withe

[ with, with, wahyth ]

noun
  1. a willow twig or osier.

  2. any tough, flexible twig or stem suitable for binding things together.

  1. an elastic handle for a tool, to lessen shock occurring in use.

  2. a partition dividing flues of a chimney.

verb (used with object),withed, with·ing.
  1. to bind with withes.

Origin of withe

1
before 1000; Middle English, Old English withthe; akin to Old Norse vīthirwithy, Gothic kunawida chain, Latin viēre to weave together

Words Nearby withe

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use withe in a sentence

  • Please cut down a hickory withe, and peel the bark off for me, while I hold its legs.

    Wild Western Scenes | John Beauchamp Jones
  • Nathelesse she holdyng that place givethe others for to signyfie; for withe-out cifre or cifres a pure article may not be writte.

  • It was Wastei, and he carried in his hand a magnificent string of trout, threaded by the gills upon a willow withe.

    Greifenstein | F. Marion Crawford
  • Others are used in handles, either fastened with gum, or consisting of a withe passed round the stone and tied underneath.

    The Evolution of Culture | Augustus Henry Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers
  • We hooked ourselves to the withe and made lively tracks to the shanty, where we could talk and laugh of the day's hunt.

    Fifty Years a Hunter and Trapper | Eldred Nathaniel Woodcock

British Dictionary definitions for withe

withe

/ (wɪθ, wɪð, waɪð) /


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

  1. a handle made of elastic material, fitted on some tools to reduce the shock during use

  2. 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

Origin of withe

1
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