Whit Tuesdaya1697 society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Pentecost > [noun] > Wednesday following Whit Wednesday1778 society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Pentecost > [noun] > Thursday following Whit1839 1557 Queen Mary I Let. 2 June in Hist. MSS Comm.: 15th Rep., App. Pt. II (1897) 31 in Parl. Papers (C. 8327) XLVIII. 423 Untill the viiith daye of this present moneth whiche shall be Whitmondaye. 1665 Wonders if not Miracles V. Gertrux 5 I went up thither..on White-munday. a1697 J. Aubrey Nat. Hist. Surrey (1718) III. 227 Here are two Fairs, viz. on September 12th, and Whit-Tuesday. 1774 J. Woodeforde Diary 24 May (1924) I. 132 Cary Fair to-day being White Tuesday. 1778 S. Whatley England's Gazetteer (ed. 2) Llanbeder, Cardiganshire..has..fairs on Whit-Wednesday, July 10 [etc.]. 1839 Penny Cycl. XIII. 403/1 Whit-Thursday. 1867 E. F. Bowden tr. Countess Hahn-Hahn Lives Fathers of Desert 365 In the night between Whitsunday and Whitmonday. 1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone III. xxii. 320 It was now Whit-Tuesday, and the lilacs all in blossom. 1960 Billboard 23 May 43/4 The telerecording Harry Belafonte made for BBC-TV last fall..gets a re-run Whit Saturday. 2013 Leicester Mercury (Nexis) 1 June (Features section) 12 Every Whit Monday my grandmother would take me to see the Bristol Morris Men. 2. Whit week n. the week beginning with Whitsunday; Whitsun week. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Pentecost > [noun] PentecosteOE WhitsundayOE Whitsundaya1250 Whitsuntidec1275 Lok-Soundayc1315 Lokes1340 Whitsun Sunday1532 White Sunday1546 W.c1565 Whit week1728 society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Pentecost > [noun] > week beginning with Whit Sunday Whitsun weekc1325 Whit week1728 1728 P. W. Descr. Counties Eng. & Wales 21 Sandbach, Wednesday in Whit-Week. 1899 Daily News 18 May 7/1 Whit-week would be a very good time to close the schools. 1912 E. A. Parry What Judge Saw v. 66 When you become a citizen of Manchester you recognise the sanity of the Whit-week festival. 2010 Worcester News (Nexis) 22 June Although the meeting was in Whit Week we still had a good attendance. 3. Relating to or occurring at Whitsun, or on Whitsunday. ΚΠ 1816 Morning Post 1 June 2/4 Some routine business was then disposed of, and the House adjourned (for the Whit-Holidays) until Thursday next. 1893 S. C. Lowry Wks. Holy Spirit (ed. 3) xii. 102 My friends, it is well that we have our annual Whit-day to remind us of the presence and work of the blessed Comforter. 1963 Times 5 June 7/1 (heading) Whit road toll down by 19. 1976 T. Nichols & P. Armstrong Workers Divided 108 This morning our foreman told us that we've got to work Whit Bank Holiday. 2009 D. O'Briain Tickling Eng. xiv. 214 In Brighton that Whit weekend, about a thousand youths fought each other on the prom and beach. 4. Whit walk n. an event at Whitsun in which church congregations walk in procession through the streets.Whit walks have a particular association with the north of England, esp. Lancashire. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Pentecost > [noun] > procession during Whit walk1931 1931 Guardian 22 May 11/4 (advt.) All about the Whit Walks. 1949 Times 7 June 4/6 At Manchester..the weather brightened up for the 143rd Whit-walk. 1999 D. Haslam Manchester, Eng. iii. 58 Church processions, especially the Whit walks, were a favourite subject for the camera crews. II. Simple uses. 5. Whitsun. ΚΠ 1921 G. V. Owen Life beyond Veil II. vi. 160 All those ideas which with you do cluster about such as Christmas and Epiphany and Easter and Whit and the like are reinforced from such colonies as these. 1965 E. Malpass Morning's at Seven (2001) v. 46 It was typical Christmas weather, warmer than Easter, drier than Whit. 1990 R. Hamilton With Love from Ma Maguire (1992) iii. 92 When they walked at Whit, all the brewery horses done up, banners flying in the breeze. 2014 R. Brooks Knight who saved Eng. ii. 82 Respites were shorter than in real wars: Advent to Epiphany, Easter, Whit, and All Saints. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2015; most recently modified version published online December 2021). † Whitn.³ Forms: 1600s witt, 1600s–1700s whitt, 1600s–1800s whit, 1700s wit. Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: proper name Whittington. Etymology: Shortened < the name of Sir Richard Whittington, merchant and mayor of London (see Whittington n.), who bequeathed the funds for Newgate prison's renovation in the 1420s.The building was destroyed in the Great Fire of London but rebuilt in 1672, and a statue of Whittington and his cat stood outside it until 1776. cant. Obsolete. Chiefly with the. (A nickname for) Newgate prison; also used more generally with reference to other prisons. Cf. rub v.