Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Whittle \Whit"tle\, n. [AS. hw[=i]tel, from hwit white; akin to
   Icel. hv[=i]till a white bed cover. See {White}.]
   (a) A grayish, coarse double blanket worn by countrywomen, in
       the west of England, over the shoulders, like a cloak or
       shawl. --C. Kingsley.
   (b) Same as {Whittle shawl}, below.

   {Whittle shawl}, a kind of fine woolen shawl, originally and
      especially a white one.

Whittle \Whit"tle\, n. [OE. thwitel, fr. AS. pw[=i]tan to cut.
   Cf. {Thwittle}, {Thwaite} a piece of ground.]
   A knife; esp., a pocket, sheath, or clasp knife. ``A
   butcher's whittle.'' --Dryden. ``Rude whittles.'' --
   Macaulay.

         He wore a Sheffield whittle in his hose. --Betterton.

Whittle \Whit"tle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Whittled}; p. pr. & vb.
   n. {Whittling}.]
   1. To pare or cut off the surface of with a small knife; to
      cut or shape, as a piece of wood held in the hand, with a
      clasp knife or pocketknife.

   2. To edge; to sharpen; to render eager or excited; esp., to
      excite with liquor; to inebriate. [Obs.]

            ``In vino veritas.'' When men are well whittled,
            their tongues run at random.          --Withals.

Whittle \Whit"tle\, v. i.
   To cut or shape a piece of wood with am small knife; to cut
   up a piece of wood with a knife.

         Dexterity with a pocketknife is a part of a Nantucket
         education; but I am inclined to think the propensity is
         national. Americans must and will whittle. --Willis.

Source : WordNet®

whittle
     v : cut small bits or pare shavings from; "whittle a piece of
         wood" [syn: {pare}]