spitn.¹

Forms: α. Old English spitu, Middle English (1500s Scottish) spite, Middle English spyte. β. Middle English–1500s spete, Middle English speete, 1500s speet; ScottishMiddle English–1600s speit (1500s speite, speitt), speat (1800s speate), 1700s–1800s speet. γ. Middle English–1500s spet, Middle English spette. δ. Middle English–1500s spitte, 1500s–1700s spitt, Middle English– spit; Middle English–1500s spytt(e, 1500s spyt.

Etymology: Old English spitu, = Middle Dutch spit, spet (Flemish, Dutch, West Frisian spit), Middle Low German spit (spyt), spet (Low German spit, spet, speet, etc.), Old High German and Middle High German spiz (obsolete German spisz, spiss, etc.; German spiess); Middle Swedish spit (Swedish spett) and Danish spid are from Low German By adoption into Romanic the word appears as Italian (Naples dialect) spito, Spanish espeto, Portuguese espeto spit, French épois (plural) the points of a deer's horn.

a. A cooking implement consisting of a slender sharp-pointed rod of metal or wood, used for thrusting into or through meat which is to be roasted at a fire; a broach.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > cooking vessel or pot > [noun] > spit

spitc1000

broach?a1400

obelisk1634

broacher1700

α.

c1000 Ælfric Gram. (Z.) xi. 80 Ueru, spitu.

c1000 Ælfric Gram. xiv. 89 Ueribus, spitum.

a1100 in Assmann Ags. Hom. xv. 39 Sumne [heo] mid spiten betweon felle & flæsce þurhwræcon.

11.. in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 548 Ueru, spite.

c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 208 Some op-on grediles of Ire i-rostede weren also, Some ase gyes, þe spites of Ire þoruȝ-out heom i-do.

1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 4213 [He had] yspited him þoru out mid an yrene spite & rostede in þis grete fur.

c1340 Nominale (Skeat) 491 Broche, luche et esquele, Spite, ladul and dissch.

a1400 Octouian 122 The kokes knaue, that turneth the spyte.

c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 469 Spyte, for rostynge,..veru.

1480 W. Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxv. 202 They toke a spyte of coper brennyng and put it in to his body.

1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 287 Rosting at the fyre, vpon a spite of trie.

β. a1300 Body & Soul in Map's Poems (Camden) 334 Thine cokes snelle, that scholden..greithe thi mete, With spetes.c1400 Brut (1906) 253 [They] toke a spete of Copur brennyng, & put hit..into his body.c1430 Two Cookery-bks. 8 Put þe porke on a fayre spete, an rost it half y-now.1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid v. ii. 117 Sum vthir..the colis hett Wndir the speitis swakkis.1538 in T. Wright Three Chapters Lett. Suppression Monasteries (1843) 194 ij gret brasse pottys,..spetys, pannys.1676 in Macintosh Anc. Rec. Kirkwall (1892) 78 Ane pair of long caces [read raxes] and ane speit.1679 J. Somerville Memorie Somervilles (1815) I. 240 When any persones of qualitie wer to be with him, he used to wryte in the postscript of his letters, Speates and Raxes.1747 in Minutes of Evid. Nairne Peerage (1873) 80 in Sessional Papers House of Lords (H.L. A) XII. 65 Three speets one shilling sixpence.1824 W. Scott Epist. to Lockhart 42 Speates and raxes ere five [o'clock] for a famishing guest, sir.γ. 1392 Earl Derby's Exp. (Camden) 205 vj spets et meremris pro rakks.1483 Cath. Angl. 355/2 A Spette of flesche, verutum.1559 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 153 A skommer, a spet, a gredyron.1564 in J. Raine Wills & Inventories N. Counties Eng. (1835) I. 219 Tongs, poore, shouell, spet, and that belongs thervnto.δ. 1391 Earl Derby's Exp. (Camden) 102 Pro iiij magnis spittes longis, et ij paruis spittes.a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 13 Rost hit afterwarde.., þen serve þou may Hit forthe, with spit.1495 in W. H. Stevenson Rec. Borough Nottingham (1885) III. 38 Unum spytte cum uno cobberd.1540 in J. W. Clay Testamenta Eboracensia (1902) VI. 119 The gretest yron spit that I have.1553 R. Eden tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. Hij They rosted also mans fleshe vpon spyttes.a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iv. iv. 5 Least that thy Wiues with Spits, and Boyes with stones In puny Battell slay me. 1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd ii. 343 Fowl of game, In pastry built, or from the spit . 1710 S. Palmer Moral Ess. Prov. 107 It ends with poison in the cup, or with the spit in his guts.1740 W. Somervile Hobbinol ii. 131 A Spit he seiz'd, Just reeking from the fat Surloyn.1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas III. ix. ix. 457 We have..wherewithal to keep the spit and the spigot in exercise.1848 E. Bulwer-Lytton Harold I. ii. i. 85 The meats were not placed on the table, but served upon small spits.1870 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer Iliad I. i. 25 Transfixed with spits, And roasted with nice care.figurative.1607 S. Hieron Mariage-blessing in Wks. (1620) I. 413 Thrust through with a spit of reproch.in combination.1617 J. Minsheu Ἡγεμὼν είς τὰς γλῶσσας: Ductor in Linguas A Spitter, a yong male Deere, that beginnes to haue his hornes grow vp sharpe spitwise.

b. to beat (etc.)..with the spit, to treat with unexpected harshness (following upon kindly usage or hospitality). Now only dialect (in transferred use).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > unkindness > [verb (transitive)] > treat with unexpected unkindness

to beat (etc.)‥with the spit1553

1553 T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique 72 b Suche are not to be lyked that geue a man a shoulder of mutton, and breake his heade with the spitte when thei haue doen.

1584 R. Greene Arbasto 26 Thou art bidden to the feast by loue, and art beaten with the spit by beauty.

1674 A. Wood Life & Times (1892) II. 296 He gave me roast meat and beat me with the spit.

1686 A. Wood Life & Times (1894) III. 186 Din'd at the College. [note] ‘Gave me roast-meat and beat me with the spit.’

1690 W. Walker Idiomatologia Anglo-Lat. 43 To bid one to roast and beat him with the spit.

1876 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Words Whitby ‘Nevver invite a friend to a roast and then beat him with the spit,’ do not confer a favor and then make the obligation felt.

c. The contents of a spit. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > food by way of preparation > [noun] > cooked food > food cooked on spit

spit1634

1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 150 They haue Camell or Mutton cut in mammocks or small bits put vpon scuets..rosted in the fire, of this they sell three or foure spits for two pence.

†2.

a. A fin-spine of a fish. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > fish > parts of fish > [noun] > fin or parts of fin

finc1000

spitc1275

ray1668

pinna1688

radius1740

spine1774

interneural1854

fin-ray1863

mesopterygium1871

metapterygium1871

radiale1871

finlet1874

propterygium1876

radial1882

axonost1887

lepidotrichium1904

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 10643 He..bi-haldeð. hu ligeð i þan stræme stelene fisces...þer fleoteð heore spiten swulc hit spæren weoren.

†b. The point of a spear. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > spear or lance > [noun] > head or point

spear-headc1400

spitc1450

spear-pointa1500

endc1540

c1450 Cast. Persev. 1400 in Macro Plays. With spete of spere to þee I spynne; Goddis lawys to þee I lerne.

†3. A straight horizontal stroke used as a mark in books; = obelisk n. 2(a). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > written character > punctuation > [noun] > dash

spita1425

dash1733

swung dash1951

a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Esther x. 3 Which chapitre we bi oure custom han bifor markid with a spite.

1583 W. Fulke Def. Transl. Script. 22 Whatsoeuer is not found in the canon of the Iewes..St. Jerome did thrust through with a spit or obeliske, as not worthy to be receyued.

1608 Bp. J. Hall Epist. I. ii. v. 150 Either your starres or your spits..shall be welcome to my margent.

1610 J. Healey tr. J. L. Vives in tr. St. Augustine Citie of God xviii. xliii. 733 The booke is not corrected but rather corrupted by those asteriskes, and spits.

†a. A slender or sharp-pointed rod. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > types of tools generally > [noun] > in form of bar, pole, rod, etc.

stingc725

stakec893

sowelc900

tree971

rungOE

shaftc1000

staffc1000

stockc1000

poleOE

spritOE

luga1250

lever1297

stanga1300

perchc1300

raftc1330

sheltbeam1336

stower1371

palea1382

spar1388

spire1392

perk1396

ragged staff1397

peela1400

slot1399

plantc1400

heck-stower1401

sparkin1408

cammockc1425

sallow stakec1440

spoke1467

perk treec1480

yard1480

bode1483

spit1485

bolm1513

gada1535

ruttock1542

stob1550

blade1558

wattle1570

bamboo1598

loggat1600

barling1611

sparret1632

picket1687

tringle1706

sprund1736

lug-pole1773

polting lug1789

baton1801

stuckin1809

rack-pin1821

picket-pin1844

I-iron1874

pricker1875

stag1881

podger1888

window pole1888

verge1897

sallow pole1898

lat1899

swizzle-stick1962

the world > space > shape > fact or condition of tapering > condition of tapering to a point > [noun] > pointed object or part > pointed stick

brochette1483

spit1485

1485 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 51 Merlyng Irenes, iiij, Spyttes of Iron, j, Canne hokes, ij.

1577 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Islande Brit. ii. xvi. f. 91^v/1, in R. Holinshed Chron. I In sundry parts of Lancasshyre..the people go..into their Fennes, and Marises with long spittes, which they dashe here and there..into the grounde.

b. Printing. An iron rod carrying the wheel by which the carriage of a hand-press is run out or in.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > printing > printing machine or press > parts of printers or presses > [noun] > carriage > mechanism for moving carriage > part of

rounce1683

spit1728

1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Printing Under the Carriage is fix'd a small piece of Iron call'd the Spit, with a double Wheel in the middle.

1808 C. Stower Printer's Gram. 323 The axis, or spit, is a straight bar of iron,..about three inches longer than the whole breadth of the carriage.

1833 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal II. 210 The handle [of the rounce]..was attached to a rod which crossed the platten; this rod was connected with the spit by means of machinery.

c. A thatching-peg. (Cf. broach n.¹ 5.)

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > [noun] > thatching equipment > pin for fastening down thatch

prayeOE

strabrod1335

broachc1440

thack-broach1573

thatch-prick1688

thack-prick1828

scollop1829

spit1833

stob1837

thack-nail1846

thack-peg1846

thack-pin1846

thatching-stake1879

thatch-hook1886

thatch-peg1897

1833 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Cottage Archit. §122 These are fastened to the thatch, by staples, or spits, or broaches.

1901 Notes & Queries 9th Ser. 8 178 The owner thought I meant the thatch~pegs, which held the thatch down, so he said, ‘Speets’.

d. A rod or skewer on which fish are strung and hung up to dry. (Cf. broach n.¹ 2b.)

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > cooking vessel or pot > [noun] > spit > for smoking or drying

spit1833

stringer1893

1833 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Cottage Archit. §739 In the neighbourhood of Aberdeen, and in various places in the north of Scotland, haddocks are strung up on rods called spits.

1865 W. White Eastern Eng. I. 146 These open partitions or racks are called ‘loves’. They support the speets, which are sticks or laths, long enough to lie across from one to the other.

1883 R. Haldane Workshop Receipts 2nd Ser. 443 Each fish (herring) is then threaded through the gills, on long thin spits holding 25 each.

e. A shuttle-pin.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > general equipment > [noun] > harness of draught animal > fastening for harness

shuttle-pin1587

spit1875

1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2279.

f. An instrument used by Customs officers for probing and examining cargo.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > duty on goods > imposition or collecting of duties on goods > [noun] > search or examination of goods or vessels > one who > instrument used by

spit1925

1925 Chambers's Jrnl. 19 Sept. 668/1 A barbed ‘spit’ is used for examining cotton, wool, and various coarse goods, so that a portion of the interior may be drawn out. A flat, wooden ‘spit’ is used in the examination of rolls of carpet, cloth, linoleum... A short, fine ‘spit’ is used for probing the stuffing and packing in and around furniture.

1970 M. Greener Penguin Dict. Commerce 310 Spit, a weapon used by Customs authorities to discover whether dutiable goods are hidden in other cargo.

5. A sword. (Chiefly contemptuous.)

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > side arms > sword > [noun]

sword971

brandOE

edgeOE

ironOE

brandelletc1325

garec1330

toolc1386

brank1480

tranchefera1533

flatchet1577

Morglay1582

smiter1591

brandiron1596

Toledo1601

machaira1614

spit-frog1615

toasting-irona1616

spit1642

bilbo1676

porker1688

tilter1688

degen1699

spurtlec1700

toaster1751

toasting-fork1807

slasher1815

cheese-cutter1824

khanda1825

cheese-toaster1858

windlestraw1895

1642 in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. IV. 316 So that the vapour is all frenchified, With out-stucke bomm, streight breech, and spit at side.

1681 T. Otway Souldiers Fortune ii. i. 21 I know five or six more of the same stamp; that never came abroad without terrible long Spits by their sides.

1734 H. Fielding Don Quixote in Eng. ii. v. 30 Throw by your Spit, Sir; throw by your Spit, and I don't fear you.

1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones V. xv. v. 230 Don't think I am afraid of such a Fellow as thee art? Because [thou] hast a got a Spit there dangling at thy Side.

1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue Spit, a sword.

1871 B. Taylor tr. J. W. von Goethe Faust I. xix. 207 Out with your spit, without delay! You've but to lunge, and I will parry.

a. A small, low point or tongue of land, projecting into the water; a long narrow reef, shoal, or sandbank extending from the shore.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > land > land mass > shore or bank > promontory, headland, or cape > [noun] > spit

pinnaclec1330

hook1600

languet1610

spit1673

pier1768

1673 E. Hickeringill Gregory 138 That sand with the two horns is the spits.

1764 J. Byron Voy. (1773) I. 27 They drew up upon a stoney spit, which ran a good way into the sea.

1775 B. Romans Conc. Nat. Hist. E. & W. Florida App. 72 Off of the Look-out on St. Rosa Island lies a spit, which you must avoid.

1802 Naval Chron. 8 211 Above the third buoy..lies a dangerous spit.

1859 in Mercantile Marine Mag. (1860) 7 110 The spit or horn..extends 1½ miles.

1871 B. Taylor tr. J. W. von Goethe Faust II. ii. iii. 192 Around yon narrow spit the waves are rippling.

b. Const. of (land, sand, etc.).

ΚΠ

1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World xvi. 461 It is a small spit of hand [Errata:sand], just appearing above the waters edge.

1727 A. Hamilton New Acct. E. Indies I. xxvii. 343 There are..several Spits of Sand jetting a pretty Way into the Sea from Points of Land.

1836 W. Irving Astoria I. 132 The entrance from the sea..is bounded on the south side by a flat sandy spit of land, stretching into the ocean.

1863 S. Baring-Gould Iceland 112 A long spit of black rubble round which the lake curls.

1884 Contemp. Rev. Aug. 325 The old town..stood on an insulated spit of shore.

Compounds

Special combinations:

spit-boot n. a boot or gaiter fastening by means of an iron spike (obsolete dialect).

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for legs > [noun] > gaiter or legging > types of

cockerc1390

startup1625

spatterdasher1684

spatterdash1687

spatter-lash1688

spit-boot1707

splatterdash1772

spat1802

spring gaiter1846

bootleg1875

upper1889

spatter1898

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > footwear > shoe or boot > boot > [noun] > fastened in specific way

cockerc1390

spit-boot1707

wrapper1808

wrapping boot1808

button boot1831

Balmoral1857

1707 N. Blundell Diary (1895) 55 A pair of Spit-Boots.

1729 P. Walkden Diary 15 Sept. (1866) (modernized text) 43 Bought a pair of bellows and spit boot spurs.

1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Spit-boots, a species of boot, now very rarely in use. They opened on the outside of the leg. When put on, they were secured at the bottom by a sharp iron spit or spike, which passed into an iron socket.

1851 Gloss. Provinc. Words Cumberland Spit-boots, heavy leather gaiters with iron fastenings.

† spit-file n. Obsolete (see quot. 1688).

ΚΠ

1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory (1905) iii. xxii. 272/1 A Spit file..is an Iron rod thicker then a good wyer; it is bent a little from the handle to a square and then runs out streight.

† spit-fish n. [compare Middle Swedish spitfisk, German spiessfisch] Obsolete the sea-pike.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > order Atheriniformes > [noun] > member of family Belonidae (gar-fish)

horn-fishOE

hornkeckc1425

garfishc1440

horn-stocka1485

green-bone1525

hornbeak1565

thorn-beak1570

horn-back1598

needlefish1601

spit-fish1601

sea-needle1603

ganefish1611

snacot-fish1611

greenbacka1682

bill-fisha1757

gar1767

sea-pike1769

saury1771

gar-pike1776

sea-snipea1832

mackerel guide1835

long-nose1836

gore-fish1839

gorebill1862

mackerel-scout1880

Long Tom1881

snipe-eel1882

1601 R. Chester Loves Martyr 100 Here swimmes the Shad, the Spitfish, and the Spurling.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Spet,..a slender, long,..blackish-backt sea-fish, called by some the Spit-fish, and by others..the sea-Pike.

1668 W. Charleton Onomasticon Zoicon 136 Lucius Marinus, the Sea-Pike, or Spitt-Fish.

spit-jack n. a spit with a turning mechanism (see quot. 1967).

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > cooking vessel or pot > [noun] > roasting-jack

wheeler dog1379

Jack1391

spit-turner?a1500

turnspit1606

hanging jack1660

turnspit-jack1674

smoke-jack1676

roasting-jack1698

water-jack1807

bottle jack1810

spit-jack1967

1967 Antique Finder Aug. 11/3 Spit jacks... These mechanisms were fitted on the wall at the side of the fireplace in order to rotate the carcass in front of the fire. A heavy weight was suspended from a cord and wound over the cylinder. The power was conveyed by a series of cogged wheels to another cylinder connected by a cord with a grooved disc on the end of the spit itself, which it slowly turned.

1971 R. Howe Mrs Groundes-Peace's Old Cookery Notebk. 65 There was the ‘spit-jack’, a weight-driven spit, considered in the sixteenth century as a labour-saving device.

† spit-nose n. Obsolete a species of Oxyrhynchus.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > subclass Actinopterygii > superorder Osteoglossomorpha (bonytongues) > [noun] > order Mormyriformes > member of family Mormyridae

oxyrhynchus1603

spit-nose1668

mormyrus1706

mormyr1890

oxyrhynch1890

mormyrid1896

1668 W. Charleton Onomasticon Zoicon 156 Oxyrincus Rondeletii,..the Spitnose.

spit-point n. a sharp slender point.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > shape > fact or condition of tapering > condition of tapering to a point > [noun] > a point

pointc1300

neb?a1425

peakc1450

peck1481

cag1604

sharp1633

acuminate1640

cuspis1646

cusp1647

acumination1651

nib1713

spit-point1796

1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) III. 609 Leaves..ending in spit~points.

spit-pointed adj. having a point like a spit.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > shape > fact or condition of tapering > condition of tapering to a point > [adjective] > having (a) point(s)

piked?a1300

pickedc1450

needle-pointed1565

thorny-pointed1594

long-nebbed1649

fitchy1650

cuspidated1668

spit-pointed1796

pin-pointed1859

needlenose1911

1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) III. 855 Leaves..narrow, spit-pointed.

† spit-rack n. Obsolete a rack used for supporting a spit or spits.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > cooking vessel or pot > [noun] > roasting-jack > parts of

dog-wheel1592

jack weight1642

flyer1674

jack-pulley1675

spit-wheel1678

tumbler1678

spit-rack1693

jack flyer1731

1693 T. Urquhart & P. A. Motteux tr. F. Rabelais 3rd Bk. Wks. xxxviii. 318 Spitrack fool.

1828 P. F. Tytler Hist. Scotl. I. 399 About a thousand spit racks, with meat on them.

† spit-staff n. Obsolete (?).

ΚΠ

1608 D. Wedderburn Compt Bk. (S.H.S.) 113 A speit staf and carvit wark thairon.

† spit-turner n. Obsolete a device for turning a spit.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > cooking vessel or pot > [noun] > roasting-jack

wheeler dog1379

Jack1391

spit-turner?a1500

turnspit1606

hanging jack1660

turnspit-jack1674

smoke-jack1676

roasting-jack1698

water-jack1807

bottle jack1810

spit-jack1967

?a1500 Nominale (Yale Beinecke 594) in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 770 Hic veruvertor, a spete~turnere.

† spit-wheel n. Obsolete a wheel serving to turn a spit.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > cooking vessel or pot > [noun] > roasting-jack > parts of

dog-wheel1592

jack weight1642

flyer1674

jack-pulley1675

spit-wheel1678

tumbler1678

spit-rack1693

jack flyer1731

1678 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. iii. 47 The Wood work belonging to a Jack, is a Barrel, a Spit-wheel, and a Handle of the Winch.

1776 J. Hawkins Gen. Hist. Music I. 335 The dog who treads the spit-wheel.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

spitn.²

Brit.

/spɪt/, U.S.

/spɪt/

Forms: Also Middle English spyt.

Etymology: < spit v.² Compare spet n.¹ and Danish spyt (North Frisian spiit).

a. The fluid secreted by the glands of the mouth, esp. when ejected; saliva, spittle; a clot of this.See also cuckoo-spit n.¹, frog-spit.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > excretions > slaver > [noun] > spittle

spattlec897

spoldOE

spattlingc1000

speche?c1225

spita1300

spittinga1300

spotec1350

spittle1481

spettlea1500

salivation1601

spawlings1614

spawl1647

expectoration1650

snivel1698

slabber1718

outspitting1870

a1300 Cursor Mundi 24085 Þai sput on him þair spit.

c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 469 Spyt, or spotle, sputum, screa, saliva.

c1530 Hours of Blessed Virgin 78 His face w^th spit defil'd.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Crachat, spittle, or spit; also, a spitting.