³ ΘΚΠ society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun] > specific prisons King's Bench1427 marshalsea1436 tunc1503 chateleta1513 clinkc1530 the Fleet1530 Bocardo1535 bastille1561 Poultry Compter1644 Whit1673 the Moor1869 the Ville1903 the Scrubs1923 H-block1976 Mandela University1986 1673 R. Head Canting Acad. 11 And when that we come to the Whit, Our Darbyes to behold, And for to do our pennance there We booz the Water cold. 1676 Warn. Housekeepers 5 They rub us to the whitt. 1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew at Bone The Cove is Bon'd and gon to the Whit, c. the Rogue is taken up and carried to Newgate, or any other Goal. 1708 J. Hall Mem. Right Villainous John Hall Gloss. 23 Wit, Newgate. 1811 Lexicon Balatronicum at Rub Don't rub us to the whit; don't send us to Newgate. 1859 G. W. Matsell Vocabulum 99 I may bid as high as your pintle, and make you squint like a bag of nails..though you rub us to whit for it. This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022). whitv. Brit. /wɪt/, /hwɪt/, U.S. /(h)wɪt/ Forms: also reduplicated. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: whit int. Etymology: < whit int. Compare earlier weet v.² Now somewhat rare. intransitive. To make a shrill abrupt sound, as a bird's chirp, the whistle of a flying bullet, etc. Cf. whit int. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > shrill quality > sound shrill [verb (intransitive)] > make shrill sound yellOE pipec1275 treblec1425 shrillc1440 squail1526 squeal1600 skirl1827 blat1846 whine1874 whit1899 zing1899 whee1960 1899 ‘A. Raine’ By Berwen Banks ii. 22 He seated himself yesterday on a tombstone when we were in church, and whit, whit, whitted ‘Men of Harlech’ on his flute! 1902 Illustr. London News 8 Mar. 358/3 The nuthatch is whit-whitting in the elms. 1910 ‘R. Dehan’ One Braver Thing xxx. 247 The singing bullets went by or whit-whitted about them in the dust. 1973 R. D. Symons Where Wagon Led v. 65 We saw mallards and pintails in their nuptial flights, their wings whit-whitting as they cut the air. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2015; most recently modified version published online December 2021). whitint.n.⁴ Brit. /wɪt/, /hwɪt/, U.S. /(h)wɪt/ Forms: also reduplicated. Origin: An imitative or expressive formation. Etymology: Imitative. Compare tu-whit v., weet int. A. int. Expressing a shrill abrupt sound, as a bird's chirp, the whistling of a flying bullet, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > shrill quality > [adverb] shilla1250 keenlyc1275 shirla1300 bremelya1375 sharp1377 shillya1400 shirlly1470 shrilly1582 whit1833 squeal1849 reedily1910 bleatingly1934 the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > shrill quality > shrill sound [interjection] whit1833 1833 M. Scott Tom Cringle's Log I. viii. 232 The musket-balls were..plumping into the timber, whit whit! 1840 Peter Parley's Ann. 11/2 The same old owl, o'er the murder foul, Cry, whit, to whit, to woo. 1843 R. S. Surtees Handley Cross I. v. 86 ‘Whit’, cries the coachman to his horses, off they go. 1864 Ld. Tennyson Grandmother x, in Enoch Arden, etc. 119 And whit, whit, whit, in the bush beside me chirrupt the nightingale. 1997 State Jrnl.-Reg. (Springfield, Il.) (Nexis) 18 Jan. (Outdoors section) 13 I described to her the call of the Cardinal, our state bird: ‘What cheer! What cheer!’ or ‘Whit-whit-whit-whit’ or ‘Purity, purity, purity, purity’ and ‘Cue, cue, cue.’ B. n.⁴ An instance of this; a shrill abrupt sound. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > shrill quality > [noun] > sound shrill1591 shrilling1639 scriding?1690 skirling1820 whit1853 squeal1867 blat1904 whee1920 whine1928 blatting1935 1853 Home Friend 2 57 Then it [sc. a sedge warbler] gives the whit, whit, whit, of the swallow, or the twink, twink, of the chaffinch, to perfection. 1867 J. W. De Forest Miss Ravenel's Conversion xxxii. 455 The leisurely hum of long-range bullets had changed into the sharp, multitudinous whit-whit of close firing. 1888 R. Kipling Ballad Boh Da Thone 134 Where the whit of the bullet, the wounded man's scream Are mixed. 1900 Longman's Mag. Jan. 230 The whit-whit of the scraping knives. 1974 Audubon May 7/1 We hear the spring-song of the white-breasted nuthatch—a short whit-whit-whit like calling up a dog. 2006 K. Elliott Spirit Gate xv. 132 The whit whit of the knife strokes sounded like a bird's cry, heard from a distance. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2015; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < n.¹a1450n.²1557n.³1673v.1899int.n.⁴1833
随便看	weathertack weathertanned weathertide weathertight weathertightness weathertile weathertiled weathertiling weathertinted weathertoppinglift weathertough weathertree weathervane weathervanes weatherwaft weatherwall weatherward weatherwarning weatherwasted weatherwear weatherwheel weatherwielder weatherwisdom weatherwise weatherwiseacre

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