FromMiddle Englishwithe,withthe, fromOld Englishwiþe,wiþþe(“cord, band, thong, fetter”), fromProto-Germanic*wiþiz,*wiþjǭ(“cord, rope”), fromProto-Indo-European*wéh₁itis(“that which twines”), from*weyt-(“that which winds or bends, branch, switch”), fromProto-Indo-European*wey-(“to turn, wind, bend”). Cognate withDanishvidje(“wicker”),Swedishvidja(“withe, wicker, osier”),Icelandicvið,viðja(“a withe”),Latinvītis(“vine”),Russianветвь(vetvʹ,“branch, bough, limb”).Doublet ofvice(“a type of tool, etc.”). The brickwork and chimney architecture senses may have a different etymology, seewythe.
withe (pluralwithes)
- Aflexible,slendershoot ortwig, especially whenused as aband or forbinding; awithy.
- Synonym:(obsolete or dialectal)winding
1810, Washington Irving,The Legend of Sleepy Hollow:It was most ingeniously secured at vacant hours, by awithe twisted in the handle of the door, and stakes set against the window-shutters; […]
- A band of twisted twigs.
- An elastic handle to a tool to save the hand from the shock of blows.
- (nautical) An iron attachment on one end of amast orboom, with a ring, through which another mast or boom is rigged out and secured.
1841, Richard Henry Dana,The Seaman's Friend:Some short topgallant masts are rigged with a withe on the after part of the mast-head, through which a sliding-gunter royal-mast is run up, with its heel resting in a step on the topmast cap.
- (masonry)Alternative spelling ofwythe(“single section of bricks one unit thick”).
1937,American Architect and Architecture:[…] singlewithe of brick laid flat in common bond reinforced vertically by 8" piers
1973,Encyclopaedia Britannica:[…] brick (singlewithe), one brick (twowithes) or a brick-and-a-half thick. At the University of Virginia, Charlottesville , Thomas Jefferson demonstrated beautifully that a singlewithe of brick was adequate for […]
1994, James T. Frane,Craftsman's Illustrated Dictionary of Construction Terms, Craftsman Book Company,→ISBN, page162:[…] single-withe construction using concrete masonry units with the voids on the ends […]
1994, Comité euro-international du béton,Fastenings to Concrete and Masonry Structures: State of the Art Report, Thomas Telford,→ISBN:[…] single-withe, or barrier, wall. Multiple-withe walls are also constructed, and can consist of composite brick-block walls or cavity walls.
2001, Association for Preservation Technology,Bulletin - Association for Preservation Technology:[…] singlewithe of fired brick or stone masonry, referred to in Turkish as […]
- (architecture)Alternative spelling ofwythe(“partition betweenflues in achimney”).
1920, National Board of Fire Underwriters. Committee on Construction of Buildings,An ordinance for construction of chimneys suitable for use in cities and towns of any size or as a state law, page 5:... chimney space, and the joints of any two adjoining sets of flue linings shall be offset at least 7 inches. When there are more than two flues in a chimney, each third flue shall be separated from the others by awithe or division […]
1922,Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning Guide, page40:... flue intended for a heating furnace or boiler connection, or for a fireplace, shall be separated from other flues by such awithe. In hollow tile chimneys thewithe may be of tile.
2002, L. O. Anderson,Wood - Frame House Construction, The Minerva Group, Inc.,→ISBN, page182:... flues should be separated by a 4-inch-wide brick spacer (withe) between them (fig. 170, A). The greater the difference in temperature between chimney gases and outside atmosphere, the better the draft.
withe (third-person singular simple presentwithes,present participlewithing,simple past and past participlewithed)
- (transitive) Tobind withwithes.
1862,James Fenimore Cooper,The Deerslayer, page341:As soon as the body of Deerslayer waswithed in bark sufficiently to create a lively sense of helplessness, he was literally carried to a young tree, and bound against it, in a way that effectually prevented it from moving,
1888, Virgil Chittenden Hart,Western China: a journey to the great Buddhist centre of Mount Omei, page132:These frames are usually constructed of rough trees tightlywithed and wedged together.
1890, Edward Augustus Samuels,With fly-rod and camera, page184:The strips are first laid on the back and two sides of the shanty, and are kept smooth and in proper position by poles laid across them andwithed down to the frame.
1913, Newton Horace Winchell with Minnesota Historical Society,The weathering of aboriginal stone artifacts, no. 1, page121:If it werewithed by the aborigine it would have formed an effective and dangerous weapon, either in the chase of the large beasts with which he was contemporary or in war against his human enemies.
- (transitive) Tobeat withwithes.
1888 June 30, Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia., “State v. Davis.”, inThe Southeastern reporter, volume 7:Question. Did you hear of the circumstances of William Davis having been whipped on the 5th day of December, the day before the cutting took place? Answer Yes, sir; I did that evening, when he came home. Q. Did you examine where he had beenwithed? A. Yes, sir.
1901, Oren Frederic Morton,Winning or losing?: a story of the West Virginia Hills:"He'll trim you up for tossing Suse that note," said Am Bayne to his own companion. / "Ye-es, and you'll get awithing, too," declared the other.
1913, Richard Nye Price,Holston Methodism, volume 4, page494:After I was on they commencedwithing my horse to make him go faster, but I reined him up; ... They then commencedwithing me around the shoulders, saying it would have a better effect than to whip the horse.