1633 P. Fletcher Poeticall Misc. 95 in Purple Island See how with streams of spit th' are drencht.

1702 J. Floyer Anc. Ψυχρολουσία Revived ii. 54 Temperate Bathing..ripens the Spit, and helps it up.

1747 tr. J. Astruc Academical Lect. Fevers 291 The yellow spits generally expectorated in a peripneumony.

1865 Morning Star 7 Jan. The presence of ‘stour’, or dust,..the particles of which..manifest themselves in what is called the ‘black spit’.

1904 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 10 Sept. 35 The spit ceased to be fetid.

b. Pathology. Spitting due to morbid condition.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > discharge or flux > [noun] > sputum

sputum1684

spit1897

1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. II. 967 The men become prematurely old; they suffer from cough and spit.

c. spit and sawdust: the floor covering (esp. formerly) typical of the general bar of a public house (see quot. 1937); hence, the bar itself. Frequently attributive (also transferred). Cf. sawdust n. 3.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > drink > drinking > drinking place > [noun] > tap-room or bar

tapstryc1460

ale stand1588

tap1725

bar-room1797

taproom1807

estaminet1814

saloon1841

sample room1865

cantina1892

mahogany1896

beverage room1936

spit and sawdust1937

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > floor-covering > [noun] > floorcloth > types of

wax-cloth1816

linoleum1878

corticine1880

cork carpet1906

lino1907

cork lino1909

spit and sawdust1937

1937 E. Partridge Dict. Slang Add. 995/1 Spit and sawdust, a general saloon in a public-house: C. 20. Ex the sawdust sprinkled on the floor and the spitting on to the sawdust.

1969 D. Clark Death after Evensong ii. 40 Where shall I start? In the spit and sawdust? I take it you'll do the saloon bar yourself.

1971 R. Busby Deadlock x. 158 The Porter's Arms, a spit and sawdust public house near the markets.

1972 Guardian 24 Feb. 10/2 Pub styles polarize into ‘Spit and Sawdust’..and ‘Architects' Fanciful’.

1976 Rhyl Jrnl. & Advertiser 9 Dec. 1/1 He thought that a ‘rough and ready, spit and sawdust affair’ could be produced and made available for consideration at the council's estimates meetings.

1977 Lancashire Life Mar. 58/2 They also convert buildings into billiard clubs, where the decor is attractive and the spit-and-sawdust era is just a memory.

a. The act of spitting; an instance of this.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > action of slavering > [noun] > action of spitting

spattlingc1000

spitting13..

spoutingc1390

avoidancea1398

spetinga1400

spet1446

spettingc1450

excreationa1556

spawling1608

exspuition1650

exsputation1657

sputation1657

sputtering1699

spit1700

1700 C. Nesse Antidote against Arminianism 23 Fortune..is but the Devil's Blasphemous Spitt upon Divine Providence.

1763 C. Johnstone Reverie (new ed.) I. 143 I began to hope that I should come off with a spit in the face, or a kick on the breech at worst.

1853 E. FitzGerald Lett. (1889) I. 224 The Athenaeum in which you will see a more determined spit at me.

1896 Daily News 19 May 8/1 Whenever Masai retire from a conference without spitting the spit of peace, squalls may be expected.

in extended use.1882 Proc. Royal Geogr. Soc. 4 471 [There was] a little spit from a Mahratta musket.

b. a spit and a stride, a very short distance.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > distance > [noun] > a short distance

wurpc950

stepc1000

footc1300

furlong wayc1384

stone-casta1387

straw brede14..

tinec1420

weec1420

field-breadth1535

field-broad1535

pair of butts1545

straw-breadth1577

stone's throw1581

way-bit?1589

space1609

piece1612

littlea1616

spirt1670

a spit and a stride1676

hair's breadth1706

rope's length1777

biscuit throw1796

a whoop and a holler1815

biscuit toss1836

biscuit cast1843

stone-shot1847

pieceway1886

stone-put1896

pitch-and-putt1925

pieceways1932

1676 C. Cotton Compl. Angler 23 You are now..within a spit, and a stride of the peak.

1676 Poor Robins Intelligence 4 Apr. 1/1 He had not gone above a spit and a stride but he meets another arch Wag.

1677 W. Hughes Man of Sin i. x. 44 They, I think, out-spake him, a spit and stride, who prayed unto the Pope [etc.].

1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2)

c. to go for the big spit: to vomit. Australian slang.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > digestive disorders > have digestive disorder [verb (intransitive)] > vomit

spewc897

vomea1382

brake1393

perbreak?a1400

castc1440

envomish1480

parbreak1495

vomita1500

to cast the crawa1529

to cast (up), heave, spue up, vomit one's gorgea1529

galpa1535

to cast out1561

puke1586

purge1596

void1605

to jerk, shoot, whip the cat1609

rid1647

to flay the fox1653

posset1781

to shoot the cat1785

to throw up1793

throw1804

cascade1805

reject1822

yark1867

sick1924

to toss (also shoot, blow, etc.) one's cookies1927

to lose a dinner (or a meal)1941

to spew one's ring1949

chunder1950

barf1960

upchuck1960

yuck1963

ralph1966

to go for the big spit1967

vom1991

1967 F. Hardy Billy Borker yarns Again 40 Don't tell me the Gargler went for the big spit.

1970 Private Eye 10 Apr. 16 He goes for the big spit and accidentally entombs a nice old lady and her dog in tepid chuck.

1975 R. Beilby Brown Land Crying 225 Goin' for the big spit, was I? I don't remember.

a. the very spit of, the exact image, likeness, or counterpart of (a person, etc.). Also, the (dead) spit of. colloquial.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > relationship > similarity > [phrase] > similar

the make1539

eiusdem generis1663

the very spit of1825

spit and image1859

the (dead) spit of1885

the dead ring1899

1825 A. Knapp & W. Baldwin Newgate Cal. III. 497/2 A daughter,..the very spit of the old captain.

1836 T. Hook Gilbert Gurney I. 202 You are a queer fellow—the very spit of your father.

1885 H. Caine Shadow of Crime II. xxvi. 129 A brother..the spit of hissel'.

1886 K. S. Macquoid Sir J. Appleby III. x. 143 This young chap has got his dear grandmother's eyes, why, he's the very spit of her.

1901 E. W. Hornung Black Mask 37 I'll chance you having another ring..the dead spit of mine.

1921 ‘K. Mansfield’ Let. Sept. (1977) 232 One of his [sc. Cézanne's] men gave me quite a shock. He's the spit of a man I've just written about, one Jonathan Trout.

1936 M. de la Roche Whiteoak Harvest v. 98 Easy for a boy to look like his grandmother. There was Renny—the spit of old Gran!

1953 A. Upfield Murder must Wait xvii. 154 The son's the dead spit of the old man.

1966 ‘L. Lane’ ABZ of Scouse 25 That ther kid's ther dead spit of 'is gramp.

b. With addition of fetch, image, picture. spit and image: see also image n. 7. Also spit image and absol. spit. Cf. the (later) forms spitten image, spitting image n. at spitting adj. Compounds 2, spitting adj. Compounds 2 respectively.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > relationship > similarity > [phrase] > similar

the make1539

eiusdem generis1663

the very spit of1825

spit and image1859

the (dead) spit of1885

the dead ring1899

the world > relative properties > relationship > similarity > [noun] > image of a person or thing

print1340

imagec1384

similitude?a1425

picturec1475

similitudeness1547

portrait1567

idol1590

model1594

self-imagea1672

duplicate1701

moral1751

ditto1776

fetch1787

double1798

fetch-like1841

splitting image1880

spitting image1901

spit1929

split-image1950

clone1977

the world > relative properties > relationship > imitation > [noun] > action of repeating in a copy or making a copy > duplicate or exact copy

counterpanec1475

counterparta1676

facsimile1691

duplicate1701

rescript1729

double1798

reduplicate1803

duplication1872

dupe1916

carbon copy1926

spit1929

clone1977

1859 G. A. Sala Gaslight & Daylight xxix. 334 He would be the very spit and fetch of Queen Cleopatra.

1869 in Eng. Dial. Dict. ).

1895 E. Castle Light of Scarthey vi. 71 She's like the poor lady that's dead and gone, the spit an' image she is.

1929 J. B. Priestley Good Compan. i. v. 166 That's theirs... It's the spit image o' yours, too.

1949 Penguin New Writing 36 35 My husband saw a man that was the spit-image of King no further away than Jackson.

1966 New Statesman 18 Feb. 235/1 For most of the last two acts he's catapulted in and out of doors, changing on the way into the cheerfully sodden porter of the bordel who happens to be his spit.

4. A slight sprinkle or shower of rain or snow.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > rain > [noun] > a or the fall of rain > shower > slight

spitting1707

smur1830

skit1847

spit1849

skiff1895

whisp1923

1849 G. Cupples Green Hand iv, in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Sept. 320/1 The night was quite dark, the rain coming in sudden spits out of the wind.

1851 T. J. Taylor Operat. Running Streams 33 On the occurrence of a thunder spit.

1889 F. M. Peard Paul's Sister III. xxvi. 138 The day was mild,..with occasional spit of rain.

Compounds

C1. General attributive.

spit-venom n.

ΚΠ

1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. ii. 6 The spit-venome of their poisoned harts breaketh out to the annoyance of others.

C2.

spit-box n. a spittoon.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > cleaning or cleanliness of the person > [noun] > spittoon

spittery1693

cuspidor1779

spit-box1833

spittoon1840

salivarium1883

1833 M. Scott Tom Cringle's Log xxiii, in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Aug. 141/2 There was no paucity of silver dishes; basins, spitboxes, censers, and utensils of all shapes..and sizes.

1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xxii. 222 Having a large spit-box always under the steps.

1890 J. Cagney tr. R. von Jaksch Clin. Diagnosis iv. 88 The sputum has a rusty tinge.., and adheres firmly to the spit-box.

spit-curl n. originally U.S. (see quots.).

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > hair > hair of head > curl > [noun]

feak1548

lovelock1592

crisple1594

curl1604

cockle1608

crisp1638

ringlet1645

cockera1653

heartbreaker1654

moustache1662

confidenta1685

cruchea1685

passagerea1685

favourite1690

wimpler1724

cannon1774

whisker1786

favori1801

curlet1803

tendril1814

sausage curl1828

spit-curl1831

crimp1855

curdle1860

number sices1861

whiskerette1880

the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > [noun] > curled or frizzed style > a curl

crocket1303

crookc1308

crotchet1589

lock1601

bergera1685

beau-catcher1818

sausage curl1828

spit-curl1831

crimp1855

kiss-curl1856

follow-me-lads1862

Alexandra curl1863

bob-curl1867

pin-curl1873

Montague1881

quiff1890

kiss-me-quick1893

1831 Boston Transcript 9 Sept. 2/1 What would the reverend Doctor say of the ‘spit curls’, and Chinese precision of a modern dandyzette's head gear?

1857 M. J. Holmes Meadow-Brook ii Arranging just in front of her ears two spit curls, sometimes called ‘beau catchers’.

1859 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (ed. 2) 435 Spit-curl, a detached lock of hair curled upon the temple; probably from having been at first plastered into shape by the saliva.

1872 M. S. De Vere Americanisms 324 The female ornament..is the spit-curl.

1903 J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley Slang VI. ii. 314/1 Spit-curl, subs. phr. (costers').—A curl lying flat on the temple; a soap-curl.

1957 L. Durrell Justine i. 37 A spitcurl at each temple.

1968 J. Ironside Fashion Alphabet 198 Spit curls, small curls brought forward on to the cheek, often moistened with ‘spit’.

spit-insect n. †(a) (see quot. 1755); (b) the cuckoo-spit insect, Philænus spumarius; cf. spittle bug n. at spittle n.² Compounds 1.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > subclass Pterygota > [noun] > division Exopterygota or Hemimetabola > order Hemiptera > suborder Homoptera > family Cicadidae

cicada?a1475

cigala1484

bow-krickel1658

locust1709

harvest-fly1753

spit-insect1755

tettix1775

balm-cricket1783

cicala1821

tree-hopper1836

cicad1855

knife-grinder1859

scissors-grinder1875

jar-fly1880

squeaker1887

New Forest cicada1978

the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > subclass Pterygota > [noun] > division Exopterygota or Hemimetabola > order Hemiptera > suborder Homoptera > member of family Cercopidae (spit-insects)

wood-sear1585

froghopper?1711

froth-insect1774

froth-worm1774

froth-frog-hopper1816

froth-fly1864

spittle bug1882

spit-insect1950

1755 Dict. Arts & Sci. IV Spit-insect, in zoology, the cicada with brown wings, and two white spots on them, and a double white line.

1950 J. Brooke Goose Cathedral iv. 82 Little green spit-insects dropped out of the tamarisks into one's cup.

spit-kid n. Nautical a receptacle for spit.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > smoking > articles or materials used in smoking > [noun] > receptacle for spit

spit-kid1891

1891 Cent. Dict. (at cited word) Spitkid.

1898 R. Kipling Fleet in Being 13 After dinner, as they were smoking above the spit-kids.

Draft additions September 2016

spit-up n. North American an instance of regurgitation by a baby; (now) liquid regurgitated by a baby after eating.

ΚΠ

1962 Daily Courier (Connellsville, Pa.) 4 June 5/3 It [sc. bicarbonate of soda] absorbs the milk's fat content and counteracts the acid odor of a spit-up.

1977 Sunday Chron.-Telegram (Elyria, Ohio) 2 Jan. (Sunday Scene) 2/3 Reverse the procedure and you could regret it if the burp becomes a spit-up.

1986 Chicago Tribune 13 July x. 5/1 Nearly everyone can recognize a mother when he sees one. Sometimes it's the spit-up on the shoulders of the very young ones that gives it away.

1994 J. Updike Brazil xvi. 133 Their tantrums and tumbles, their colic and spit-up, their hunger and excrement.

2007 M. Francis Everything Health Guide Postpartum Care xiv. 206 Remember that dark colors will show spit-up, so you may want to go with..less-flattering light patterns that hide the spit-up.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

spitn.³

Forms: Also 1800s dialect speet.

Etymology: < Middle Dutch or Middle Low German spit (Dutch, Low German, West Frisian spit , North Frisian spet , spatt ; also Middle Dutch speet , Middle Low German spêdt ): see spit v.³

1. Such a depth of earth as is pierced by the full length of a spade-blade; a spade-graft:

a. Followed by adjectives, esp. deep.The singular is sometimes used after numerals instead of the plural.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > [noun] > digging > digging to spade depth > spade's depth

spade-graft1252

spit1507

graff?1523

graft1620

spade1674

spit1677

spade-bit1790

1507–8 in Gage Hist. Suffolk (1838) 145 For making of a diche..ij spitte depper then the cast of the cawsy now is.

a1650 G. Boate Irelands Nat. Hist. (1652) xx. 160 A good clay (which commonly lyeth one or two spits deep).

1670 J. Smith England's Improvem. Reviv'd 36 The ground is delved two spit deep.

1691 J. Ray Coll. Eng. Words (ed. 2) Pref. We say a Spade-graft or a Spit deep.

a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1757) 25 Whole beds of chalk, an half spit thick.

1763 Museum Rusticum (1764) 1 254 I make my labourers dig up the intervals one spit deep.

1808 C. Vancouver Gen. View Agric. Devon xi. 285 These drains..should be made one foot (or spit) wide, and one spit deep.

1882 Gardeners' Chron. 17 84 The best method of preparing the soil for the reception of young trees is to dig or trench it at least two spits deep.

b. In other contexts.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > [noun] > digging > digging to spade depth > spade's depth

spade-graft1252

spit1507

graff?1523

graft1620

spade1674

spit1677

spade-bit1790

1677 R. Plot Nat. Hist. Oxford-shire 66 At Teynton also, within a spit of the surface, they dig a sort of earth they there call Lam.

a1679 J. Moore Englands Interest (1703) 47 I..digg my hole 4 Foot square, but no deeper than one Spit, or there~about.

1792 Trans. Soc. Arts 10 4 The soil was dug one full spit, and the turf inverted.

1842 E. J. Lance Cottage Farmer 11 Digging one acre of Wheat Land, twelve inches deep, by two 6-inch spits.

1862 E. O'Curry Lect. Anc. Irish (1873) III. xxxiii. 291 It [a curious harp] was raised by labourers at the depth of twelve spits or spadings under the earth in Coolness Moss.

c. A thrust of the spade in digging.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > [noun] > digging > digging to spade depth > spade's thrust

spit1844

1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 552 Manure, which should either be dug down 18 inches deep with a double spit of the spade, or ploughed down with a double furrow.

2. A layer of earth of a spade's depth:

a. With adjectives denoting the relative position of the layer.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > [noun] > layer a spade's depth

spit1663

1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 53 Brickmakers are accustomed to dig the top spit..and to throw it with the other clay.

1670 J. Smith England's Improvem. Reviv'd 36 The second spit or under~most earth is laid upon the first spit or spadeful of earth.

1706 G. London & H. Wise Retir'd Gard'ner I. i. ii The first Spit, or Top Earth is always allow'd to be better than that which lyes under it.

1766 R. Griffith & E. Griffith Lett. Henry & Frances III. 217 The Difference..may be compared to [that between] the upper Sod, and the under Spit, of the Earth.

1824 T. Hogg Conc. & Pract. Treat. Carnation (ed. 3) 23 Loam..should consist of the top spit and crumbs only.

1850 G. Glenny Hand-bk. Flower Garden 9 Use a compost of two-thirds loam, from the upper spit of a pasture, and one-third sand.

1882 Garden 28 Jan. 54/1 The soil..is entirely composed of the top spit of a neighbouring meadow.

b. In other contexts.

ΚΠ

1780 A. Young Tour Ireland (Dublin ed.) I. 63 He dug it over, levelled it, and burnt the spit in great heaps.

1791 Trans. Soc. Arts 9 42 Covering them [potatoes] with straw and a spit of earth.

1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 323 He only digs one spit fourteen inches deep with the bottom land-ditching spade.

1844 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 5 i. 9 He returns and with another spade longer and narrower than the last cuts out the next spit or lower part of the drain.

a. The quantity of earth taken up by a spade at a time; a spadeful.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > [noun] > digging > spadeful

spit1675

1675 London Gaz. No. 1031/4 The River side,..where the Lord Bishop diggeth the first Spit.

1731 J. Tull New Horse-houghing Husbandry 119 You will find..most of the Pieces or Spits, which are dug out of your Sight, to be of twice that Thickness.

1792 J. Belknap Hist. New-Hampsh. III. 119 This being dug in spits of a proper size, and dried, becomes valuable fewel.

1838 W. L. Rham Outl. Flemish Husbandry iii. 20 in Brit. Husbandry (Libr. Useful Knowl.) (1840) III Digging out spits of earth with the spade.., and setting them up on the surface already ploughed.

1881 C. Whitehead Hops 43 The modern diggers..do not lift each ‘spit’ up on their spuds and throw it over, as the old-fashioned workmen did in other days.

b. A series of spadefuls taken in a line.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > [noun] > digging > spadeful > series of spadefuls

spita1722

a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1757) 21 Farmer Bond..carried a spit [of dung] all along from the heap, and spread it near to the brink of the furrows.

1765 Museum Rusticum 4 374 A spit of earth out of the trenches is..to be cast amongst the plants of coleseed in the rows.

4. dialect. A special form of spade (see quots.).

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > [noun] > spade > narrow spade

spud1667

spit-shovel1678

spit1828

navigator1879

1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Spit, a spade with a mouth almost semicircular.

?1830 P. Sellar Netherby, Cumberland 65, in Farm-rep. A narrow-mouthed spade (technically called a spit) corresponding to the breadth of the tile to be used.

Compounds

General attributive.

spit-deep adv.

ΚΠ

1693 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 17 826 Some of these Tubera, which lay Spit deep under ground.

1765 Museum Rusticum 4 311 Digging, spit-deep, sixteen rods, at three-pence per rod.

a1800 S. Pegge Suppl. Grose's Provinc. Gloss. (1814) Spit-deep, the depth of a spade only.

spit-dung n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > fertilizing or manuring > [noun] > dunging > dung

dungOE

muckc1268

dunging?1440

fimea1475

fulyiec1480

tath1492

soil1607

street soil1607

dung-water1608

soiling1610

mucking1611

short dung, manure, muck1618

folding1626

muck water1626

stable manure1629

long dung1658

spit-dunga1671

stercoration1694

street dirt1694

horse-litter1721

pot-dunga1722

sock1790

street manure1793

police manure1825

fold-manure1829

slurry1965

a1671 F. Drope Short & Sure Guid Fruit-trees (1672) 3 Upon this Bed must be laid some spit-dung (i.e. such horse-dung as is rotted in the heap, and may be digged with a spade).

1779 W. Marshall Exper. & Observ. conc. Agric. & Weather 111 (note) The ordinary distinction of Long-Dung and Short or Spit-Dung.

1824 J. C. Loudon Green-house Compan. i. 115 Loam with..vegetable mould, or mould of spit dung.

1864 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 25 ii. 329 I..buy good spit-dung, ready for use, as I want it.

spit-shovel n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > [noun] > spade > narrow spade

spud1667

spit-shovel1678

spit1828

navigator1879

1678 Philos. Trans. 1677 (Royal Soc.) 12 946 The Spit-shovel is to be made of a thin streight Iron ten Inches long, and five Inches broad, with a Socket in the side of it to put a staff or handle.

1729 Philos. Trans. 1727–8 (Royal Soc.) 35 568 A narrow Spade, commonly termed a Spit-shovel.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

Spitn.⁴

Etymology: Shortened < Spitfire (in full Supermarine Spitfire), a British fighter aeroplane produced between 1936 and 1947.

colloquial.

