cuttle

¹ American  

[kuht-l] / ˈkʌt l /

noun

1. cuttlefish.

2. cuttlebone.

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cuttle ² American  

[kuht-l] / ˈkʌt l /

verb (used with object)

Textiles.

cuttled, cuttling

1. to fold (cloth) face to face after finishing.

2. to allow (cloth) to lie without further treatment after fulling, milling, scouring, etc.

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cuttle British  

/ ˈkʌtəl /

noun

1. short for cuttlefish cuttlebone

2. a small cuttlefish, Sepiola atlantica, often found on beaches

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Etymology

Origin of cuttle¹

before 1000; late Middle English codel, Old English cudele (replaced in the 16th century by cuttlefish and subsequently reshortened)

Origin of cuttle²

First recorded in 1535–45; origin uncertain

Example Sentences

"I presume you mean that a giant squid or cuttle fish has attacked us," spoke the professor.

From Under the Ocean to the South Pole Or, the Strange Cruise of the Submarine Wonder by Rockwood, Roy

There were as yet no saurians or whales to dispute the dominion with these rapacious cephalopods, and so the cuttle family had things for the time all their own way.

From Falling in Love With Other Essays on More Exact Branches of Science by Allen, Grant

"The term molusc is applied by naturalists to creatures which have no vertebrae, as for example, the cuttle fish and the oyster."

From Willis the Pilot by Adrien, Paul

And would your spell Be daunting to a cuttle, think you now?

From Georgian Poetry 1911-12 by Marsh, Edward Howard, Sir

To a large number of people the name devil fish brings to mind a conception of an octopus, squid, cuttle fish, or a member of that species.

From Tom Swift and His Undersea Search, or, the Treasure on the Floor of the Atlantic by Appleton, Victor [pseud.]