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whippletree

[hwip-uh l-tree, wip-]
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noun Northern U.S.
  1. whiffletree.
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Origin of whippletree

1725–35; whipple (see whip, -le) + tree
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for whippletree

Historical Examples

  • The whippletree, dangling from the end over the beaten circular track, seemed cracked with heat and age.

    Foes in Ambush

    Charles King

  • Twelve “Swingle trees” (whippletree, whiffletree, singletree) are listed in the inventory.

  • After three quarters of an hour or so I was suddenly startled alert by hearing the squeak-squeak of a whippletree out on the lawn.

British Dictionary definitions for whippletree

whippletree

noun
  1. another name for swingletree
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Word Origin

C18: apparently from whip
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