A Spitfire fighter aeroplane.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > used in warfare > fighter > of specific manufacture

Spad1917

Messerschmitt1938

Spit1941

widowmaker1944

MiG1953

1941 Sat. Rev. Lit. (U.S.) 4 Oct. 9/3 A pilot ‘aviates’..a Wimpy or Spit (Spitfire).

1948 G. V. Galwey Lift & Drop ii. 25 From time to time Miss Procter..said ‘Here come the jet jobs,’ or ‘The Spits are lovely.’

1965 New Statesman 7 May 718/2 ‘Look, Ron,’ he cried, ‘my old Spit!’

1980 J. McClure Blood of Englishman vi. 64 I was flying Spits, Hurricanes, while Bonzo..was in Bomber Command.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online March 2019).

spitv.¹

Forms: α. Middle English spit(i)en (past tense spitede, past participle i-spited, y-spited, -spyted), Middle English spite, spyte. β. Scottish and dialect1500s spete, 1500s, 1700s–1800s speet. γ. Middle English–1500s spytte, 1500s spyt, 1500s– spit (past tense and past participle spitted), 1600s spitt.

Etymology: < spit n.¹ Compare Middle Dutch (Dutch) and Middle Low German speten, Middle Dutch and Low German spitten, older German (now dialect) spissen (German spiessen).

a. transitive. To put on a spit; to thrust through with a spit.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > cooking > cook [verb (transitive)] > roast > roast on spit > put meat on spit

spitc1275

the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > make (an opening or hole) [verb (transitive)] > make an opening or hole in or into > bore, pierce, or perforate > with something sharp-pointed > transpierce

through-stingeOE

thorough-runOE

spitc1275

through-shovec1330

through-ficchea1400

through-girdc1405

tresperce1484

transpierce1594

reeve1681

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 13237 He..smat hine þurh mid þan spere. swa he ispited [c1300 Otho ispeded] weore.

1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 4213 Þis grisliche geant adde..yspited him þoru out mid an yrene spite.

c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 469 Spyte mete on a spete, veruo.

1483 Cath. Angl. 356/1 To Spytte..flesche, verutare.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 729 I wyll spytte my meate or ever I wyl set my pyes in the oven.

1581 A. Hall tr. Homer 10 Bks. Iliades ii. 31 The gigots and the other flesh in peeces they did spit.

?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads ix. 209 Then of a well-fed swine A huge fat shoulder he cuts out, and spits it wondrous fine.

1699 W. Dampier Voy. & Descr. i. ii. 31 Little bits of Pork, spitted 5 or 6 of them at once, on a small skiver, and roasted.

1749 T. Smollett tr. A. R. Le Sage Gil Blas IV. x. x. 62 He lighted a fire, spitted a leg of mutton.

1787 J. Farley London Art Cookery (ed. 4) 35 Having spitted your pig,..lay it down to a brisk clear fire.

1833 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Cottage Archit. §1515 The operation, when the meat is once spitted,..goes on of itself.

1879 J. Beerbohm Wanderings in Patagonia xi. 171 I lost no time in spitting some meat and setting it to roast.

b. transferred. To pierce, transfix, or stab with a sharp weapon, etc.; to fix or impale on or upon something sharp.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > injure [verb (reflexive)] > wound with sharp weapon

spitc1430

the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > injure [verb (transitive)] > wound > wound with sharp weapon

woundc760

stickOE

snese?c1225

stokea1300

steekc1300

bearc1330

stangc1340

chop1362

broach1377

foinc1380

strikec1390

borea1400

dag?a1400

gorea1400

gridea1400

staira1400

through-girdc1405

thrustc1410

runc1425

to run throughc1425

traversec1425

spitc1430

through-seeka1500

stitch1527

falchiona1529

stab1530

to stab (a person) in1530

stob?1530

rutc1540

rove?c1550

push1551

foxa1566

stoga1572

poniard1593

dirk1599

bestab1600

poach1602

stiletto1613

stocka1640

inrun1653

stoccado1677

dagger1694

whip1699

bayonetc1700

tomahawk1711

stug1722

chiv1725

kittle1786

sabre1790

halberd1825

jab1825

skewer1837

sword1863

poke1866

spear1869

whinger1892

pig-stick1902

shiv1926

society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > cut of sharp weapon > cut or penetrate (of weapon) [verb (transitive)] > strike with pointed weapon

prickOE

pritchOE

snese?c1225

threstc1275

stokea1300

bearc1330

stangc1340

broach1377

foinc1380

borea1400

dag?a1400

gorea1400

gridea1400

slot?a1400

staira1400

through-girdc1405

thrustc1410

runc1425

to run throughc1425

traversec1425

spitc1430

through-seeka1500

to run in1509

stab1530

to stab (a person) in1530

accloy1543

push1551

stoga1572

poacha1616

stocka1640

stoccado1677

stug1722

kittle1820

skewer1837

pitchfork1854

poke1866

chib1973

through-driveOE

through-nimc1275

stickc1330

through-piercec1330

to stick througha1382

preenc1390

spitc1430

thirlc1450

broacha1470

prickc1475

to stick up1528

transfix1590

fix1638

bestick1667

impalea1678

spiculate1835

skewer1837

to strike through1893

α., γ.

c1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode (1869) ii. cxxviii. 124 A spere, that was al ful of eren of men perced, whiche weren spited ther on.

1607 R. C. tr. H. Estienne World of Wonders 144 Two brethren..who were spitted vpon a stake some fifteene yeares ago.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) iii. iii. 121 Your naked Infants spitted vpon Pykes.

a1643 W. Cartwright Ordinary (1651) iv. i. 60 Hee'l spit you, If he but know you are a Usurer.

1781 W. Cowper Charity 354 Whether he measure earth,..Weigh sun-beams, carve a fly, or spit a flea.

1847 E. Brontë Wuthering Heights I. vi. 106 If she had been spitted on the horns of a mad cow.

1870 W. Thornbury Tour Eng. i. ii. 51 They were found, side by side, each having spitted the other with his rapier.

figurative.1590 R. Harvey Plaine Percevall sig. C2 Heresay is too slender an euidence to spit a mans credit vpon.reflexive.1817 W. Scott Rob Roy I. x. 232 My falcon Cheviot, who spitted himself on a heron's bill.β. 1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid ix. xii. 90 And Phegeas [he] doun brytnys in the feyld, Spetit throw owt the body and his scheyld.1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle v. ii. sig. Eii^v If he came, [he] bad me not sticke to speet hym.?a1786 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 203 He swoor by a' was swearing worth To speet him like a Pliver.

c. Of a Customs officer: to examine with a ‘spit’ (spit n.¹ 4f).

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > duty on goods > imposition or collecting of duties on goods > exact duty on [verb (transitive)] > search or examine > with implement

spit1925

1925 Chambers's Jrnl. 19 Sept. 668/1 The officer..selects a number of bales for inspection. These he ‘spits’—that is, he inserts a special iron instrument, which is capable of penetrating to the interior of a large bale and extracting a small piece of the commodity.

2. To pierce or stud (a thing) with spikes.

ΘΚΠ

shearOE

sting993

stickOE

spita1225

wound?c1225

stitchc1230

pitcha1275

threstc1275

forprick1297

steekc1300

piercec1325

rivec1330

dag?a1400

jag?a1400

lancec1400

pickc1400

tamec1400

forpierce1413

punch1440

launch1460

thringc1485

empiercec1487

to-pierce1488

joba1500

ding1529

stob?1530

probe1542

enthrill1563

inthirlc1580

cloy1590

burt1597

pink1597

lancinate1603

perterebrate1623

puncture1675

spike1687

skiver1832

bepierce1840

gimlet1841

prong1848

javelin1859

a1225 Juliana 57 [He] lette..a swiðe wunderlich hweol meten & makien & þurh spitien [v.r. spiten] hit al..wið irnene gadien.

a. To fix (herrings or other fish) on a spit or rod for drying or smoking.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preserving or pickling > pickle or preserve [verb (transitive)] > dry

pine1560

spit1617

deese1682

jerk1709

charqui1820

sun-cure1885

dehydrate1921

1617 Minutes Archd. Colchester (MS.) Allegauit that his servant dyd spitt herrings vpon the saboth day,..for otherwise the herrings had bene all lost.

1865 W. White Eastern Eng. II. 140 The fish are washed and speeted by gangs of women, who with nimble fingers hang them one by one through gills and mouth upon speets.

b. To string (needles) together by passing a wire through the eyes.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > needle-making > make needles [verb (transitive)] > specific processes

spit1862

1862 Internat. Exhib.: Illustr. Catal. Industr. Dept. II. xxxii. §6449 These little labourers take the needles when they have been ‘eyed’ and proceed to ‘spit’ them, that is, to pass a wire through the eye of every needle.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

spitv.²

Brit.

/spɪt/, U.S.

/spɪt/, Australian English

/spɪt/

Forms: infinitive Old English spittan, Middle English spitten, Middle English spyttyn; Middle English–1500s spitte, spytte, spyt (Middle English–1500s spytt), 1500s– spit (1500s–1600s spitt). past tense Middle English–1600s spitted (1500s Scottish -it), Middle English–1500s spytted. β. Middle English–1500s spitte, spytte, Middle English– spit (Middle English spitt, spyt, Middle English spytt); 1500s spett(e, 1500s–1600s spet; 1500s spatt(e, 1500s– spat; 1500s–1800s spate, 1600s spot, Middle English, 1800s dialect, sput. past participle Old English gispitted, Middle English–1500s spytted, 1500s–1600s (1800s dialect) spitted (1500s Scottish -it). β. 1500s–1600s spet (1500s spette), Middle English– spit (1500s–1600s spitte, 1500s spytte), 1800s– spat, dialect sput. γ. 1500s spetten, 1600s–1700s (1800s dialect) spitten, 1800s dialect spatten, sputten.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Northern Old English spittan (also gespittan ), = German dialect spitzen , of imitative origin; compare Middle Swedish spytta , spotta (Swedish spotta ), Norwegian dialect spytta (sputta ), Danish spytte , North Frisian spütte , older German (now dialect) sputzen , also Old Norse and Icelandic spýta (Norwegian dialect spyte ) and Old English spǽtan spete v.Old English instances are rare, the common words being spǽtan , spǽtlan , and spíwan . From the 15th cent. the conjugation has included forms that belonged historically to the obsolete spete v., together with new formations on the analogy of strong verbs. See also spet v.

I. transitive.

†1. To eject saliva on (a person) as a sign of contempt. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > hold in contempt [verb (transitive)] > express contempt of > by spitting

spitc950

consputea1530

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > dirtiness or soiling with specific kinds of dirt > dirty or soil with specific kinds of dirt [verb (transitive)] > dirty with saliva or spittle

spitc950

sputea1225

bespetea1240

bedravel1377

spouta1382

bespitc1384

beslobber1393

spew1526

slabber1579

beslaver1589

slaver1591

spittle1596

bespawl1602

drivel1609

bedribble1620

slop1696

bedrivel1721

slake1808

c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Mark x. 34 Hia spittes hine & hia suingeð hine.

c975 Rushw. Gosp. Luke xviii. 32 Swungen [he] bið & gispitted bið.

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 214 Spit him amit þe beart to hoker & to scarn. þe flikereð swa wið þe.

c1230 Hali Meid. 17 Þenne spit leccherie, to schome & to bismere, meidenhad o þe nebbe.

a. To eject from the mouth by the special effort involved in expelling saliva. to spit sixpences: see sixpence n. 2d.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > action of slavering > slaver [verb (transitive)] > spit

spitc975

spetec1000

spitc1386

outspita1425

spet1532

exspute1705

gob1933

c975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xxvii. 30 Þa spittende on him heor spaðl, genoman þæt hreod & slogun his heafud.

a1225 Juliana 49 Hare ahne blod ich habbe ofte imaket ham to spitten & to speowen.

a1300 Cursor Mundi 24085 Þai sput on him þair spit.

c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Hypsipyle. 1433 Two bolys makyd al of bras That spittyn fer.

c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 180 He strake hym opon þe breste, at he spytt blude with iij dayes.

1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 104 The wulf had so moche payne and anguyssh..that he spytte blood.

1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1845) xxxiii. 166 With his thre hedes he spytte all his venum.

1590 ‘Pasquil’ First Pt. Pasquils Apol. sig. B iij Hath the Toade no poyson before he spits it?

1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique i. xii. 65 That cluttered blood which the sicke partie shall haue spet.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 126 A thirsty train That..spet from their dry Chaps the gather'd dust again.

1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 117. ¶7 Sir Roger told me, that old Moll had been often brought before him for making Children spit Pins.

1789 Med. Communications 2 297 He..spate a vast quantity of tough white froth.

1803 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 9 430 He..began to spit thick matter of a greenish colour.

1821 W. Scott Kenilworth II. xii. 308 This master-fiend shall spit a few flashes of fire..on the spot, if it will do you pleasure.

1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. IV. 162 Recovery may ensue after the patient has been spitting muco-pus for weeks.

figurative.a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) ii. f. 31^v Their whole knowledge..was tied onely to their tong & lips,..and therfore was sone spitte out of the mouth againe.1777 J. Brand Observ. Pop. Antiq. 101 (note) Boys have a Custom (inter se) of spitting their Faith, or as they also call it here, their Saul (Soul), when required to make Asseverations in a Matter of Consequence.

b. With forth, out, up.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > action of slavering > slaver [verb (transitive)] > spit

spitc975

spetec1000

spitc1386

outspita1425

spet1532

exspute1705

gob1933

c1386 [see sense 2c].

?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 6353 He wald þe penys oute haue spit, he moght noght opyn his mouth ȝit.

1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1845) xxxvii. 192 Toward me he came,..Spyttyng out fyre.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 729 The adder dyd spytte forthe her venyme by and by.

1558 W. Ward tr. G. Ruscelli Secretes Alexis of Piemount f. 21^v He tourned..vpon the beddes side, and spitte out a great parte of the matter.

1663 S. Patrick Parable of Pilgrim ix As men do with bitter Pills which..if they chaw them, prove so distastful, that they are ready to spit them out again.

1745 tr. L. J. M. Columella Of Husbandry viii. xvi When he..had tasted of a pike.. and had spitten it out, he followed the impudent action with a jest.

1779 J. Warner in J. H. Jesse G. Selwyn & his Contemp. (1844) IV. 258 Those rascals we have seen take so much snuff and spit it up again.

1842 S. Lover Handy Andy xviii He..saw the trumpeter spitting out a mouthful of beer.

1898 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. V. 55 Since then he had spat up thick phlegm.

figurative.1598 G. Chapman in C. Marlowe & G. Chapman Hero & Leander (new ed.) iii. sig. G4 Takes news as if it were too hot to eat, And spits it slavering forth for dog-fees meat.1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII i. ii. 62 This makes..Tongues spit their duties out. 1917 T. S. Eliot Love Song J. Alfred Prufrock in Prufrock & Other Observ. 12 How should I begin to spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways.

c. With various figurative objects (as venom, poison, fire, etc.) denoting the utterance or expression of malice, hatred, anger, or other violent feeling. to spit blood, (a) to express vehement anger, to rage (colloquial); (b) slang of a spy, etc.: to fear exposure; to spit chips (Australian slang), (c) to feel extreme thirst; (d) to manifest acute anger or vexation.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > hatred > hate inwardly or intensely [verb (transitive)] > speak in hatred

spitc1386

the mind > emotion > anger > manifestation of anger > show anger [verb (intransitive)] > speak angrily

spitc1386

ragea1400

blowc1475

blustera1494

storm?1553

pelt1594

tear1602

fare1603

to speak or look daggers1603

to blow hot coalsc1626

rant1647

scream1775

to pop off1914

to carry on1947

the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > unkindness > spite, malice > bear malice [verb (intransitive)]

spitc1386

malign?a1439

to bear malice1530

spitec1560

malice1587

to wish one at vinegar1774

bitch1915

the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > be thirsty [verb (intransitive)] > be extremely thirsty

to spit cotton1825

to spit chips1901

to be gasping1958

the mind > emotion > anger > furious anger > to rage (of fury) [verb (intransitive)] > be or become furious

wedec1000

resea1250

ragea1400

rampc1405

rase1440

outragea1475

stampc1480

enragec1515

ournc1540

gry1594

fury1628

rampage1692

to stamp one's foot1821

to fire off1848

foam1852

fire1859

to stomp one's feetc1927

to spit chips1947

to spit cotton1947

to spit blood1963

to go ballistic1981

the mind > emotion > fear > apprehension > be apprehensive [verb (intransitive)] > fear exposure

to spit blood1963

c1386 G. Chaucer Pardoner's Tale Prol. 135 Thus spitte I out my venym vnder hewe Of hoolynesse, to semen hooly.

1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. xx Herein they..spitte oute the poyson of theyr hatred.

1583 G. Babington Very Fruitfull Expos. Commaundem. viii. 410 When he would haue euen spit fire in A[n]thonies face, and galled him as greatly as hee coulde.

1621 in A. J. Kempe Losely MSS (1836) 454 Y^e Spaniards, against whom they are apt..to spitt theyr spleens.

a1656 Bp. J. Hall Shaking of Olive-tree (1660) ii. 161 One spits his poyson upon the blessed Trinity.

1701 G. Farquhar Sir Harry Wildair i. 4 Let 'em spit their Venom among themselves, and it hurts no body.

1759 W. H. Dilworth Life of Pope 16 When the venom you spit falls short of your aim.

1863 J. G. Holland Lett. to Joneses vi. 98 There be women..who can scold or cry or howl or spit fire.

1901 Bull. Reciter (Sydney) 108 While you're spitting chips like thunder... And the streams of sweat near blind you.

1946 A. Marshall Tell us about the Turkey, Jo 142 I was spitting chips. God, I was dry!

1947 J. Morrison Sailors belong Ships 189 Old Mick Doyle's with them. He's spitting chips because they're not using sea water.

1954 P. Gladwin Long Beat Home 17 It's enough to make you spit chips when you think of Sydney—movies and vaudeville comedies and a decent musician once in two years.

1963 J. Joesten They call it Intelligence i. iv. 45 When a resident agent is forced to lie low, because counter-espionage is on his trail, it is said of him that he is ‘spitting blood’.

1963 P. G. Wodehouse Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves ix. 72 If there's one thing that makes a collector spit blood, it's hearing about another collector getting a bargain.

1965 I. Southall Ash Road 77 Not when I saw Mr Fairhall last. He was spittin' chips because Peter had gone away.

1966 L. Deighton Billion-dollar Brain x. 90 A man tailed or suspected is said to be ‘spitting blood’.

1966 ‘L. Lane’ ABZ of Scouse 102 When I think of it I could spit blood.

reflexive.1734 A. Pope Epist. to Arbuthnot 316 Or at the Ear of Eve, familiar Toad, Half Froth, half Venom, [he] spits himself abroad, In Puns, or Politicks, or Tales, or Lyes.

d. With complement in one's face, teeth, etc. Chiefly in figurative use.

ΚΠ

1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. FFvi^v Euer spyttinge thy offences in thy tethe.

1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II i. i. 194 My teeth shall teare The slauish motiue..And spit it..euen in Mowbraies face.

1636 R. Basset tr. G. A. de Paoli Lives Rom. Emperors 94 He bit off his tongue and spit it in her face.

a1711 T. Ken Urania in Wks. (1721) IV. 475 Sweet Poetry has suffer'd most, By Bards..Who in her beauteous Visage spit The Putrefaction of their Wit.

1782 W. Cowper Hope in Poems 174 While bigotry..spits abhorrence in the Christian's face.

e. In phrases denoting great or exact likeness or resemblance. (Cf. spit n.² 3)French craché is similarly used.

ΚΠ

1602 N. Breton Wonders worth Hearing (1879) 8/1 Twoo girles,..the one as like an Owle, the other as like an Urchin, as if they had beene spitte out of the mouthes of them.

1664 C. Cotton Scarronides 106 Hee's e'en as like thee, as th' adst spit him.

1690 C. Ness Compl. Hist. & Myst. Old & New Test. I. 159 We are of our father the devil,..as like him as if spit out of his mouth.

1788 F. Grose Dict. Vulgar Tongue (ed. 2) (at cited word) He is as like his father as if he was spit out of his mouth; said of a child much resembling his father.

1825– in Eng. Dial. Dict.

a. To emit, cast, throw, in a manner similar to the ejection of saliva.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > letting or sending out > let or send out [verb (transitive)] > eject

warpc1000

wreaka1300

out-throwa1393

excludec1400

shootc1400

spitc1400

deliver?a1425

outflingc1450

springc1480

bolka1522

vomit1552

spurge1582

out-braid1586

hurl1590

cast1601

spew1605

eject1607

ejaculate1609

spew1610

to cast out1611

throw1625

eructate1632

gullop1646

explode1660

to throw off1660

belch1668

c1400 (?c1380) Patience l. 338 Oure fader to þe fysch ferslych biddez, Þat he hym sput spakly vpon spare drye.

?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads iv. 452 The sea thrusts vp her waues;..she rores, And..spits euerie way her fome.

a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) ii. i. 211 The Canons..ready mounted..to spit forth Their Iron indignation 'gainst your walles.

1773 Let. 26 Aug. in Maryland Hist. Mag. (1920) 15 280 The wind is strong at N:E. & it spits Rain.

1803 B. Hunt Diary 16 Apr. in Chester Co. (Pa.) Hist. Soc. Bull. (1898) 7 Continues cold and Spiting snow.

1835 N. Wyeth Jrnl. 12 Jan. in F. G. Young Sources Hist. Oregon (1899) I. 243 Spit snow all day at night set in to snow.

1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. II. i. iii. 30 Sulphur-cloud spitting streaks of fire?

