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withe

[with, with, wahyth]
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noun
  1. a willow twig or osier.
  2. any tough, flexible twig or stem suitable for binding things together.
  3. an elastic handle for a tool, to lessen shock occurring in use.
  4. a partition dividing flues of a chimney.
verb (used with object), withed, with·ing.
  1. to bind with withes.

Origin of withe

before 1000; Middle English, Old English withthe; akin to Old Norse vīthir withy, Gothic kunawida chain, Latin viēre to weave together
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for withe

Historical Examples

  • I got up, cut a withe of bamboo, and made her fast to a root.

    The Spinner's Book of Fiction

    Various

  • He stretched the withe on the field, and began to put the corn in it.

  • You find a man hanging by a gad (withe), and you cut him down to save him.

  • God for thy grace what hathe Poliphemus to do withe the gospell?

    Two Dyaloges (c. 1549)

    Desiderius Erasmus

  • It was a whole year since the withe had been fastened around him.

British Dictionary definitions for withe

withe

noun
  1. a strong flexible twig, esp of willow, suitable for binding things together; withy
  2. a band or rope of twisted twigs or stems
  3. a handle made of elastic material, fitted on some tools to reduce the shock during use
  4. a wall with a thickness of half a brick, such as a leaf of a cavity wall, or a division between two chimney flues
verb
  1. (tr) to bind with withes

Word Origin

Old English withthe; related to Old Norse vithja, Old High German witta, widi, Gothic wida
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for withe

n.

Old English wiððe "twisted cord, willow twig" (see withy).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper