E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Whittle (A).
A knife. (Anglo-Saxon hwytel, a knife; hwæt, sharp or keen.)
1
“Walter de Aldeham holds land of the king in the More, in the county of Salop, by the service of paying to the king yearly at his exchequer two knives [whittles], whereof one ought to be of that value or goodness that at the first stroke it would cut asunder in the middle a hasle-rod of a year’s growth, and of the length of a cubit, which service ought to be … on the morrow of St. Michael … The said knives [whittles] to be delivered to the chamberlain to keep for the king’s use.”—Blount: Ancient Tenures.