1863 N. Hawthorne Our Old Home I. 127 The clouds now spat down a few spiteful drops upon us.

1911 Daily Mail 1 Nov. 7/2 The bullets came crashing through the cactus leaves, spitting up sand all around us.

†b. To cause to be expelled in spittle. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > action of slavering > slaver [verb (transitive)] > spit > expel in spittle

retch1538

spit1608

gob1933

1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 45 The roote of Teasill young, for Fullers yet vnfit, Drunke in warme water, venome out doth spit.

c. colloquial. To leave (visiting cards).

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > social event > visit > visiting > visit [verb (transitive)] > send in name or card

to send in1748

to leave one's (also a) card1749

spit1782

to send up1884

1782 F. Burney Early Jrnls. & Lett. (2012) V. 219 As I had the coach, I then spit Cards at Mrs. Chapone's, who has sent me an invitation.

d. To extrude or lay (eggs or spawn).

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > animal body > general parts > sexual organs and reproduction > [verb (transitive)] > give birth to > lay (eggs)

layc1000

warpa1340

cast1587

spawna1616

spawna1617

deposit1692

oviposit1847

spit1847

1847 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words II Spit, to lay eggs, said of insects.

1909 Toilers of Deep Sept. 225/1 The adult oyster ‘spits’ its many thousands of eggs into the water.

4. With out (or †forth): To utter in a proud, spiteful, plain, or unreserved manner. Also without adverb: To speak (a language). Frequently in to spit it out: to reveal, confess, disclose something.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > speak, say, or utter [verb (transitive)] > without restraint, openly, or recklessly

clatterc1325

to say outc1384

parbreak1402

blunder1483

blab1535

overshoot1549

spita1616

spawn1631

the mind > language > a language > using or speaking languages > speak a language [verb (transitive)]

parley1570

spit1701

patter1811

society > communication > manifestation > disclosure or revelation > disclose or make revelations [verb (intransitive)] > reveal one's true character > confess

subscribea1616

confess to1771

own1772

admit1830

to make a clean breast of1838

fess1840

to own up1844

to spit it out1855

to make a clean breast of it1878

cough1901

to come clean1919

to spill one's guts (out)1927

tell papa1929

a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) ii. i. 459 A large mouth indeede, That spits forth death, and mountaines.

1639 S. Du Verger tr. J.-P. Camus Admirable Events 310 Those students, who returning from the Universities, spit out at their mouth the superfluities of their memory.

1656 J. Smith Myst. Rhetorique Unvail'd 80 Thus Michael spits out bitter reproaches against David.

1701 C. Cibber Love makes Man ii. 13 Car. Does my younger Brother speak any Greek yet, Sancho? Sanc. No, Sir, but he spits French like a Magpy.

1855 E. C. Gaskell North & South I. xxv. 313 I'm easier in my mind for having spit it out.

1876 T. Hardy Hand of Ethelberta I. i. 7 A good saying well spit out is a Christmas fire to my withered heart.

1904 A. Griffiths Fifty Years Public Service 11 Now Sir, speak up... Don't be afraid, spit it out.

1920 J. Galsworthy Skin Game i. 31 Don't be so mysterious, mother. If you know something, do spit it out!

1935 W. H. Auden & C. Isherwood Dog beneath Skin ii. v. 115 Go on, then, spit it aht!

1950 J. Cannan Murder Included vi. 123 ‘I've gotta clue.’.. ‘Spit it out, for mercy's sake, boy.’

1981 A. Price Soldier no More 43 ‘Well—spit it out, man! Don't just stand there,’ Willis exhorted him.

5. To put out by means of spitting.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > light > darkness or absence of light > make dark [verb (transitive)] > quench (light) > in specific way

flapc1540

puff1547

purge1573

to blow out1617

spit1681

shoot1972

1681 C. Cotton Wonders of Peake 62 The water breaks on Rocks in such a showr..as made us doubt 'Twould hazard spitting all our Candles out.

II. intransitive.

a. To eject saliva (at or on a person or thing) as a means of expressing hatred or contempt. Usually with prepositions, as against, at, in, on, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > think or behave contemptuously [verb (intransitive)] > express contempt by spitting

spitc975

spit1562

the mind > emotion > hatred > show suppressed anger, hatred, or resentment [verb (intransitive)] > eject saliva as means of expressing hatred

spitc975

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > sowing > sow seed [verb (transitive)] > dig, hoe, or harrow in seed

spitc975

harrow1377

hatch1608

scuffle1805

c975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xxvi. 67 Þa spittadun [hiæ] on his ondwliotu & mid hondum hine slogun.

a1240 Wohunge in Old Eng. Hom. I. 279 Hwen þat te sunefule men i þi neb spitted.

13.. K. Alis. 891 (Linc.) ‘Fy on þe!’ quoþ Nycolas: And spitte amydde his face.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 16635 Þai spitted on his luueli face.

c1400 Laud Troy-B. 18577 [She] tare here clothes & on hem spit.

c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 193 He spytted on þe cros, he dyspysed oure lady.

1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 231/2 They..spytten ayenste the fals ydollys and Statues.

?1507 W. Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen (Rouen) in Poems (1998) I. 51 I spittit quhen I saw That superspendit euill spreit.

1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 56 Aristippus spitted on the evill favoured face of Simus.

?1608 S. Lennard tr. P. Charron Of Wisdome ii. iv. 272 For to goe against his owne nature, is to tempt God, to spit against the heauens.

a1627 T. Middleton et al. Widdow (1652) v. i. 62 Spit at me Gentlemen If ever I'd such a thought.

1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. v. xiii. 288 A determined purpose to murder any Man who shall but spit in his Face.

1797 Monthly Mag. xlviii. 114 Equal to being tweaked by the nose, spitten upon and buffeted.

1825 W. Scott Talisman viii, in Tales Crusaders III. 187 Out upon the hound! said Richard, spitting in contempt, by way of interjection.

1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin II. xxxviii. 243 ‘The more fool you!’ said Legree, spitting scornfully at him.

1891 F. W. Farrar Darkness & Dawn II. li. 177 They spit when they pass a temple; they turn away with horror from sacrifices.

b. In figurative use; frequently with in one's face.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > think or behave contemptuously [verb (intransitive)] > express contempt by spitting

spitc975

spit1562

(a)

1562 N. Winȝet Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 108 Think ȝe nocht that this maist barber ruidnes..wald be spittit at be a Iow or an Ethnik?

1579 L. Tomson tr. J. Calvin Serm. Epist. S. Paule to Timothie & Titus 327/2 There~fore they are so much the more to be accursed and to be spette at.

1612 Bp. J. Hall Contempl. I. O.T. ii. 127 How shall not all the world spit at this holy cruelty.

1665 S. Patrick Parable of Pilgrim xx. 204 They will strain themselves to spit upon their sins.

1716 M. Davies Athenæ Britannicæ II. 220 Simon Magus was betimes spit upon by the Primitive Bishop Irenæus.

1831 W. Scott Count Robert ii, in Tales of my Landlord 4th Ser. II. 31 I am a Christian man, spitting at, and bidding defiance to, Apollo, Bacchus, Comus, and all other heathen deities.

1851 E. B. Browning Casa Guidi Windows i. viii. 20 If we turned and spate Upon our antecedents, we were vile.

1868 Ld. Tennyson Lucretius 196 I hate, abhor, spit, sicken at him.

(b)1639 S. Du Verger tr. J.-P. Camus Admirable Events 286 You spit upon your owne face.a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 501 He said, the petitioners for a Parliament spit in the King's face.1761 D. Hume Hist. Eng. (1806) IV. 637 They could get no other answer than that God had spitten in his face.1810 W. Wilson Hist. Dissenting Churches III. 86 Say he died spitting in the devil's face, contemning him and his doctrine.

a. To eject saliva from the mouth; to expectorate.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > action of slavering > slaver [verb (intransitive)] > spit

spattlec1000

spetec1000

spittlec1340

spit1377

spetc1421

fipple?1507

reach1540

spawl1599

spatter1618

sputter1681

expectorate1823

gob1881

flob1977

1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. x. 40 But þo þat feynen hem folis..Spitten and spewen and speke foule wordes.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 13544 Wit þis vn-to þe erth he spitt.

c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 469 Spyttyn, screo, spuo, exspuo.

a1450 J. Myrc Instr. to Par. Priests 890 Kepe þe welle þat þou ne spytte.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 728 It is a foule thyng at a sermonde to here people spytte and retche or rough as they do.

1600 B. Jonson Every Man out of his Humor iii. i. sig. Hii^v I haue ben taking an ounce of Tabacco hard by here..and I am come to spit priuate in Paules.

1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. 186 Hee was never seene abroad and out of his house to have snit his nose, or spit.

1674 R. Godfrey Var. Injuries in Physick 131 He almost continually spitted, and daily grew worse.

c1720 M. Prior Conversation 67 Out of breath, he turn'd to spit.

1778 Countess of Upper Ossory in J. H. Jesse G. Selwyn & his Contemp. (1844) III. 295 She spits and coughs much.

1841 E. W. Lane tr. Thousand & One Nights I. 68 When any of you has a bad dream, spit three times over your left shoulder.

1897 T. Hardy Well-beloved iii. i. 224 Men drank, smoked, and spat in the inns.

b. With prepositions, as about, against, at, in, into, on, upon. Also spec. with out, of ceramic glazes: to form blisters which burst during firing.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > painting or coating materials > actions of painting or coating materials [verb (intransitive)] > of glaze: crack or form blister

craze1832

spit1904

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Ecclus. xxviii. 14 If thou shul spitten vpon it, it shal ben queynt.

14.. Rule Syon Monastery liii, in Collectanea Topographica (1834) I. 31 None schal..spyt up on the stayres..but yf they trede it oute forthewythe.

1526 Bible (Tyndale) John ix. f. cxxxiiij As sone as he had thus spoken, he spate on the grounde.

1606 S. Daniel Queenes Arcadia i. ii. sig. B2^v If she meete but with my dog, she..playes with his eares, Spits in his mouth.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) iii. i. 39 Spit in the hole man, and tune againe.

1633 G. Herbert Unkindnesse in Temple iii My friend may spit upon my curious floore.

1668 H. More Divine Dialogues ii. xviii. 284 To spit into mouth of a Dog..is not indecorous for the man, and gratefull also to the Dog.

1714 J. Addison Lover No. 39 Sitting at table, he spits full upon the servants who waited there.

1777 J. Brand Observ. Pop. Antiq. 101 (note) In Combinations of the Colliers, &c. in the North, for the Purpose of raising their Wages, they are said to spit upon a Stone together, by Way of cementing their Confederacy.

1824 W. S. Landor Imaginary Conversat. I. xii. 157 Nick gave unto him a shilling, having first spatten thereon, as he, according to his superstition, said, for luck.

1861 J. Petherick Egypt, Soudan & Central Afr. 424 Then rising and spitting in my face in token of amity, he said he was happy that I had sent for him.

1883 R. L. Stevenson Silverado Squatters 146 I could not continue to give him a salary for spitting on the floor.

1904 Trans. Eng. Ceramic Soc. 4 30 The china vase..with the Seger porcelain glaze..has no sign of blister.., and does not spit out in the kiln.

1904 Trans. Eng. Ceramic Soc. 4 32 The earthenware trials that have spit out are not verified by the china trials.

c. to spit in or on one's hands, in figurative use.

ΚΠ

1577 J. Grange Golden Aphroditis sig. Hj^v If I haue anoynted your palmes with hope, spitte on your handes and take good holde.

1590 R. Greene Neuer too Late i. 52 What Francesco? spit on thy hand, and lay holde on thy hart.

1834 S. Smith Sel. Lett. Major Jack Downing lxxi. 212 Afore I had time to spit in my hands, the Gineral finished the war.

1949 H. L. Mencken Mencken Chrestomathy xxx. 626 Is it hot in the rolling-mill? Are the hours long? Is $15 a day not enough? Then escape is very easy. Simply throw up your job, spit on your hands, and write another ‘Rosenkavalier’.

a1975 P. G. Wodehouse Sunset at Blandings (1977) ii. 20 There was a time when you had to employ wild horses to drag me from London, and they had to spit on their hands and make a special effort.

d. Of certain animals when angry.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > by habits or actions > habits and actions > [verb (intransitive)] > spit

spit1670

the mind > emotion > anger > manifestation of anger > show anger [verb (intransitive)] > spit with anger

spit1670

1670 S. Wilson Lassels's Voy. Italy (new ed.) ii. 310 The Lyon and the Leopard feighting together spit angerly in one anothers faces.

1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth IV. 314 A whole day is often passed..which is spent in growling, quarrelling, and spitting at each other.

1844 T. Hood Tale of Temper in Hood's Mag. Jan. 22 No household cat that ever lapp'd To swear and spit was half so apt.

1872 ‘A. Merion’ Odd Echoes Oxf. 3 Reproving My grimalkin for the dreadful way in which she spat and swore.

†e. Phr. (See quot. 1777, and cf. 7b.) Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1777 J. Brand Observ. Pop. Antiq. 101 (note) We have too a kind of popular Saying, when Persons are of the same Party, or agree in Sentiment, ‘they spit upon the same Stone’.

8. To sputter.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > go or come out [verb (intransitive)] > violently > in drops or small particles

sparklea1200

spark1513

spatter1600

spit1611

spurtle1651

spark1833

splurta1849

spurt1854

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues La lumiere petille, the candle sparkles, or spits.

1682 N. Grew Idea Philos. Hist. Plants 17 in Anat. Plants So Fenil-Seeds, held in the flame of a Candle, will spit and spurtle.

1773 O. Goldsmith She stoops to Conquer iii. 55 Zounds! how she fidgets and spits about like a Catherine wheel.

1852 C. Reade Peg Woffington (1889) 6 The sausage began to ‘spit’.

1866 H. Watts Dict. Chem. IV. 326 If exposed to the air in the melted state it [sc. palladium] absorbs oxygen and spits like silver.

1871 Archaeologia 43 101 Vegner's paper was bad, his ink worse, his pen ‘worser’ still, spitting strangely.

a. Of rain or snow: To fall in scattered drops or flakes. (Usually with it as subject.)

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > rain > rain falls [verb (intransitive)] > fall in scattered drops

spit1567

sprinkle1779

the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > snow > snow or fall (of snow) [verb (intransitive)] > fall in specific manner

flake1513

spit1860

flurry1883

1567 T. Drant tr. Horace Pistles in tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie sig. Eij A linnine slop in spitting snowe.

1779 W. Marshall Exper. & Observ. conc. Agric. & Weather 129 To sprinkle (or spit), to rain slow in largish drops.1818 S. E. Ferrier Marriage I. vii. 71 ‘And,’ putting her hand out at the window, ‘I think it's spitting already.’1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. II. 310 It had been ‘spitting’ with rain for the last half-hour.1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xxv. 189 The fine snow..was caught by the wind and spit bitterly against us.1887 J. Service Life Dr. Duguid 171 Feeling that it was spittin' through the win', I quickened my step.

b. To penetrate as if sent by spitting.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > impact > impinge [verb (intransitive)] > in heavy drops

spit1850

spat1868

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming in > go or come in [verb (intransitive)] > penetrate

wade993

smitec1275

reachc1300

piercea1325

sinkc1330

enterc1350

soundc1374

thirl1398

racea1420

takea1425

penetrate1530

penetre?1533

ransack1562

strike1569

thread1670

raze1677

perforate1769

spit1850

riddle1856

1850 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. May 554/1 A bullet whizzed by my head, and spat into the opposite bank.

10. spit and polish, the occupation of cleaning up or furbishing, as part of the work of a sailor or soldier; also in extended use, precise correctness, smartness; frequently as a derogatory expression in contrast with purposeful work or utility. Also attributive, smart in appearance; hence spit-and-polished adj.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > [noun] > cleaning as part of work of sailor or soldier

spit and polish1895

the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > pleasing appearance > [noun] > neatness or trimness

dapperness1530

featishness1530

trimness1552

neatness1555

featness1576

pickedness1578

spruceness1594

comptness1611

deftness1612

smugness1632

jemminess1756

spick and span1758

smartness1768

sprucery1813

dapperism1830

nattiness1846

sleekness1866

spit and polish1895

spick-and-spanness1911

the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > [noun] > useless correctness or smartness

spit and polish1895

stuffed-shirtedness1981

the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > pleasing appearance > [adjective] > neat or trim

netc1330

pertc1330

cleanc1386

nicec1400

picked?c1425

dapperc1440

feata1471

gim1513

trig1513

well-trimmedc1513

trick1533

smirk1534

tricksy1552

neat1559

netty1573

deft1579

primpc1590

briska1593

smug1598

spruce1598

sprink1602

terse1602

compt1632

nitle1673

sprig1675

snod1691

tight1697

smugged1706

snug1714

pensy1718

fitty1746

jemmy1751

sprucy1774

smartc1778

natty1785

spry1806

perjink1808

soigné1821

nutty1823

toiletted1823

taut1829

spick and span1846

spicy1846

groomed1853

spiffy1853

well-groomed1865

bandboxy1870

perjinkity1880

spick-span1888

bandbox1916

tiddly1925

whip-smart1937

spit and polish1950

spit-and-polished1977

1895 Westm. Gaz. 13 Nov. 3/2 After all his energies had been expended on what in old days was termed ‘spit and polish’, he took the cow-pen in hand.

1898 United Service Mag. Dec. 277 To lessen the time spent in spit and polish to the detriment of real cavalry work.

1914 Ld. C. Beresford Mem. I. 120 From that day onwards I set myself steadily against bright-work and spit-and-polish.

1920 Q. Rev. Jan. 196 Gunnery had been neglected in pursuit of ‘spit and polish’.

1949 ‘J. Tey’ Brat Farrar xiii. 116 He had understood Brat's distrust of the [stables'] spit and polish.

1950 Daily Progress (Charlottesville, Va.) 23 Sept. 1/7 Officially Pretzer was..part of the spit and polish First Infantry Division.

1958 Times 12 Nov. 3/3 Holst's suite, ‘The Planets’, was very, very much better..thanks to..the orchestra's ever~increasing spit-and-polish.

1977 L. Meynell Hooky gets Wooden Spoon xiii. 172 Some nice chubby-faced spit and polish Sandhurst type.

1977 Times 8 Nov. 4/3 The spit-and-polished toecaps of his boots.

1979 United States 1980–1 (Penguin Travel Guides) 614 The 4,300 spit-and-polished midshipmen have a 3:45 pm dress parade on Warden Field.

Compounds

The verb stem in combination.

spit-cat n. = spitfire n. 3.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > anger > irascibility > [noun] > irascible person

wasp1496

shit-fire1598

flesh-pistol1608

tinder-box1608

touchwood1617

Tartar1669

touch and go1675

spitfire1684

vengeance1712

spunkie1821

pepperbox1822

tempest1852

pepperer1864

gingersnap1889

pepperpot1894

spit-cat1898

spit kitten1912

slow burner1930

fireball1931

pop-off1938

1898 A. Ollivant Owd Bob v. 51 Eh, but art' a tearin' spit-cat surely!

spit kitten n. colloquial = spitfire n. 3.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > anger > irascibility > [noun] > irascible person

wasp1496

shit-fire1598

flesh-pistol1608

tinder-box1608

touchwood1617

Tartar1669

touch and go1675

spitfire1684

vengeance1712

spunkie1821

pepperbox1822

tempest1852

pepperer1864

gingersnap1889

pepperpot1894

spit-cat1898

spit kitten1912

slow burner1930

fireball1931

pop-off1938

1912 R. Kipling in London Mag. Mar. 8/2 There's a nice little spit-kitten for you!

Draft additions September 2006

colloquial (now chiefly British). to spit feathers. Chiefly in present participle.

a. To have a parched or dry mouth; to be (extremely) thirsty.

ΚΠ

1917 Boston Sunday Globe 11 Nov. (Sunday Globe Mag.) 7/5 You can't make it out so, not even if you stand here and talk till you spit feathers.

1997 C. Higson et al. Fast Show: Ser. 3 (BBC TV script for Audience Studio 1, 29 Aug.) 34 All joking aside, love, I'm spitting feathers here, let's have a nice cuppa.

2001 C. Glazebrook Madolescents 198 Pints for the workers, we're spitting feathers here.

b. To be or become (extremely) angry or vexed.

ΚΠ

1977 D. Mayleas Rewedded Bliss x. 230 Sometimes I could spit feathers. Tom and I have been married three years and he will still sometimes call me Tina. That's the name of his former wife.

1992 Guardian 29 May 17/1 He has been left out for his own good, but the Wigan playmaker is still spitting feathers over his omission from a Test.

2003 J. Stevenson Empress of Last Days 340 She'd be spitting feathers at the implication that Barbados was some kind of primitive culture.

Draft additions September 2016

to spit up

Chiefly North American. transitive and intransitive. Of a baby: to regurgitate (food, drink, etc.).

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > digestive disorders > have digestive disorder [verb (transitive)] > regurgitate

regurgitate1578

regorge1583

to spit up1885

1885 Arch. Pediatrics 2 275 Many children overload their stomachs when it is reasonable to expect that some of the milk will be ‘spit up’, slightly curdled.

1935 D. Paterson & J. F. Smith Mod. Methods Feeding in Infancy & Childhood (ed. 5) vii. 113 Nearly every infant is inclined to posset or spit up a few teaspoonfuls of its feed, usually immediately after the feed is finished.

1979 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald-Jrnl. 13 Aug. 37/2 My seven-month-old son still spits up excessively and projectile vomits several times a day.

1992 Bounty Infant Care Guide (ed. 2) 70/1 Make sure you also have plenty of shirts as your baby will continuously dribble and spit up on them.

2006 J. M. Sobrer tr. M. Rodoreda Broken Mirror i. v. 29 ‘She..hasn't stopped spitting up milk..,’ the nurse told her when she brought the crying child into the dining room.

2015 Dayton (Ohio) Daily News (Nexis) 29 Nov. e9 When we are running errands and my baby spits up, I wipe off as much as I can.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

spitv.³

Forms: Also 1600s spitt.

