wattle

views updated May 29 2018

wat·tle1 / ˈwätl/ • n. 1. a material for making fences, walls, etc., consisting of rods or stakes interlaced with twigs or branches. 2. chiefly Austral. an acacia.• v. [tr.] make, enclose, or fill up with wattle.wat·tle2 • n. a colored fleshy lobe hanging from the head or neck of domestic chickens, turkeys, and some other birds.DERIVATIVES: wat·tled adj.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

wattle

views updated May 29 2018

wattle In birds, a bare, fleshy area of skin, often highly coloured and pendulous, that usually hangs from the gape, around the eye, or on the throat. Wattles are used mainly in display and some are moulted annually.

A Dictionary of Zoology MICHAEL ALLABY

wattle

views updated May 18 2018

wattle1 (pl. and coll. sg.) stakes intertwined with twigs or branches used as fencing, etc. OE. watul, of uncert. orig.
Hence vb. XIV.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

wattle

views updated Jun 11 2018

wattle2 fleshy lobe pendent from the head or neck of poultry, etc. XVI. of unkn. orig.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

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