kittle

[ kit-l ]

/ ˈkɪt l /

British Dialect.

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verb (used with object), kit·tled, kit·tling.

to tickle with the fingers; agitate or stir, as with a spoon.

to excite or rouse (a person), especially by flattery or strong words.

adjective, kit·tler, kit·tlest.

ticklish; fidgety.

requiring skill or caution; precarious.

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Origin of kittle

First recorded in 1475–85; earlier kytylle, ketil (compare Middle English verbal noun kitilling, kitlinge “tickling” late Old English citelung, kitelung ); cognate with Middle High German kützeln; akin to Old Norse kitla, German kitzeln “to tickle”

Words nearby kittle

kittenish, kitten moth, Kittie, Kittikachorn, kittiwake, kittle, Kitt Peak National Observatory, Kittredge, kitty, kitty-cornered, Kittyhawk

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use kittle in a sentence

But nobody amongst these brave English cooks can kittle up his Majesty's most sacred palate with our own gusty Scottish dishes.
The Fortunes of Nigel|Sir Walter Scott
I can't,' replied the girl; 'Missis Raddle raked out the kitchen fire afore she went to bed, and locked up the kittle.'
The Pickwick Papers|Charles Dickens
Tha are dredful unhandy tew cook, yu hav tu bile one eend ov them tu a time, yu kant git them awl into a potash kittle tu onst.
Josh Billings, Hiz Sayings|Henry Wheeler Shaw
She has trusted us: but Martha—Well, women are kittle cattle.
Dorothy at Skyrie|Evelyn Raymond

It is a long and rather kittle word, but it is the only one that we have.
Health|John Brown

British Dictionary definitions for kittle

kittle

/ (ˈkɪtəl) Scot /

adjective

capricious and unpredictable

verb

to be troublesome or puzzling to (someone)

to tickle

Word Origin for kittle

C16: probably from Old Norse kitla to tickle

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