Etymology: Old English spittan , = Middle Dutch and Middle Low German spitten (Flemish, Dutch, Low German spitten , West Frisian spitte , North Frisian spat ; also Middle Dutch spetten , Middle Low German speten ), perhaps related to spit n.¹

Now dialect.

1. intransitive. To dig with a spade; to delve.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > industry > earth-moving, etc. > [verb (intransitive)] > dig or excavate

gravea1000

delvec1000

wrootc1325

minec1330

gruba1350

sinkc1358

undermine1382

diga1387

spit1393

to pick upc1400

holk1513

graff1532

pion1643

excavate1843

throw1843

crow1853

spade1869

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > break up land [verb (intransitive)] > dig

delvec1000

digc1320

spit1393

fork1647

yelve1817

graft1823

spade1869

spud1889

1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. ix. 184 An hep of eremites henten hem spades, Spitten and spradde donge in despit of hunger.

1648 H. Hexham Groot Woorden-boeck Spaden, to Delve, or to Spit.

a. transitive. To plant with a spade.

ΚΠ

1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 453 When the heads thereof [sc. saffron] have been plucked up and after twenty daies spitted [printed splited; 1637 spitted] or set againe under mould.

1729 Philos. Trans. 1727–8 (Royal Soc.) 35 573 Spitting and setting the Heads, 1l. 12s. 0d.

b. intransitive. To admit of being dug in.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > break up land [verb (intransitive)] > dig > admit of being dug in

spita1722

a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1757) 19 If dung was..short, such as ox-dung and horse-dung that would spit.

3. transitive. To dig (up) with a spade; also, to turn up with a plough.So Old English wád spittan, to dig up woad.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > break up land [verb (transitive)] > dig

delvec888

to dig up1377

diga1425

pastine?1440

updelvec1440

upstockc1440

hack1620

pastinate1623

repastinate1623

spit1648

spittle1727

spud1828

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > ploughing > plough (land) [verb (transitive)]

eareOE

till1377

plough1423

break1499

sheugh1513

ayrec1540

to break up1557

furrow1576

spit1648

whelm1652

manage1655

hack1732

thorough1733

to plough in1764

rout1836

1648 H. Hexham Groot Woorden-boeck Spitten, to Spitt, as, to Spitt turfe.

1726 Philos. Trans. 1725 (Royal Soc.) 33 397 Oftentimes the Tenants spit up as much as will serve their Turn for a Winter's burning.

1764 Randall in Museum Rusticum III. 95 He must remember to go twice in a place with his plough, to keep the ground double spitted.

1843 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 4 i. 41 Cross furrows..afterwards dug or ‘spitted’ by the spade.

1889 Trans. Dev. Assoc. XXI. 102 He sometimes comes up to spit the ground.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

