| 释义 |
wat·tle
I. \ˈwä]d.əl, ]təl 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.əliŋ, ]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 |