n.¹c1000

n.²a1300

n.³1507

n.⁴1941

v.¹a1225

v.²c950

v.³1393

单词	spit
释义	spitn.¹ Forms: α. Old English spitu, Middle English (1500s Scottish) spite, Middle English spyte. β. Middle English–1500s spete, Middle English speete, 1500s speet; ScottishMiddle English–1600s speit (1500s speite, speitt), speat (1800s speate), 1700s–1800s speet. γ. Middle English–1500s spet, Middle English spette. δ. Middle English–1500s spitte, 1500s–1700s spitt, Middle English– spit; Middle English–1500s spytt(e, 1500s spyt. Etymology: Old English spitu, = Middle Dutch spit, spet (Flemish, Dutch, West Frisian spit), Middle Low German spit (spyt), spet (Low German spit, spet, speet, etc.), Old High German and Middle High German spiz (obsolete German spisz, spiss, etc.; German spiess); Middle Swedish spit (Swedish spett) and Danish spid are from Low German By adoption into Romanic the word appears as Italian (Naples dialect) spito, Spanish espeto, Portuguese espeto spit, French épois (plural) the points of a deer's horn. 1. a. A cooking implement consisting of a slender sharp-pointed rod of metal or wood, used for thrusting into or through meat which is to be roasted at a fire; a broach. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > cooking vessel or pot > [noun] > spit spitc1000 broach?a1400 obelisk1634 broacher1700 α. c1000 Ælfric Gram. (Z.) xi. 80 Ueru, spitu. c1000 Ælfric Gram. xiv. 89 Ueribus, spitum. a1100 in Assmann Ags. Hom. xv. 39 Sumne [heo] mid spiten betweon felle & flæsce þurhwræcon. 11.. in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 548 Ueru, spite. c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 208 Some op-on grediles of Ire i-rostede weren also, Some ase gyes, þe spites of Ire þoruȝ-out heom i-do. 1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 4213 [He had] yspited him þoru out mid an yrene spite & rostede in þis grete fur. c1340 Nominale (Skeat) 491 Broche, luche et esquele, Spite, ladul and dissch. a1400 Octouian 122 The kokes knaue, that turneth the spyte. c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 469 Spyte, for rostynge,..veru. 1480 W. Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxv. 202 They toke a spyte of coper brennyng and put it in to his body. 1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 287 Rosting at the fyre, vpon a spite of trie. β. a1300 Body & Soul in Map's Poems (Camden) 334 Thine cokes snelle, that scholden..greithe thi mete, With spetes.c1400 Brut (1906) 253 [They] toke a spete of Copur brennyng, & put hit..into his body.c1430 Two Cookery-bks. 8 Put þe porke on a fayre spete, an rost it half y-now.1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid v. ii. 117 Sum vthir..the colis hett Wndir the speitis swakkis.1538 in T. Wright Three Chapters Lett. Suppression Monasteries (1843) 194 ij gret brasse pottys,..spetys, pannys.1676 in Macintosh Anc. Rec. Kirkwall (1892) 78 Ane pair of long caces [read raxes] and ane speit.1679 J. Somerville Memorie Somervilles (1815) I. 240 When any persones of qualitie wer to be with him, he used to wryte in the postscript of his letters, Speates and Raxes.1747 in Minutes of Evid. Nairne Peerage (1873) 80 in Sessional Papers House of Lords (H.L. A) XII. 65 Three speets one shilling sixpence.1824 W. Scott Epist. to Lockhart 42 Speates and raxes ere five [o'clock] for a famishing guest, sir.γ. 1392 Earl Derby's Exp. (Camden) 205 vj spets et meremris pro rakks.1483 Cath. Angl. 355/2 A Spette of flesche, verutum.1559 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 153 A skommer, a spet, a gredyron.1564 in J. Raine Wills & Inventories N. Counties Eng. (1835) I. 219 Tongs, poore, shouell, spet, and that belongs thervnto.δ. 1391 Earl Derby's Exp. (Camden) 102 Pro iiij magnis spittes longis, et ij paruis spittes.a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 13 Rost hit afterwarde.., þen serve þou may Hit forthe, with spit.1495 in W. H. Stevenson Rec. Borough Nottingham (1885) III. 38 Unum spytte cum uno cobberd.1540 in J. W. Clay Testamenta Eboracensia (1902) VI. 119 The gretest yron spit that I have.1553 R. Eden tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. Hij They rosted also mans fleshe vpon spyttes.a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iv. iv. 5 Least that thy Wiues with Spits, and Boyes with stones In puny Battell slay me. View more context for this quotation1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd ii. 343 Fowl of game, In pastry built, or from the spit . View more context for this quotation1710 S. Palmer Moral Ess. Prov. 107 It ends with poison in the cup, or with the spit in his guts.1740 W. Somervile Hobbinol ii. 131 A Spit he seiz'd, Just reeking from the fat Surloyn.1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas III. ix. ix. 457 We have..wherewithal to keep the spit and the spigot in exercise.1848 E. Bulwer-Lytton Harold I. ii. i. 85 The meats were not placed on the table, but served upon small spits.1870 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer Iliad I. i. 25 Transfixed with spits, And roasted with nice care.figurative.1607 S. Hieron Mariage-blessing in Wks. (1620) I. 413 Thrust through with a spit of reproch.in combination.1617 J. Minsheu Ἡγεμὼν είς τὰς γλῶσσας: Ductor in Linguas A Spitter, a yong male Deere, that beginnes to haue his hornes grow vp sharpe spitwise. b. to beat (etc.)..with the spit, to treat with unexpected harshness (following upon kindly usage or hospitality). Now only dialect (in transferred use). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > unkindness > [verb (transitive)] > treat with unexpected unkindness to beat (etc.)‥with the spit1553 1553 T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique 72 b Suche are not to be lyked that geue a man a shoulder of mutton, and breake his heade with the spitte when thei haue doen. 1584 R. Greene Arbasto 26 Thou art bidden to the feast by loue, and art beaten with the spit by beauty. 1674 A. Wood Life & Times (1892) II. 296 He gave me roast meat and beat me with the spit. 1686 A. Wood Life & Times (1894) III. 186 Din'd at the College. [note] ‘Gave me roast-meat and beat me with the spit.’ 1690 W. Walker Idiomatologia Anglo-Lat. 43 To bid one to roast and beat him with the spit. 1876 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Words Whitby ‘Nevver invite a friend to a roast and then beat him with the spit,’ do not confer a favor and then make the obligation felt. c. The contents of a spit. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > food by way of preparation > [noun] > cooked food > food cooked on spit spit1634 1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 150 They haue Camell or Mutton cut in mammocks or small bits put vpon scuets..rosted in the fire, of this they sell three or foure spits for two pence. †2. a. A fin-spine of a fish. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > fish > parts of fish > [noun] > fin or parts of fin finc1000 spitc1275 ray1668 pinna1688 radius1740 spine1774 interneural1854 fin-ray1863 mesopterygium1871 metapterygium1871 radiale1871 finlet1874 propterygium1876 radial1882 axonost1887 lepidotrichium1904 c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 10643 He..bi-haldeð. hu ligeð i þan stræme stelene fisces...þer fleoteð heore spiten swulc hit spæren weoren. †b. The point of a spear. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > spear or lance > [noun] > head or point spear-headc1400 spitc1450 spear-pointa1500 endc1540 c1450 Cast. Persev. 1400 in Macro Plays. With spete of spere to þee I spynne; Goddis lawys to þee I lerne. †3. A straight horizontal stroke used as a mark in books; = obelisk n. 2(a). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > written character > punctuation > [noun] > dash spita1425 dash1733 swung dash1951 a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Esther x. 3 Which chapitre we bi oure custom han bifor markid with a spite. 1583 W. Fulke Def. Transl. Script. 22 Whatsoeuer is not found in the canon of the Iewes..St. Jerome did thrust through with a spit or obeliske, as not worthy to be receyued. 1608 Bp. J. Hall Epist. I. ii. v. 150 Either your starres or your spits..shall be welcome to my margent. 1610 J. Healey tr. J. L. Vives in tr. St. Augustine Citie of God xviii. xliii. 733 The booke is not corrected but rather corrupted by those asteriskes, and spits. 4. †a. A slender or sharp-pointed rod. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > types of tools generally > [noun] > in form of bar, pole, rod, etc. stingc725 stakec893 sowelc900 tree971 rungOE shaftc1000 staffc1000 stockc1000 poleOE spritOE luga1250 lever1297 stanga1300 perchc1300 raftc1330 sheltbeam1336 stower1371 palea1382 spar1388 spire1392 perk1396 ragged staff1397 peela1400 slot1399 plantc1400 heck-stower1401 sparkin1408 cammockc1425 sallow stakec1440 spoke1467 perk treec1480 yard1480 bode1483 spit1485 bolm1513 gada1535 ruttock1542 stob1550 blade1558 wattle1570 bamboo1598 loggat1600 barling1611 sparret1632 picket1687 tringle1706 sprund1736 lug-pole1773 polting lug1789 baton1801 stuckin1809 rack-pin1821 picket-pin1844 I-iron1874 pricker1875 stag1881 podger1888 window pole1888 verge1897 sallow pole1898 lat1899 swizzle-stick1962 the world > space > shape > fact or condition of tapering > condition of tapering to a point > [noun] > pointed object or part > pointed stick brochette1483 spit1485 1485 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 51 Merlyng Irenes, iiij, Spyttes of Iron, j, Canne hokes, ij. 1577 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Islande Brit. ii. xvi. f. 91^v/1, in R. Holinshed Chron. I In sundry parts of Lancasshyre..the people go..into their Fennes, and Marises with long spittes, which they dashe here and there..into the grounde. b. Printing. An iron rod carrying the wheel by which the carriage of a hand-press is run out or in. ΘΚΠ society > communication > printing > printing machine or press > parts of printers or presses > [noun] > carriage > mechanism for moving carriage > part of rounce1683 spit1728 1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Printing Under the Carriage is fix'd a small piece of Iron call'd the Spit, with a double Wheel in the middle. 1808 C. Stower Printer's Gram. 323 The axis, or spit, is a straight bar of iron,..about three inches longer than the whole breadth of the carriage. 1833 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal II. 210 The handle [of the rounce]..was attached to a rod which crossed the platten; this rod was connected with the spit by means of machinery. c. A thatching-peg. (Cf. broach n.¹ 5.) ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > [noun] > thatching equipment > pin for fastening down thatch prayeOE strabrod1335 broachc1440 thack-broach1573 thatch-prick1688 thack-prick1828 scollop1829 spit1833 stob1837 thack-nail1846 thack-peg1846 thack-pin1846 thatching-stake1879 thatch-hook1886 thatch-peg1897 1833 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Cottage Archit. §122 These are fastened to the thatch, by staples, or spits, or broaches. 1901 Notes & Queries 9th Ser. 8 178 The owner thought I meant the thatch~pegs, which held the thatch down, so he said, ‘Speets’. d. A rod or skewer on which fish are strung and hung up to dry. (Cf. broach n.¹ 2b.) ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > cooking vessel or pot > [noun] > spit > for smoking or drying spit1833 stringer1893 1833 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Cottage Archit. §739 In the neighbourhood of Aberdeen, and in various places in the north of Scotland, haddocks are strung up on rods called spits. 1865 W. White Eastern Eng. I. 146 These open partitions or racks are called ‘loves’. They support the speets, which are sticks or laths, long enough to lie across from one to the other. 1883 R. Haldane Workshop Receipts 2nd Ser. 443 Each fish (herring) is then threaded through the gills, on long thin spits holding 25 each. e. A shuttle-pin. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > general equipment > [noun] > harness of draught animal > fastening for harness shuttle-pin1587 spit1875 1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2279. f. An instrument used by Customs officers for probing and examining cargo. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > duty on goods > imposition or collecting of duties on goods > [noun] > search or examination of goods or vessels > one who > instrument used by spit1925 1925 Chambers's Jrnl. 19 Sept. 668/1 A barbed ‘spit’ is used for examining cotton, wool, and various coarse goods, so that a portion of the interior may be drawn out. A flat, wooden ‘spit’ is used in the examination of rolls of carpet, cloth, linoleum... A short, fine ‘spit’ is used for probing the stuffing and packing in and around furniture. 1970 M. Greener Penguin Dict. Commerce 310 Spit, a weapon used by Customs authorities to discover whether dutiable goods are hidden in other cargo. 5. A sword. (Chiefly contemptuous.) ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > side arms > sword > [noun] sword971 brandOE edgeOE ironOE brandelletc1325 garec1330 toolc1386 brank1480 tranchefera1533 flatchet1577 Morglay1582 smiter1591 brandiron1596 Toledo1601 machaira1614 spit-frog1615 toasting-irona1616 spit1642 bilbo1676 porker1688 tilter1688 degen1699 spurtlec1700 toaster1751 toasting-fork1807 slasher1815 cheese-cutter1824 khanda1825 cheese-toaster1858 windlestraw1895 1642 in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. IV. 316 So that the vapour is all frenchified, With out-stucke bomm, streight breech, and spit at side. 1681 T. Otway Souldiers Fortune ii. i. 21 I know five or six more of the same stamp; that never came abroad without terrible long Spits by their sides. 1734 H. Fielding Don Quixote in Eng. ii. v. 30 Throw by your Spit, Sir; throw by your Spit, and I don't fear you. 1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones V. xv. v. 230 Don't think I am afraid of such a Fellow as thee art? Because [thou] hast a got a Spit there dangling at thy Side. View more context for this quotation 1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue Spit, a sword. 1871 B. Taylor tr. J. W. von Goethe Faust I. xix. 207 Out with your spit, without delay! You've but to lunge, and I will parry. 6. a. A small, low point or tongue of land, projecting into the water; a long narrow reef, shoal, or sandbank extending from the shore. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > land mass > shore or bank > promontory, headland, or cape > [noun] > spit pinnaclec1330 hook1600 languet1610 spit1673 pier1768 1673 E. Hickeringill Gregory 138 That sand with the two horns is the spits. 1764 J. Byron Voy. (1773) I. 27 They drew up upon a stoney spit, which ran a good way into the sea. 1775 B. Romans Conc. Nat. Hist. E. & W. Florida App. 72 Off of the Look-out on St. Rosa Island lies a spit, which you must avoid. 1802 Naval Chron. 8 211 Above the third buoy..lies a dangerous spit. 1859 in Mercantile Marine Mag. (1860) 7 110 The spit or horn..extends 1½ miles. 1871 B. Taylor tr. J. W. von Goethe Faust II. ii. iii. 192 Around yon narrow spit the waves are rippling. b. Const. of (land, sand, etc.). ΚΠ 1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World xvi. 461 It is a small spit of hand [Errata:sand], just appearing above the waters edge. 1727 A. Hamilton New Acct. E. Indies I. xxvii. 343 There are..several Spits of Sand jetting a pretty Way into the Sea from Points of Land. 1836 W. Irving Astoria I. 132 The entrance from the sea..is bounded on the south side by a flat sandy spit of land, stretching into the ocean. 1863 S. Baring-Gould Iceland 112 A long spit of black rubble round which the lake curls. 1884 Contemp. Rev. Aug. 325 The old town..stood on an insulated spit of shore. Compounds Special combinations: spit-boot n. a boot or gaiter fastening by means of an iron spike (obsolete dialect). ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for legs > [noun] > gaiter or legging > types of cockerc1390 startup1625 spatterdasher1684 spatterdash1687 spatter-lash1688 spit-boot1707 splatterdash1772 spat1802 spring gaiter1846 bootleg1875 upper1889 spatter1898 the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > footwear > shoe or boot > boot > [noun] > fastened in specific way cockerc1390 spit-boot1707 wrapper1808 wrapping boot1808 button boot1831 Balmoral1857 1707 N. Blundell Diary (1895) 55 A pair of Spit-Boots. 1729 P. Walkden Diary 15 Sept. (1866) (modernized text) 43 Bought a pair of bellows and spit boot spurs. 1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Spit-boots, a species of boot, now very rarely in use. They opened on the outside of the leg. When put on, they were secured at the bottom by a sharp iron spit or spike, which passed into an iron socket. 1851 Gloss. Provinc. Words Cumberland Spit-boots, heavy leather gaiters with iron fastenings. † spit-file n. Obsolete (see quot. 1688). ΚΠ 1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory (1905) iii. xxii. 272/1 A Spit file..is an Iron rod thicker then a good wyer; it is bent a little from the handle to a square and then runs out streight. † spit-fish n. [compare Middle Swedish spitfisk, German spiessfisch] Obsolete the sea-pike. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > order Atheriniformes > [noun] > member of family Belonidae (gar-fish) horn-fishOE hornkeckc1425 garfishc1440 horn-stocka1485 green-bone1525 hornbeak1565 thorn-beak1570 horn-back1598 needlefish1601 spit-fish1601 sea-needle1603 ganefish1611 snacot-fish1611 greenbacka1682 bill-fisha1757 gar1767 sea-pike1769 saury1771 gar-pike1776 sea-snipea1832 mackerel guide1835 long-nose1836 gore-fish1839 gorebill1862 mackerel-scout1880 Long Tom1881 snipe-eel1882 1601 R. Chester Loves Martyr 100 Here swimmes the Shad, the Spitfish, and the Spurling. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Spet,..a slender, long,..blackish-backt sea-fish, called by some the Spit-fish, and by others..the sea-Pike. 1668 W. Charleton Onomasticon Zoicon 136 Lucius Marinus, the Sea-Pike, or Spitt-Fish. spit-jack n. a spit with a turning mechanism (see quot. 1967). ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > cooking vessel or pot > [noun] > roasting-jack wheeler dog1379 Jack1391 spit-turner?a1500 turnspit1606 hanging jack1660 turnspit-jack1674 smoke-jack1676 roasting-jack1698 water-jack1807 bottle jack1810 spit-jack1967 1967 Antique Finder Aug. 11/3 Spit jacks... These mechanisms were fitted on the wall at the side of the fireplace in order to rotate the carcass in front of the fire. A heavy weight was suspended from a cord and wound over the cylinder. The power was conveyed by a series of cogged wheels to another cylinder connected by a cord with a grooved disc on the end of the spit itself, which it slowly turned. 1971 R. Howe Mrs Groundes-Peace's Old Cookery Notebk. 65 There was the ‘spit-jack’, a weight-driven spit, considered in the sixteenth century as a labour-saving device. † spit-nose n. Obsolete a species of Oxyrhynchus. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > subclass Actinopterygii > superorder Osteoglossomorpha (bonytongues) > [noun] > order Mormyriformes > member of family Mormyridae oxyrhynchus1603 spit-nose1668 mormyrus1706 mormyr1890 oxyrhynch1890 mormyrid1896 1668 W. Charleton Onomasticon Zoicon 156 Oxyrincus Rondeletii,..the Spitnose. spit-point n. a sharp slender point. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > fact or condition of tapering > condition of tapering to a point > [noun] > a point pointc1300 neb?a1425 peakc1450 peck1481 cag1604 sharp1633 acuminate1640 cuspis1646 cusp1647 acumination1651 nib1713 spit-point1796 1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) III. 609 Leaves..ending in spit~points. spit-pointed adj. having a point like a spit. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > fact or condition of tapering > condition of tapering to a point > [adjective] > having (a) point(s) piked?a1300 pickedc1450 needle-pointed1565 thorny-pointed1594 long-nebbed1649 fitchy1650 cuspidated1668 spit-pointed1796 pin-pointed1859 needlenose1911 1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) III. 855 Leaves..narrow, spit-pointed. † spit-rack n. Obsolete a rack used for supporting a spit or spits. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > cooking vessel or pot > [noun] > roasting-jack > parts of dog-wheel1592 jack weight1642 flyer1674 jack-pulley1675 spit-wheel1678 tumbler1678 spit-rack1693 jack flyer1731 1693 T. Urquhart & P. A. Motteux tr. F. Rabelais 3rd Bk. Wks. xxxviii. 318 Spitrack fool. 1828 P. F. Tytler Hist. Scotl. I. 399 About a thousand spit racks, with meat on them. † spit-staff n. Obsolete (?). ΚΠ 1608 D. Wedderburn Compt Bk. (S.H.S.) 113 A speit staf and carvit wark thairon. † spit-turner n. Obsolete a device for turning a spit. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > cooking vessel or pot > [noun] > roasting-jack wheeler dog1379 Jack1391 spit-turner?a1500 turnspit1606 hanging jack1660 turnspit-jack1674 smoke-jack1676 roasting-jack1698 water-jack1807 bottle jack1810 spit-jack1967 ?a1500 Nominale (Yale Beinecke 594) in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 770 Hic veruvertor, a spete~turnere. † spit-wheel n. Obsolete a wheel serving to turn a spit. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > cooking vessel or pot > [noun] > roasting-jack > parts of dog-wheel1592 jack weight1642 flyer1674 jack-pulley1675 spit-wheel1678 tumbler1678 spit-rack1693 jack flyer1731 1678 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. iii. 47 The Wood work belonging to a Jack, is a Barrel, a Spit-wheel, and a Handle of the Winch. 1776 J. Hawkins Gen. Hist. Music I. 335 The dog who treads the spit-wheel. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2022). spitn.² Brit. /spɪt/, U.S. /spɪt/ Forms: Also Middle English spyt. Etymology: < spit v.² Compare spet n.¹ and Danish spyt (North Frisian spiit). 1. a. The fluid secreted by the glands of the mouth, esp. when ejected; saliva, spittle; a clot of this.See also cuckoo-spit n.¹, frog-spit. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > excretions > slaver > [noun] > spittle spattlec897 spoldOE spattlingc1000 speche?c1225 spita1300 spittinga1300 spotec1350 spittle1481 spettlea1500 salivation1601 spawlings1614 spawl1647 expectoration1650 snivel1698 slabber1718 outspitting1870 a1300 Cursor Mundi 24085 Þai sput on him þair spit. c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 469 Spyt, or spotle, sputum, screa, saliva. c1530 Hours of Blessed Virgin 78 His face w^th spit defil'd. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Crachat, spittle, or spit; also, a spitting. 1633 P. Fletcher Poeticall Misc. 95 in Purple Island See how with streams of spit th' are drencht. 1702 J. Floyer Anc. Ψυχρολουσία Revived ii. 54 Temperate Bathing..ripens the Spit, and helps it up. 1747 tr. J. Astruc Academical Lect. Fevers 291 The yellow spits generally expectorated in a peripneumony. 1865 Morning Star 7 Jan. The presence of ‘stour’, or dust,..the particles of which..manifest themselves in what is called the ‘black spit’. 1904 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 10 Sept. 35 The spit ceased to be fetid. b. Pathology. Spitting due to morbid condition. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > discharge or flux > [noun] > sputum sputum1684 spit1897 1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. II. 967 The men become prematurely old; they suffer from cough and spit. c. spit and sawdust: the floor covering (esp. formerly) typical of the general bar of a public house (see quot. 1937); hence, the bar itself. Frequently attributive (also transferred). Cf. sawdust n. 3. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > drinking > drinking place > [noun] > tap-room or bar tapstryc1460 ale stand1588 tap1725 bar-room1797 taproom1807 estaminet1814 saloon1841 sample room1865 cantina1892 mahogany1896 beverage room1936 spit and sawdust1937 society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > floor-covering > [noun] > floorcloth > types of wax-cloth1816 linoleum1878 corticine1880 cork carpet1906 lino1907 cork lino1909 spit and sawdust1937 1937 E. Partridge Dict. Slang Add. 995/1 Spit and sawdust, a general saloon in a public-house: C. 20. Ex the sawdust sprinkled on the floor and the spitting on to the sawdust. 1969 D. Clark Death after Evensong ii. 40 Where shall I start? In the spit and sawdust? I take it you'll do the saloon bar yourself. 1971 R. Busby Deadlock x. 158 The Porter's Arms, a spit and sawdust public house near the markets. 1972 Guardian 24 Feb. 10/2 Pub styles polarize into ‘Spit and Sawdust’..and ‘Architects' Fanciful’. 1976 Rhyl Jrnl. & Advertiser 9 Dec. 1/1 He thought that a ‘rough and ready, spit and sawdust affair’ could be produced and made available for consideration at the council's estimates meetings. 1977 Lancashire Life Mar. 58/2 They also convert buildings into billiard clubs, where the decor is attractive and the spit-and-sawdust era is just a memory. 2. a. The act of spitting; an instance of this. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > action of slavering > [noun] > action of spitting spattlingc1000 spitting13.. spoutingc1390 avoidancea1398 spetinga1400 spet1446 spettingc1450 excreationa1556 spawling1608 exspuition1650 exsputation1657 sputation1657 sputtering1699 spit1700 1700 C. Nesse Antidote against Arminianism 23 Fortune..is but the Devil's Blasphemous Spitt upon Divine Providence. 1763 C. Johnstone Reverie (new ed.) I. 143 I began to hope that I should come off with a spit in the face, or a kick on the breech at worst. 1853 E. FitzGerald Lett. (1889) I. 224 The Athenaeum in which you will see a more determined spit at me. 1896 Daily News 19 May 8/1 Whenever Masai retire from a conference without spitting the spit of peace, squalls may be expected. in extended use.1882 Proc. Royal Geogr. Soc. 4 471 [There was] a little spit from a Mahratta musket. b. a spit and a stride, a very short distance. ΘΚΠ the world > space > distance > [noun] > a short distance wurpc950 stepc1000 footc1300 furlong wayc1384 stone-casta1387 straw brede14.. tinec1420 weec1420 field-breadth1535 field-broad1535 pair of butts1545 straw-breadth1577 stone's throw1581 way-bit?1589 space1609 piece1612 littlea1616 spirt1670 a spit and a stride1676 hair's breadth1706 rope's length1777 biscuit throw1796 a whoop and a holler1815 biscuit toss1836 biscuit cast1843 stone-shot1847 pieceway1886 stone-put1896 pitch-and-putt1925 pieceways1932 1676 C. Cotton Compl. Angler 23 You are now..within a spit, and a stride of the peak. 1676 Poor Robins Intelligence 4 Apr. 1/1 He had not gone above a spit and a stride but he meets another arch Wag. 1677 W. Hughes Man of Sin i. x. 44 They, I think, out-spake him, a spit and stride, who prayed unto the Pope [etc.]. 1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) c. to go for the big spit: to vomit. Australian slang. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > digestive disorders > have digestive disorder [verb (intransitive)] > vomit spewc897 vomea1382 brake1393 perbreak?a1400 castc1440 envomish1480 parbreak1495 vomita1500 to cast the crawa1529 to cast (up), heave, spue up, vomit one's gorgea1529 galpa1535 to cast out1561 puke1586 purge1596 void1605 to jerk, shoot, whip the cat1609 rid1647 to flay the fox1653 posset1781 to shoot the cat1785 to throw up1793 throw1804 cascade1805 reject1822 yark1867 sick1924 to toss (also shoot, blow, etc.) one's cookies1927 to lose a dinner (or a meal)1941 to spew one's ring1949 chunder1950 barf1960 upchuck1960 yuck1963 ralph1966 to go for the big spit1967 vom1991 1967 F. Hardy Billy Borker yarns Again 40 Don't tell me the Gargler went for the big spit. 1970 Private Eye 10 Apr. 16 He goes for the big spit and accidentally entombs a nice old lady and her dog in tepid chuck. 1975 R. Beilby Brown Land Crying 225 Goin' for the big spit, was I? I don't remember. 3. a. the very spit of, the exact image, likeness, or counterpart of (a person, etc.). Also, the (dead) spit of. colloquial. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > similarity > [phrase] > similar the make1539 eiusdem generis1663 the very spit of1825 spit and image1859 the (dead) spit of1885 the dead ring1899 1825 A. Knapp & W. Baldwin Newgate Cal. III. 497/2 A daughter,..the very spit of the old captain. 1836 T. Hook Gilbert Gurney I. 202 You are a queer fellow—the very spit of your father. 1885 H. Caine Shadow of Crime II. xxvi. 129 A brother..the spit of hissel'. 1886 K. S. Macquoid Sir J. Appleby III. x. 143 This young chap has got his dear grandmother's eyes, why, he's the very spit of her. 1901 E. W. Hornung Black Mask 37 I'll chance you having another ring..the dead spit of mine. 1921 ‘K. Mansfield’ Let. Sept. (1977) 232 One of his [sc. Cézanne's] men gave me quite a shock. He's the spit of a man I've just written about, one Jonathan Trout. 1936 M. de la Roche Whiteoak Harvest v. 98 Easy for a boy to look like his grandmother. There was Renny—the spit of old Gran! 1953 A. Upfield Murder must Wait xvii. 154 The son's the dead spit of the old man. 1966 ‘L. Lane’ ABZ of Scouse 25 That ther kid's ther dead spit of 'is gramp. b. With addition of fetch, image, picture. spit and image: see also image n. 7. Also spit image and absol. spit. Cf. the (later) forms spitten image, spitting image n. at spitting adj. Compounds 2, spitting adj. Compounds 2 respectively. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > similarity > [phrase] > similar the make1539 eiusdem generis1663 the very spit of1825 spit and image1859 the (dead) spit of1885 the dead ring1899 the world > relative properties > relationship > similarity > [noun] > image of a person or thing print1340 imagec1384 similitude?a1425 picturec1475 similitudeness1547 portrait1567 idol1590 model1594 self-imagea1672 duplicate1701 moral1751 ditto1776 fetch1787 double1798 fetch-like1841 splitting image1880 spitting image1901 spit1929 split-image1950 clone1977 the world > relative properties > relationship > imitation > [noun] > action of repeating in a copy or making a copy > duplicate or exact copy counterpanec1475 counterparta1676 facsimile1691 duplicate1701 rescript1729 double1798 reduplicate1803 duplication1872 dupe1916 carbon copy1926 spit1929 clone1977 1859 G. A. Sala Gaslight & Daylight xxix. 334 He would be the very spit and fetch of Queen Cleopatra. 1869 in Eng. Dial. Dict. ). 1895 E. Castle Light of Scarthey vi. 71 She's like the poor lady that's dead and gone, the spit an' image she is. 1929 J. B. Priestley Good Compan. i. v. 166 That's theirs... It's the spit image o' yours, too. 1949 Penguin New Writing 36 35 My husband saw a man that was the spit-image of King no further away than Jackson. 1966 New Statesman 18 Feb. 235/1 For most of the last two acts he's catapulted in and out of doors, changing on the way into the cheerfully sodden porter of the bordel who happens to be his spit. 4. A slight sprinkle or shower of rain or snow. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > rain > [noun] > a or the fall of rain > shower > slight spitting1707 smur1830 skit1847 spit1849 skiff1895 whisp1923 1849 G. Cupples Green Hand iv, in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Sept. 320/1 The night was quite dark, the rain coming in sudden spits out of the wind. 1851 T. J. Taylor Operat. Running Streams 33 On the occurrence of a thunder spit. 1889 F. M. Peard Paul's Sister III. xxvi. 138 The day was mild,..with occasional spit of rain. Compounds C1. General attributive. spit-venom n. ΚΠ 1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. ii. 6 The spit-venome of their poisoned harts breaketh out to the annoyance of others. C2. spit-box n. a spittoon. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > cleaning or cleanliness of the person > [noun] > spittoon spittery1693 cuspidor1779 spit-box1833 spittoon1840 salivarium1883 1833 M. Scott Tom Cringle's Log xxiii, in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Aug. 141/2 There was no paucity of silver dishes; basins, spitboxes, censers, and utensils of all shapes..and sizes. 1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xxii. 222 Having a large spit-box always under the steps. 1890 J. Cagney tr. R. von Jaksch Clin. Diagnosis iv. 88 The sputum has a rusty tinge.., and adheres firmly to the spit-box. spit-curl n. originally U.S. (see quots.). ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > hair > hair of head > curl > [noun] feak1548 lovelock1592 crisple1594 curl1604 cockle1608 crisp1638 ringlet1645 cockera1653 heartbreaker1654 moustache1662 confidenta1685 cruchea1685 passagerea1685 favourite1690 wimpler1724 cannon1774 whisker1786 favori1801 curlet1803 tendril1814 sausage curl1828 spit-curl1831 crimp1855 curdle1860 number sices1861 whiskerette1880 the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > [noun] > curled or frizzed style > a curl crocket1303 crookc1308 crotchet1589 lock1601 bergera1685 beau-catcher1818 sausage curl1828 spit-curl1831 crimp1855 kiss-curl1856 follow-me-lads1862 Alexandra curl1863 bob-curl1867 pin-curl1873 Montague1881 quiff1890 kiss-me-quick1893 1831 Boston Transcript 9 Sept. 2/1 What would the reverend Doctor say of the ‘spit curls’, and Chinese precision of a modern dandyzette's head gear? 1857 M. J. Holmes Meadow-Brook ii Arranging just in front of her ears two spit curls, sometimes called ‘beau catchers’. 1859 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (ed. 2) 435 Spit-curl, a detached lock of hair curled upon the temple; probably from having been at first plastered into shape by the saliva. 1872 M. S. De Vere Americanisms 324 The female ornament..is the spit-curl. 1903 J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley Slang VI. ii. 314/1 Spit-curl, subs. phr. (costers').—A curl lying flat on the temple; a soap-curl. 1957 L. Durrell Justine i. 37 A spitcurl at each temple. 1968 J. Ironside Fashion Alphabet 198 Spit curls, small curls brought forward on to the cheek, often moistened with ‘spit’. spit-insect n. †(a) (see quot. 1755); (b) the cuckoo-spit insect, Philænus spumarius; cf. spittle bug n. at spittle n.² Compounds 1. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > subclass Pterygota > [noun] > division Exopterygota or Hemimetabola > order Hemiptera > suborder Homoptera > family Cicadidae cicada?a1475 cigala1484 bow-krickel1658 locust1709 harvest-fly1753 spit-insect1755 tettix1775 balm-cricket1783 cicala1821 tree-hopper1836 cicad1855 knife-grinder1859 scissors-grinder1875 jar-fly1880 squeaker1887 New Forest cicada1978 the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > subclass Pterygota > [noun] > division Exopterygota or Hemimetabola > order Hemiptera > suborder Homoptera > member of family Cercopidae (spit-insects) wood-sear1585 froghopper?1711 froth-insect1774 froth-worm1774 froth-frog-hopper1816 froth-fly1864 spittle bug1882 spit-insect1950 1755 Dict. Arts & Sci. IV Spit-insect, in zoology, the cicada with brown wings, and two white spots on them, and a double white line. 1950 J. Brooke Goose Cathedral iv. 82 Little green spit-insects dropped out of the tamarisks into one's cup. spit-kid n. Nautical a receptacle for spit. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > smoking > articles or materials used in smoking > [noun] > receptacle for spit spit-kid1891 1891 Cent. Dict. (at cited word) Spitkid. 1898 R. Kipling Fleet in Being 13 After dinner, as they were smoking above the spit-kids. Draft additions September 2016 spit-up n. North American an instance of regurgitation by a baby; (now) liquid regurgitated by a baby after eating. ΚΠ 1962 Daily Courier (Connellsville, Pa.) 4 June 5/3 It [sc. bicarbonate of soda] absorbs the milk's fat content and counteracts the acid odor of a spit-up. 1977 Sunday Chron.-Telegram (Elyria, Ohio) 2 Jan. (Sunday Scene) 2/3 Reverse the procedure and you could regret it if the burp becomes a spit-up. 1986 Chicago Tribune 13 July x. 5/1 Nearly everyone can recognize a mother when he sees one. Sometimes it's the spit-up on the shoulders of the very young ones that gives it away. 1994 J. Updike Brazil xvi. 133 Their tantrums and tumbles, their colic and spit-up, their hunger and excrement. 2007 M. Francis Everything Health Guide Postpartum Care xiv. 206 Remember that dark colors will show spit-up, so you may want to go with..less-flattering light patterns that hide the spit-up. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online June 2022). spitn.³ Forms: Also 1800s dialect speet. Etymology: < Middle Dutch or Middle Low German spit (Dutch, Low German, West Frisian spit , North Frisian spet , spatt ; also Middle Dutch speet , Middle Low German spêdt ): see spit v.³ 1. Such a depth of earth as is pierced by the full length of a spade-blade; a spade-graft: a. Followed by adjectives, esp. deep.The singular is sometimes used after numerals instead of the plural. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > [noun] > digging > digging to spade depth > spade's depth spade-graft1252 spit1507 graff?1523 graft1620 spade1674 spit1677 spade-bit1790 1507–8 in Gage Hist. Suffolk (1838) 145 For making of a diche..ij spitte depper then the cast of the cawsy now is. a1650 G. Boate Irelands Nat. Hist. (1652) xx. 160 A good clay (which commonly lyeth one or two spits deep). 1670 J. Smith England's Improvem. Reviv'd 36 The ground is delved two spit deep. 1691 J. Ray Coll. Eng. Words (ed. 2) Pref. We say a Spade-graft or a Spit deep. a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1757) 25 Whole beds of chalk, an half spit thick. 1763 Museum Rusticum (1764) 1 254 I make my labourers dig up the intervals one spit deep. 1808 C. Vancouver Gen. View Agric. Devon xi. 285 These drains..should be made one foot (or spit) wide, and one spit deep. 1882 Gardeners' Chron. 17 84 The best method of preparing the soil for the reception of young trees is to dig or trench it at least two spits deep. b. In other contexts. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > [noun] > digging > digging to spade depth > spade's depth spade-graft1252 spit1507 graff?1523 graft1620 spade1674 spit1677 spade-bit1790 1677 R. Plot Nat. Hist. Oxford-shire 66 At Teynton also, within a spit of the surface, they dig a sort of earth they there call Lam. a1679 J. Moore Englands Interest (1703) 47 I..digg my hole 4 Foot square, but no deeper than one Spit, or there~about. 1792 Trans. Soc. Arts 10 4 The soil was dug one full spit, and the turf inverted. 1842 E. J. Lance Cottage Farmer 11 Digging one acre of Wheat Land, twelve inches deep, by two 6-inch spits. 1862 E. O'Curry Lect. Anc. Irish (1873) III. xxxiii. 291 It [a curious harp] was raised by labourers at the depth of twelve spits or spadings under the earth in Coolness Moss. c. A thrust of the spade in digging. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > [noun] > digging > digging to spade depth > spade's thrust spit1844 1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 552 Manure, which should either be dug down 18 inches deep with a double spit of the spade, or ploughed down with a double furrow. 2. A layer of earth of a spade's depth: a. With adjectives denoting the relative position of the layer. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > [noun] > layer a spade's depth spit1663 1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 53 Brickmakers are accustomed to dig the top spit..and to throw it with the other clay. 1670 J. Smith England's Improvem. Reviv'd 36 The second spit or under~most earth is laid upon the first spit or spadeful of earth. 1706 G. London & H. Wise Retir'd Gard'ner I. i. ii The first Spit, or Top Earth is always allow'd to be better than that which lyes under it. 1766 R. Griffith & E. Griffith Lett. Henry & Frances III. 217 The Difference..may be compared to [that between] the upper Sod, and the under Spit, of the Earth. 1824 T. Hogg Conc. & Pract. Treat. Carnation (ed. 3) 23 Loam..should consist of the top spit and crumbs only. 1850 G. Glenny Hand-bk. Flower Garden 9 Use a compost of two-thirds loam, from the upper spit of a pasture, and one-third sand. 1882 Garden 28 Jan. 54/1 The soil..is entirely composed of the top spit of a neighbouring meadow. b. In other contexts. ΚΠ 1780 A. Young Tour Ireland (Dublin ed.) I. 63 He dug it over, levelled it, and burnt the spit in great heaps. 1791 Trans. Soc. Arts 9 42 Covering them [potatoes] with straw and a spit of earth. 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 323 He only digs one spit fourteen inches deep with the bottom land-ditching spade. 1844 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 5 i. 9 He returns and with another spade longer and narrower than the last cuts out the next spit or lower part of the drain. 3. a. The quantity of earth taken up by a spade at a time; a spadeful. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > [noun] > digging > spadeful spit1675 1675 London Gaz. No. 1031/4 The River side,..where the Lord Bishop diggeth the first Spit. 1731 J. Tull New Horse-houghing Husbandry 119 You will find..most of the Pieces or Spits, which are dug out of your Sight, to be of twice that Thickness. 1792 J. Belknap Hist. New-Hampsh. III. 119 This being dug in spits of a proper size, and dried, becomes valuable fewel. 1838 W. L. Rham Outl. Flemish Husbandry iii. 20 in Brit. Husbandry (Libr. Useful Knowl.) (1840) III Digging out spits of earth with the spade.., and setting them up on the surface already ploughed. 1881 C. Whitehead Hops 43 The modern diggers..do not lift each ‘spit’ up on their spuds and throw it over, as the old-fashioned workmen did in other days. b. A series of spadefuls taken in a line. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > [noun] > digging > spadeful > series of spadefuls spita1722 a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1757) 21 Farmer Bond..carried a spit [of dung] all along from the heap, and spread it near to the brink of the furrows. 1765 Museum Rusticum 4 374 A spit of earth out of the trenches is..to be cast amongst the plants of coleseed in the rows. 4. dialect. A special form of spade (see quots.). ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > [noun] > spade > narrow spade spud1667 spit-shovel1678 spit1828 navigator1879 1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Spit, a spade with a mouth almost semicircular. ?1830 P. Sellar Netherby, Cumberland 65, in Farm-rep. A narrow-mouthed spade (technically called a spit) corresponding to the breadth of the tile to be used. Compounds General attributive. spit-deep adv. ΚΠ 1693 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 17 826 Some of these Tubera, which lay Spit deep under ground. 1765 Museum Rusticum 4 311 Digging, spit-deep, sixteen rods, at three-pence per rod. a1800 S. Pegge Suppl. Grose's Provinc. Gloss. (1814) Spit-deep, the depth of a spade only. spit-dung n. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > fertilizing or manuring > [noun] > dunging > dung dungOE muckc1268 dunging?1440 fimea1475 fulyiec1480 tath1492 soil1607 street soil1607 dung-water1608 soiling1610 mucking1611 short dung, manure, muck1618 folding1626 muck water1626 stable manure1629 long dung1658 spit-dunga1671 stercoration1694 street dirt1694 horse-litter1721 pot-dunga1722 sock1790 street manure1793 police manure1825 fold-manure1829 slurry1965 a1671 F. Drope Short & Sure Guid Fruit-trees (1672) 3 Upon this Bed must be laid some spit-dung (i.e. such horse-dung as is rotted in the heap, and may be digged with a spade). 1779 W. Marshall Exper. & Observ. conc. Agric. & Weather 111 (note) The ordinary distinction of Long-Dung and Short or Spit-Dung. 1824 J. C. Loudon Green-house Compan. i. 115 Loam with..vegetable mould, or mould of spit dung. 1864 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 25 ii. 329 I..buy good spit-dung, ready for use, as I want it. spit-shovel n. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > [noun] > spade > narrow spade spud1667 spit-shovel1678 spit1828 navigator1879 1678 Philos. Trans. 1677 (Royal Soc.) 12 946 The Spit-shovel is to be made of a thin streight Iron ten Inches long, and five Inches broad, with a Socket in the side of it to put a staff or handle. 1729 Philos. Trans. 1727–8 (Royal Soc.) 35 568 A narrow Spade, commonly termed a Spit-shovel. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online December 2021). Spitn.⁴ Etymology: Shortened < Spitfire (in full Supermarine Spitfire), a British fighter aeroplane produced between 1936 and 1947. colloquial. A Spitfire fighter aeroplane. ΘΚΠ society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > used in warfare > fighter > of specific manufacture Spad1917 Messerschmitt1938 Spit1941 widowmaker1944 MiG1953 1941 Sat. Rev. Lit. (U.S.) 4 Oct. 9/3 A pilot ‘aviates’..a Wimpy or Spit (Spitfire). 1948 G. V. Galwey Lift & Drop ii. 25 From time to time Miss Procter..said ‘Here come the jet jobs,’ or ‘The Spits are lovely.’ 1965 New Statesman 7 May 718/2 ‘Look, Ron,’ he cried, ‘my old Spit!’ 1980 J. McClure Blood of Englishman vi. 64 I was flying Spits, Hurricanes, while Bonzo..was in Bomber Command. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online March 2019). spitv.¹ Forms: α. Middle English spit(i)en (past tense spitede, past participle i-spited, y-spited, -spyted), Middle English spite, spyte. β. Scottish and dialect1500s spete, 1500s, 1700s–1800s speet. γ. Middle English–1500s spytte, 1500s spyt, 1500s– spit (past tense and past participle spitted), 1600s spitt. Etymology: < spit n.¹ Compare Middle Dutch (Dutch) and Middle Low German speten, Middle Dutch and Low German spitten, older German (now dialect) spissen (German spiessen). 1. a. transitive. To put on a spit; to thrust through with a spit. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > cooking > cook [verb (transitive)] > roast > roast on spit > put meat on spit spitc1275 the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > make (an opening or hole) [verb (transitive)] > make an opening or hole in or into > bore, pierce, or perforate > with something sharp-pointed > transpierce through-stingeOE thorough-runOE spitc1275 through-shovec1330 through-ficchea1400 through-girdc1405 tresperce1484 transpierce1594 reeve1681 c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 13237 He..smat hine þurh mid þan spere. swa he ispited [c1300 Otho ispeded] weore. 1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 4213 Þis grisliche geant adde..yspited him þoru out mid an yrene spite. c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 469 Spyte mete on a spete, veruo. 1483 Cath. Angl. 356/1 To Spytte..flesche, verutare. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 729 I wyll spytte my meate or ever I wyl set my pyes in the oven. 1581 A. Hall tr. Homer 10 Bks. Iliades ii. 31 The gigots and the other flesh in peeces they did spit. ?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads ix. 209 Then of a well-fed swine A huge fat shoulder he cuts out, and spits it wondrous fine. 1699 W. Dampier Voy. & Descr. i. ii. 31 Little bits of Pork, spitted 5 or 6 of them at once, on a small skiver, and roasted. 1749 T. Smollett tr. A. R. Le Sage Gil Blas IV. x. x. 62 He lighted a fire, spitted a leg of mutton. 1787 J. Farley London Art Cookery (ed. 4) 35 Having spitted your pig,..lay it down to a brisk clear fire. 1833 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Cottage Archit. §1515 The operation, when the meat is once spitted,..goes on of itself. 1879 J. Beerbohm Wanderings in Patagonia xi. 171 I lost no time in spitting some meat and setting it to roast. b. transferred. To pierce, transfix, or stab with a sharp weapon, etc.; to fix or impale on or upon something sharp. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > injure [verb (reflexive)] > wound with sharp weapon spitc1430 the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > injure [verb (transitive)] > wound > wound with sharp weapon woundc760 stickOE snese?c1225 stokea1300 steekc1300 bearc1330 stangc1340 chop1362 broach1377 foinc1380 strikec1390 borea1400 dag?a1400 gorea1400 gridea1400 staira1400 through-girdc1405 thrustc1410 runc1425 to run throughc1425 traversec1425 spitc1430 through-seeka1500 stitch1527 falchiona1529 stab1530 to stab (a person) in1530 stob?1530 rutc1540 rove?c1550 push1551 foxa1566 stoga1572 poniard1593 dirk1599 bestab1600 poach1602 stiletto1613 stocka1640 inrun1653 stoccado1677 dagger1694 whip1699 bayonetc1700 tomahawk1711 stug1722 chiv1725 kittle1786 sabre1790 halberd1825 jab1825 skewer1837 sword1863 poke1866 spear1869 whinger1892 pig-stick1902 shiv1926 society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > cut of sharp weapon > cut or penetrate (of weapon) [verb (transitive)] > strike with pointed weapon prickOE pritchOE snese?c1225 threstc1275 stokea1300 bearc1330 stangc1340 broach1377 foinc1380 borea1400 dag?a1400 gorea1400 gridea1400 slot?a1400 staira1400 through-girdc1405 thrustc1410 runc1425 to run throughc1425 traversec1425 spitc1430 through-seeka1500 to run in1509 stab1530 to stab (a person) in1530 accloy1543 push1551 stoga1572 poacha1616 stocka1640 stoccado1677 stug1722 kittle1820 skewer1837 pitchfork1854 poke1866 chib1973 the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > make (an opening or hole) [verb (transitive)] > make an opening or hole in or into > bore, pierce, or perforate > with something sharp-pointed > transfix through-driveOE through-nimc1275 stickc1330 through-piercec1330 to stick througha1382 preenc1390 spitc1430 thirlc1450 broacha1470 prickc1475 to stick up1528 transfix1590 fix1638 bestick1667 impalea1678 spiculate1835 skewer1837 to strike through1893 α., γ. c1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode (1869) ii. cxxviii. 124 A spere, that was al ful of eren of men perced, whiche weren spited ther on. 1607 R. C. tr. H. Estienne World of Wonders 144 Two brethren..who were spitted vpon a stake some fifteene yeares ago. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) iii. iii. 121 Your naked Infants spitted vpon Pykes. View more context for this quotation a1643 W. Cartwright Ordinary (1651) iv. i. 60 Hee'l spit you, If he but know you are a Usurer. 1781 W. Cowper Charity 354 Whether he measure earth,..Weigh sun-beams, carve a fly, or spit a flea. 1847 E. Brontë Wuthering Heights I. vi. 106 If she had been spitted on the horns of a mad cow. 1870 W. Thornbury Tour Eng. i. ii. 51 They were found, side by side, each having spitted the other with his rapier. figurative.1590 R. Harvey Plaine Percevall sig. C2 Heresay is too slender an euidence to spit a mans credit vpon.reflexive.1817 W. Scott Rob Roy I. x. 232 My falcon Cheviot, who spitted himself on a heron's bill.β. 1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid ix. xii. 90 And Phegeas [he] doun brytnys in the feyld, Spetit throw owt the body and his scheyld.1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle v. ii. sig. Eii^v If he came, [he] bad me not sticke to speet hym.?a1786 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 203 He swoor by a' was swearing worth To speet him like a Pliver. c. Of a Customs officer: to examine with a ‘spit’ (spit n.¹ 4f). ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > duty on goods > imposition or collecting of duties on goods > exact duty on [verb (transitive)] > search or examine > with implement spit1925 1925 Chambers's Jrnl. 19 Sept. 668/1 The officer..selects a number of bales for inspection. These he ‘spits’—that is, he inserts a special iron instrument, which is capable of penetrating to the interior of a large bale and extracting a small piece of the commodity. 2. To pierce or stud (a thing) with spikes. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > make (an opening or hole) [verb (transitive)] > make an opening or hole in or into > bore, pierce, or perforate > with something sharp-pointed shearOE sting993 stickOE spita1225 wound?c1225 stitchc1230 pitcha1275 threstc1275 forprick1297 steekc1300 piercec1325 rivec1330 dag?a1400 jag?a1400 lancec1400 pickc1400 tamec1400 forpierce1413 punch1440 launch1460 thringc1485 empiercec1487 to-pierce1488 joba1500 ding1529 stob?1530 probe1542 enthrill1563 inthirlc1580 cloy1590 burt1597 pink1597 lancinate1603 perterebrate1623 puncture1675 spike1687 skiver1832 bepierce1840 gimlet1841 prong1848 javelin1859 a1225 Juliana 57 [He] lette..a swiðe wunderlich hweol meten & makien & þurh spitien [v.r. spiten] hit al..wið irnene gadien. 3. a. To fix (herrings or other fish) on a spit or rod for drying or smoking. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preserving or pickling > pickle or preserve [verb (transitive)] > dry pine1560 spit1617 deese1682 jerk1709 charqui1820 sun-cure1885 dehydrate1921 1617 Minutes Archd. Colchester (MS.) Allegauit that his servant dyd spitt herrings vpon the saboth day,..for otherwise the herrings had bene all lost. 1865 W. White Eastern Eng. II. 140 The fish are washed and speeted by gangs of women, who with nimble fingers hang them one by one through gills and mouth upon speets. b. To string (needles) together by passing a wire through the eyes. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > needle-making > make needles [verb (transitive)] > specific processes spit1862 1862 Internat. Exhib.: Illustr. Catal. Industr. Dept. II. xxxii. §6449 These little labourers take the needles when they have been ‘eyed’ and proceed to ‘spit’ them, that is, to pass a wire through the eye of every needle. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online June 2022). spitv.² Brit. /spɪt/, U.S. /spɪt/, Australian English /spɪt/ Forms: infinitive Old English spittan, Middle English spitten, Middle English spyttyn; Middle English–1500s spitte, spytte, spyt (Middle English–1500s spytt), 1500s– spit (1500s–1600s spitt). past tense Middle English–1600s spitted (1500s Scottish -it), Middle English–1500s spytted. β. Middle English–1500s spitte, spytte, Middle English– spit (Middle English spitt, spyt, Middle English spytt); 1500s spett(e, 1500s–1600s spet; 1500s spatt(e, 1500s– spat; 1500s–1800s spate, 1600s spot, Middle English, 1800s dialect, sput. past participle Old English gispitted, Middle English–1500s spytted, 1500s–1600s (1800s dialect) spitted (1500s Scottish -it). β. 1500s–1600s spet (1500s spette), Middle English– spit (1500s–1600s spitte, 1500s spytte), 1800s– spat, dialect sput. γ. 1500s spetten, 1600s–1700s (1800s dialect) spitten, 1800s dialect spatten, sputten. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Northern Old English spittan (also gespittan ), = German dialect spitzen , of imitative origin; compare Middle Swedish spytta , spotta (Swedish spotta ), Norwegian dialect spytta (sputta ), Danish spytte , North Frisian spütte , older German (now dialect) sputzen , also Old Norse and Icelandic spýta (Norwegian dialect spyte ) and Old English spǽtan spete v.Old English instances are rare, the common words being spǽtan , spǽtlan , and spíwan . From the 15th cent. the conjugation has included forms that belonged historically to the obsolete spete v., together with new formations on the analogy of strong verbs. See also spet v. I. transitive. †1. To eject saliva on (a person) as a sign of contempt. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > hold in contempt [verb (transitive)] > express contempt of > by spitting spitc950 consputea1530 the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > dirtiness or soiling with specific kinds of dirt > dirty or soil with specific kinds of dirt [verb (transitive)] > dirty with saliva or spittle spitc950 sputea1225 bespetea1240 bedravel1377 spouta1382 bespitc1384 beslobber1393 spew1526 slabber1579 beslaver1589 slaver1591 spittle1596 bespawl1602 drivel1609 bedribble1620 slop1696 bedrivel1721 slake1808 c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Mark x. 34 Hia spittes hine & hia suingeð hine. c975 Rushw. Gosp. Luke xviii. 32 Swungen [he] bið & gispitted bið. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 214 Spit him amit þe beart to hoker & to scarn. þe flikereð swa wið þe. c1230 Hali Meid. 17 Þenne spit leccherie, to schome & to bismere, meidenhad o þe nebbe. 2. a. To eject from the mouth by the special effort involved in expelling saliva. to spit sixpences: see sixpence n. 2d. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > action of slavering > slaver [verb (transitive)] > spit spitc975 spetec1000 spitc1386 outspita1425 spet1532 exspute1705 gob1933 c975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xxvii. 30 Þa spittende on him heor spaðl, genoman þæt hreod & slogun his heafud. a1225 Juliana 49 Hare ahne blod ich habbe ofte imaket ham to spitten & to speowen. a1300 Cursor Mundi 24085 Þai sput on him þair spit. c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Hypsipyle. 1433 Two bolys makyd al of bras That spittyn fer. c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 180 He strake hym opon þe breste, at he spytt blude with iij dayes. 1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 104 The wulf had so moche payne and anguyssh..that he spytte blood. 1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1845) xxxiii. 166 With his thre hedes he spytte all his venum. 1590 ‘Pasquil’ First Pt. Pasquils Apol. sig. B iij Hath the Toade no poyson before he spits it? 1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique i. xii. 65 That cluttered blood which the sicke partie shall haue spet. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 126 A thirsty train That..spet from their dry Chaps the gather'd dust again. View more context for this quotation 1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 117. ¶7 Sir Roger told me, that old Moll had been often brought before him for making Children spit Pins. 1789 Med. Communications 2 297 He..spate a vast quantity of tough white froth. 1803 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 9 430 He..began to spit thick matter of a greenish colour. 1821 W. Scott Kenilworth II. xii. 308 This master-fiend shall spit a few flashes of fire..on the spot, if it will do you pleasure. 1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. IV. 162 Recovery may ensue after the patient has been spitting muco-pus for weeks. figurative.a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) ii. f. 31^v Their whole knowledge..was tied onely to their tong & lips,..and therfore was sone spitte out of the mouth againe.1777 J. Brand Observ. Pop. Antiq. 101 (note) Boys have a Custom (inter se) of spitting their Faith, or as they also call it here, their Saul (Soul), when required to make Asseverations in a Matter of Consequence. b. With forth, out, up. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > action of slavering > slaver [verb (transitive)] > spit spitc975 spetec1000 spitc1386 outspita1425 spet1532 exspute1705 gob1933 c1386 [see sense 2c]. ?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 6353 He wald þe penys oute haue spit, he moght noght opyn his mouth ȝit. 1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1845) xxxvii. 192 Toward me he came,..Spyttyng out fyre. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 729 The adder dyd spytte forthe her venyme by and by. 1558 W. Ward tr. G. Ruscelli Secretes Alexis of Piemount f. 21^v He tourned..vpon the beddes side, and spitte out a great parte of the matter. 1663 S. Patrick Parable of Pilgrim ix As men do with bitter Pills which..if they chaw them, prove so distastful, that they are ready to spit them out again. 1745 tr. L. J. M. Columella Of Husbandry viii. xvi When he..had tasted of a pike.. and had spitten it out, he followed the impudent action with a jest. 1779 J. Warner in J. H. Jesse G. Selwyn & his Contemp. (1844) IV. 258 Those rascals we have seen take so much snuff and spit it up again. 1842 S. Lover Handy Andy xviii He..saw the trumpeter spitting out a mouthful of beer. 1898 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. V. 55 Since then he had spat up thick phlegm. figurative.1598 G. Chapman in C. Marlowe & G. Chapman Hero & Leander (new ed.) iii. sig. G4 Takes news as if it were too hot to eat, And spits it slavering forth for dog-fees meat.1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII i. ii. 62 This makes..Tongues spit their duties out. View more context for this quotation1917 T. S. Eliot Love Song J. Alfred Prufrock in Prufrock & Other Observ. 12 How should I begin to spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways. c. With various figurative objects (as venom, poison, fire, etc.) denoting the utterance or expression of malice, hatred, anger, or other violent feeling. to spit blood, (a) to express vehement anger, to rage (colloquial); (b) slang of a spy, etc.: to fear exposure; to spit chips (Australian slang), (c) to feel extreme thirst; (d) to manifest acute anger or vexation. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > hatred > hate inwardly or intensely [verb (transitive)] > speak in hatred spitc1386 the mind > emotion > anger > manifestation of anger > show anger [verb (intransitive)] > speak angrily spitc1386 ragea1400 blowc1475 blustera1494 storm?1553 pelt1594 tear1602 fare1603 to speak or look daggers1603 to blow hot coalsc1626 rant1647 scream1775 to pop off1914 to carry on1947 the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > unkindness > spite, malice > bear malice [verb (intransitive)] spitc1386 malign?a1439 to bear malice1530 spitec1560 malice1587 to wish one at vinegar1774 bitch1915 the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > be thirsty [verb (intransitive)] > be extremely thirsty to spit cotton1825 to spit chips1901 to be gasping1958 the mind > emotion > anger > furious anger > to rage (of fury) [verb (intransitive)] > be or become furious wedec1000 resea1250 ragea1400 rampc1405 rase1440 outragea1475 stampc1480 enragec1515 ournc1540 gry1594 fury1628 rampage1692 to stamp one's foot1821 to fire off1848 foam1852 fire1859 to stomp one's feetc1927 to spit chips1947 to spit cotton1947 to spit blood1963 to go ballistic1981 the mind > emotion > fear > apprehension > be apprehensive [verb (intransitive)] > fear exposure to spit blood1963 c1386 G. Chaucer Pardoner's Tale Prol. 135 Thus spitte I out my venym vnder hewe Of hoolynesse, to semen hooly. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. xx Herein they..spitte oute the poyson of theyr hatred. 1583 G. Babington Very Fruitfull Expos. Commaundem. viii. 410 When he would haue euen spit fire in A[n]thonies face, and galled him as greatly as hee coulde. 1621 in A. J. Kempe Losely MSS (1836) 454 Y^e Spaniards, against whom they are apt..to spitt theyr spleens. a1656 Bp. J. Hall Shaking of Olive-tree (1660) ii. 161 One spits his poyson upon the blessed Trinity. 1701 G. Farquhar Sir Harry Wildair i. 4 Let 'em spit their Venom among themselves, and it hurts no body. 1759 W. H. Dilworth Life of Pope 16 When the venom you spit falls short of your aim. 1863 J. G. Holland Lett. to Joneses vi. 98 There be women..who can scold or cry or howl or spit fire. 1901 Bull. Reciter (Sydney) 108 While you're spitting chips like thunder... And the streams of sweat near blind you. 1946 A. Marshall Tell us about the Turkey, Jo 142 I was spitting chips. God, I was dry! 1947 J. Morrison Sailors belong Ships 189 Old Mick Doyle's with them. He's spitting chips because they're not using sea water. 1954 P. Gladwin Long Beat Home 17 It's enough to make you spit chips when you think of Sydney—movies and vaudeville comedies and a decent musician once in two years. 1963 J. Joesten They call it Intelligence i. iv. 45 When a resident agent is forced to lie low, because counter-espionage is on his trail, it is said of him that he is ‘spitting blood’. 1963 P. G. Wodehouse Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves ix. 72 If there's one thing that makes a collector spit blood, it's hearing about another collector getting a bargain. 1965 I. Southall Ash Road 77 Not when I saw Mr Fairhall last. He was spittin' chips because Peter had gone away. 1966 L. Deighton Billion-dollar Brain x. 90 A man tailed or suspected is said to be ‘spitting blood’. 1966 ‘L. Lane’ ABZ of Scouse 102 When I think of it I could spit blood. reflexive.1734 A. Pope Epist. to Arbuthnot 316 Or at the Ear of Eve, familiar Toad, Half Froth, half Venom, [he] spits himself abroad, In Puns, or Politicks, or Tales, or Lyes. d. With complement in one's face, teeth, etc. Chiefly in figurative use. ΚΠ 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. FFvi^v Euer spyttinge thy offences in thy tethe. 1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II i. i. 194 My teeth shall teare The slauish motiue..And spit it..euen in Mowbraies face. View more context for this quotation 1636 R. Basset tr. G. A. de Paoli Lives Rom. Emperors 94 He bit off his tongue and spit it in her face. a1711 T. Ken Urania in Wks. (1721) IV. 475 Sweet Poetry has suffer'd most, By Bards..Who in her beauteous Visage spit The Putrefaction of their Wit. 1782 W. Cowper Hope in Poems 174 While bigotry..spits abhorrence in the Christian's face. e. In phrases denoting great or exact likeness or resemblance. (Cf. spit n.² 3)French craché is similarly used. ΚΠ 1602 N. Breton Wonders worth Hearing (1879) 8/1 Twoo girles,..the one as like an Owle, the other as like an Urchin, as if they had beene spitte out of the mouthes of them. 1664 C. Cotton Scarronides 106 Hee's e'en as like thee, as th' adst spit him. 1690 C. Ness Compl. Hist. & Myst. Old & New Test. I. 159 We are of our father the devil,..as like him as if spit out of his mouth. 1788 F. Grose Dict. Vulgar Tongue (ed. 2) (at cited word) He is as like his father as if he was spit out of his mouth; said of a child much resembling his father. 1825– in Eng. Dial. Dict. 3. a. To emit, cast, throw, in a manner similar to the ejection of saliva. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > letting or sending out > let or send out [verb (transitive)] > eject warpc1000 wreaka1300 out-throwa1393 excludec1400 shootc1400 spitc1400 deliver?a1425 outflingc1450 springc1480 bolka1522 vomit1552 spurge1582 out-braid1586 hurl1590 cast1601 spew1605 eject1607 ejaculate1609 spew1610 to cast out1611 throw1625 eructate1632 gullop1646 explode1660 to throw off1660 belch1668 c1400 (?c1380) Patience l. 338 Oure fader to þe fysch ferslych biddez, Þat he hym sput spakly vpon spare drye. ?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads iv. 452 The sea thrusts vp her waues;..she rores, And..spits euerie way her fome. a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) ii. i. 211 The Canons..ready mounted..to spit forth Their Iron indignation 'gainst your walles. View more context for this quotation 1773 Let. 26 Aug. in Maryland Hist. Mag. (1920) 15 280 The wind is strong at N:E. & it spits Rain. 1803 B. Hunt Diary 16 Apr. in Chester Co. (Pa.) Hist. Soc. Bull. (1898) 7 Continues cold and Spiting snow. 1835 N. Wyeth Jrnl. 12 Jan. in F. G. Young Sources Hist. Oregon (1899) I. 243 Spit snow all day at night set in to snow. 1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. II. i. iii. 30 Sulphur-cloud spitting streaks of fire? 1863 N. Hawthorne Our Old Home I. 127 The clouds now spat down a few spiteful drops upon us. 1911 Daily Mail 1 Nov. 7/2 The bullets came crashing through the cactus leaves, spitting up sand all around us. †b. To cause to be expelled in spittle. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > action of slavering > slaver [verb (transitive)] > spit > expel in spittle retch1538 spit1608 gob1933 1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 45 The roote of Teasill young, for Fullers yet vnfit, Drunke in warme water, venome out doth spit. c. colloquial. To leave (visiting cards). ΘΚΠ society > leisure > social event > visit > visiting > visit [verb (transitive)] > send in name or card to send in1748 to leave one's (also a) card1749 spit1782 to send up1884 1782 F. Burney Early Jrnls. & Lett. (2012) V. 219 As I had the coach, I then spit Cards at Mrs. Chapone's, who has sent me an invitation. d. To extrude or lay (eggs or spawn). ΘΚΠ the world > animals > animal body > general parts > sexual organs and reproduction > [verb (transitive)] > give birth to > lay (eggs) layc1000 warpa1340 cast1587 spawna1616 spawna1617 deposit1692 oviposit1847 spit1847 1847 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words II Spit, to lay eggs, said of insects. 1909 Toilers of Deep Sept. 225/1 The adult oyster ‘spits’ its many thousands of eggs into the water. 4. With out (or †forth): To utter in a proud, spiteful, plain, or unreserved manner. Also without adverb: To speak (a language). Frequently in to spit it out: to reveal, confess, disclose something. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > speak, say, or utter [verb (transitive)] > without restraint, openly, or recklessly clatterc1325 to say outc1384 parbreak1402 blunder1483 blab1535 overshoot1549 spita1616 spawn1631 the mind > language > a language > using or speaking languages > speak a language [verb (transitive)] parley1570 spit1701 patter1811 society > communication > manifestation > disclosure or revelation > disclose or make revelations [verb (intransitive)] > reveal one's true character > confess subscribea1616 confess to1771 own1772 admit1830 to make a clean breast of1838 fess1840 to own up1844 to spit it out1855 to make a clean breast of it1878 cough1901 to come clean1919 to spill one's guts (out)1927 tell papa1929 a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) ii. i. 459 A large mouth indeede, That spits forth death, and mountaines. View more context for this quotation 1639 S. Du Verger tr. J.-P. Camus Admirable Events 310 Those students, who returning from the Universities, spit out at their mouth the superfluities of their memory. 1656 J. Smith Myst. Rhetorique Unvail'd 80 Thus Michael spits out bitter reproaches against David. 1701 C. Cibber Love makes Man ii. 13 Car. Does my younger Brother speak any Greek yet, Sancho? Sanc. No, Sir, but he spits French like a Magpy. 1855 E. C. Gaskell North & South I. xxv. 313 I'm easier in my mind for having spit it out. 1876 T. Hardy Hand of Ethelberta I. i. 7 A good saying well spit out is a Christmas fire to my withered heart. 1904 A. Griffiths Fifty Years Public Service 11 Now Sir, speak up... Don't be afraid, spit it out. 1920 J. Galsworthy Skin Game i. 31 Don't be so mysterious, mother. If you know something, do spit it out! 1935 W. H. Auden & C. Isherwood Dog beneath Skin ii. v. 115 Go on, then, spit it aht! 1950 J. Cannan Murder Included vi. 123 ‘I've gotta clue.’.. ‘Spit it out, for mercy's sake, boy.’ 1981 A. Price Soldier no More 43 ‘Well—spit it out, man! Don't just stand there,’ Willis exhorted him. 5. To put out by means of spitting. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > light > darkness or absence of light > make dark [verb (transitive)] > quench (light) > in specific way flapc1540 puff1547 purge1573 to blow out1617 spit1681 shoot1972 1681 C. Cotton Wonders of Peake 62 The water breaks on Rocks in such a showr..as made us doubt 'Twould hazard spitting all our Candles out. II. intransitive. 6. a. To eject saliva (at or on a person or thing) as a means of expressing hatred or contempt. Usually with prepositions, as against, at, in, on, etc. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > think or behave contemptuously [verb (intransitive)] > express contempt by spitting spitc975 spit1562 the mind > emotion > hatred > show suppressed anger, hatred, or resentment [verb (intransitive)] > eject saliva as means of expressing hatred spitc975 the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > sowing > sow seed [verb (transitive)] > dig, hoe, or harrow in seed spitc975 harrow1377 hatch1608 scuffle1805 c975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xxvi. 67 Þa spittadun [hiæ] on his ondwliotu & mid hondum hine slogun. a1240 Wohunge in Old Eng. Hom. I. 279 Hwen þat te sunefule men i þi neb spitted. 13.. K. Alis. 891 (Linc.) ‘Fy on þe!’ quoþ Nycolas: And spitte amydde his face. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 16635 Þai spitted on his luueli face. c1400 Laud Troy-B. 18577 [She] tare here clothes & on hem spit. c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 193 He spytted on þe cros, he dyspysed oure lady. 1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 231/2 They..spytten ayenste the fals ydollys and Statues. ?1507 W. Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen (Rouen) in Poems (1998) I. 51 I spittit quhen I saw That superspendit euill spreit. 1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 56 Aristippus spitted on the evill favoured face of Simus. ?1608 S. Lennard tr. P. Charron Of Wisdome ii. iv. 272 For to goe against his owne nature, is to tempt God, to spit against the heauens. a1627 T. Middleton et al. Widdow (1652) v. i. 62 Spit at me Gentlemen If ever I'd such a thought. 1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. v. xiii. 288 A determined purpose to murder any Man who shall but spit in his Face. 1797 Monthly Mag. xlviii. 114 Equal to being tweaked by the nose, spitten upon and buffeted. 1825 W. Scott Talisman viii, in Tales Crusaders III. 187 Out upon the hound! said Richard, spitting in contempt, by way of interjection. 1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin II. xxxviii. 243 ‘The more fool you!’ said Legree, spitting scornfully at him. 1891 F. W. Farrar Darkness & Dawn II. li. 177 They spit when they pass a temple; they turn away with horror from sacrifices. b. In figurative use; frequently with in one's face. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > think or behave contemptuously [verb (intransitive)] > express contempt by spitting spitc975 spit1562 (a) 1562 N. Winȝet Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 108 Think ȝe nocht that this maist barber ruidnes..wald be spittit at be a Iow or an Ethnik? 1579 L. Tomson tr. J. Calvin Serm. Epist. S. Paule to Timothie & Titus 327/2 There~fore they are so much the more to be accursed and to be spette at. 1612 Bp. J. Hall Contempl. I. O.T. ii. 127 How shall not all the world spit at this holy cruelty. 1665 S. Patrick Parable of Pilgrim xx. 204 They will strain themselves to spit upon their sins. 1716 M. Davies Athenæ Britannicæ II. 220 Simon Magus was betimes spit upon by the Primitive Bishop Irenæus. 1831 W. Scott Count Robert ii, in Tales of my Landlord 4th Ser. II. 31 I am a Christian man, spitting at, and bidding defiance to, Apollo, Bacchus, Comus, and all other heathen deities. 1851 E. B. Browning Casa Guidi Windows i. viii. 20 If we turned and spate Upon our antecedents, we were vile. 1868 Ld. Tennyson Lucretius 196 I hate, abhor, spit, sicken at him. (b)1639 S. Du Verger tr. J.-P. Camus Admirable Events 286 You spit upon your owne face.a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 501 He said, the petitioners for a Parliament spit in the King's face.1761 D. Hume Hist. Eng. (1806) IV. 637 They could get no other answer than that God had spitten in his face.1810 W. Wilson Hist. Dissenting Churches III. 86 Say he died spitting in the devil's face, contemning him and his doctrine. 7. a. To eject saliva from the mouth; to expectorate. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > action of slavering > slaver [verb (intransitive)] > spit spattlec1000 spetec1000 spittlec1340 spit1377 spetc1421 fipple?1507 reach1540 spawl1599 spatter1618 sputter1681 expectorate1823 gob1881 flob1977 1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. x. 40 But þo þat feynen hem folis..Spitten and spewen and speke foule wordes. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 13544 Wit þis vn-to þe erth he spitt. c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 469 Spyttyn, screo, spuo, exspuo. a1450 J. Myrc Instr. to Par. Priests 890 Kepe þe welle þat þou ne spytte. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 728 It is a foule thyng at a sermonde to here people spytte and retche or rough as they do. 1600 B. Jonson Every Man out of his Humor iii. i. sig. Hii^v I haue ben taking an ounce of Tabacco hard by here..and I am come to spit priuate in Paules. View more context for this quotation 1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. 186 Hee was never seene abroad and out of his house to have snit his nose, or spit. 1674 R. Godfrey Var. Injuries in Physick 131 He almost continually spitted, and daily grew worse. c1720 M. Prior Conversation 67 Out of breath, he turn'd to spit. 1778 Countess of Upper Ossory in J. H. Jesse G. Selwyn & his Contemp. (1844) III. 295 She spits and coughs much. 1841 E. W. Lane tr. Thousand & One Nights I. 68 When any of you has a bad dream, spit three times over your left shoulder. 1897 T. Hardy Well-beloved iii. i. 224 Men drank, smoked, and spat in the inns. b. With prepositions, as about, against, at, in, into, on, upon. Also spec. with out, of ceramic glazes: to form blisters which burst during firing. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > painting or coating materials > actions of painting or coating materials [verb (intransitive)] > of glaze: crack or form blister craze1832 spit1904 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Ecclus. xxviii. 14 If thou shul spitten vpon it, it shal ben queynt. 14.. Rule Syon Monastery liii, in Collectanea Topographica (1834) I. 31 None schal..spyt up on the stayres..but yf they trede it oute forthewythe. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) John ix. f. cxxxiiij As sone as he had thus spoken, he spate on the grounde. 1606 S. Daniel Queenes Arcadia i. ii. sig. B2^v If she meete but with my dog, she..playes with his eares, Spits in his mouth. a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) iii. i. 39 Spit in the hole man, and tune againe. View more context for this quotation 1633 G. Herbert Unkindnesse in Temple iii My friend may spit upon my curious floore. 1668 H. More Divine Dialogues ii. xviii. 284 To spit into mouth of a Dog..is not indecorous for the man, and gratefull also to the Dog. 1714 J. Addison Lover No. 39 Sitting at table, he spits full upon the servants who waited there. 1777 J. Brand Observ. Pop. Antiq. 101 (note) In Combinations of the Colliers, &c. in the North, for the Purpose of raising their Wages, they are said to spit upon a Stone together, by Way of cementing their Confederacy. 1824 W. S. Landor Imaginary Conversat. I. xii. 157 Nick gave unto him a shilling, having first spatten thereon, as he, according to his superstition, said, for luck. 1861 J. Petherick Egypt, Soudan & Central Afr. 424 Then rising and spitting in my face in token of amity, he said he was happy that I had sent for him. 1883 R. L. Stevenson Silverado Squatters 146 I could not continue to give him a salary for spitting on the floor. 1904 Trans. Eng. Ceramic Soc. 4 30 The china vase..with the Seger porcelain glaze..has no sign of blister.., and does not spit out in the kiln. 1904 Trans. Eng. Ceramic Soc. 4 32 The earthenware trials that have spit out are not verified by the china trials. c. to spit in or on one's hands, in figurative use. ΚΠ 1577 J. Grange Golden Aphroditis sig. Hj^v If I haue anoynted your palmes with hope, spitte on your handes and take good holde. 1590 R. Greene Neuer too Late i. 52 What Francesco? spit on thy hand, and lay holde on thy hart. 1834 S. Smith Sel. Lett. Major Jack Downing lxxi. 212 Afore I had time to spit in my hands, the Gineral finished the war. 1949 H. L. Mencken Mencken Chrestomathy xxx. 626 Is it hot in the rolling-mill? Are the hours long? Is $15 a day not enough? Then escape is very easy. Simply throw up your job, spit on your hands, and write another ‘Rosenkavalier’. a1975 P. G. Wodehouse Sunset at Blandings (1977) ii. 20 There was a time when you had to employ wild horses to drag me from London, and they had to spit on their hands and make a special effort. d. Of certain animals when angry. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > by habits or actions > habits and actions > [verb (intransitive)] > spit spit1670 the mind > emotion > anger > manifestation of anger > show anger [verb (intransitive)] > spit with anger spit1670 1670 S. Wilson Lassels's Voy. Italy (new ed.) ii. 310 The Lyon and the Leopard feighting together spit angerly in one anothers faces. 1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth IV. 314 A whole day is often passed..which is spent in growling, quarrelling, and spitting at each other. 1844 T. Hood Tale of Temper in Hood's Mag. Jan. 22 No household cat that ever lapp'd To swear and spit was half so apt. 1872 ‘A. Merion’ Odd Echoes Oxf. 3 Reproving My grimalkin for the dreadful way in which she spat and swore. †e. Phr. (See quot. 1777, and cf. 7b.) Obsolete. ΚΠ 1777 J. Brand Observ. Pop. Antiq. 101 (note) We have too a kind of popular Saying, when Persons are of the same Party, or agree in Sentiment, ‘they spit upon the same Stone’. 8. To sputter. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > go or come out [verb (intransitive)] > violently > in drops or small particles sparklea1200 spark1513 spatter1600 spit1611 spurtle1651 spark1833 splurta1849 spurt1854 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues La lumiere petille, the candle sparkles, or spits. 1682 N. Grew Idea Philos. Hist. Plants 17 in Anat. Plants So Fenil-Seeds, held in the flame of a Candle, will spit and spurtle. 1773 O. Goldsmith She stoops to Conquer iii. 55 Zounds! how she fidgets and spits about like a Catherine wheel. 1852 C. Reade Peg Woffington (1889) 6 The sausage began to ‘spit’. 1866 H. Watts Dict. Chem. IV. 326 If exposed to the air in the melted state it [sc. palladium] absorbs oxygen and spits like silver. 1871 Archaeologia 43 101 Vegner's paper was bad, his ink worse, his pen ‘worser’ still, spitting strangely. 9. a. Of rain or snow: To fall in scattered drops or flakes. (Usually with it as subject.) ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > rain > rain falls [verb (intransitive)] > fall in scattered drops spit1567 sprinkle1779 the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > snow > snow or fall (of snow) [verb (intransitive)] > fall in specific manner flake1513 spit1860 flurry1883 1567 T. Drant tr. Horace Pistles in tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie sig. Eij A linnine slop in spitting snowe. 1779 W. Marshall Exper. & Observ. conc. Agric. & Weather 129 To sprinkle (or spit), to rain slow in largish drops.1818 S. E. Ferrier Marriage I. vii. 71 ‘And,’ putting her hand out at the window, ‘I think it's spitting already.’1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. II. 310 It had been ‘spitting’ with rain for the last half-hour.1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xxv. 189 The fine snow..was caught by the wind and spit bitterly against us.1887 J. Service Life Dr. Duguid 171 Feeling that it was spittin' through the win', I quickened my step. b. To penetrate as if sent by spitting. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > impact > impinge [verb (intransitive)] > in heavy drops spit1850 spat1868 the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming in > go or come in [verb (intransitive)] > penetrate wade993 smitec1275 reachc1300 piercea1325 sinkc1330 enterc1350 soundc1374 thirl1398 racea1420 takea1425 penetrate1530 penetre?1533 ransack1562 strike1569 thread1670 raze1677 perforate1769 spit1850 riddle1856 1850 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. May 554/1 A bullet whizzed by my head, and spat into the opposite bank. 10. spit and polish, the occupation of cleaning up or furbishing, as part of the work of a sailor or soldier; also in extended use, precise correctness, smartness; frequently as a derogatory expression in contrast with purposeful work or utility. Also attributive, smart in appearance; hence spit-and-polished adj. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > [noun] > cleaning as part of work of sailor or soldier spit and polish1895 the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > pleasing appearance > [noun] > neatness or trimness dapperness1530 featishness1530 trimness1552 neatness1555 featness1576 pickedness1578 spruceness1594 comptness1611 deftness1612 smugness1632 jemminess1756 spick and span1758 smartness1768 sprucery1813 dapperism1830 nattiness1846 sleekness1866 spit and polish1895 spick-and-spanness1911 the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > [noun] > useless correctness or smartness spit and polish1895 stuffed-shirtedness1981 the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > pleasing appearance > [adjective] > neat or trim netc1330 pertc1330 cleanc1386 nicec1400 picked?c1425 dapperc1440 feata1471 gim1513 trig1513 well-trimmedc1513 trick1533 smirk1534 tricksy1552 neat1559 netty1573 deft1579 primpc1590 briska1593 smug1598 spruce1598 sprink1602 terse1602 compt1632 nitle1673 sprig1675 snod1691 tight1697 smugged1706 snug1714 pensy1718 fitty1746 jemmy1751 sprucy1774 smartc1778 natty1785 spry1806 perjink1808 soigné1821 nutty1823 toiletted1823 taut1829 spick and span1846 spicy1846 groomed1853 spiffy1853 well-groomed1865 bandboxy1870 perjinkity1880 spick-span1888 bandbox1916 tiddly1925 whip-smart1937 spit and polish1950 spit-and-polished1977 1895 Westm. Gaz. 13 Nov. 3/2 After all his energies had been expended on what in old days was termed ‘spit and polish’, he took the cow-pen in hand. 1898 United Service Mag. Dec. 277 To lessen the time spent in spit and polish to the detriment of real cavalry work. 1914 Ld. C. Beresford Mem. I. 120 From that day onwards I set myself steadily against bright-work and spit-and-polish. 1920 Q. Rev. Jan. 196 Gunnery had been neglected in pursuit of ‘spit and polish’. 1949 ‘J. Tey’ Brat Farrar xiii. 116 He had understood Brat's distrust of the [stables'] spit and polish. 1950 Daily Progress (Charlottesville, Va.) 23 Sept. 1/7 Officially Pretzer was..part of the spit and polish First Infantry Division. 1958 Times 12 Nov. 3/3 Holst's suite, ‘The Planets’, was very, very much better..thanks to..the orchestra's ever~increasing spit-and-polish. 1977 L. Meynell Hooky gets Wooden Spoon xiii. 172 Some nice chubby-faced spit and polish Sandhurst type. 1977 Times 8 Nov. 4/3 The spit-and-polished toecaps of his boots. 1979 United States 1980–1 (Penguin Travel Guides) 614 The 4,300 spit-and-polished midshipmen have a 3:45 pm dress parade on Warden Field. Compounds The verb stem in combination. spit-cat n. = spitfire n. 3. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > anger > irascibility > [noun] > irascible person wasp1496 shit-fire1598 flesh-pistol1608 tinder-box1608 touchwood1617 Tartar1669 touch and go1675 spitfire1684 vengeance1712 spunkie1821 pepperbox1822 tempest1852 pepperer1864 gingersnap1889 pepperpot1894 spit-cat1898 spit kitten1912 slow burner1930 fireball1931 pop-off1938 1898 A. Ollivant Owd Bob v. 51 Eh, but art' a tearin' spit-cat surely! spit kitten n. colloquial = spitfire n. 3. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > anger > irascibility > [noun] > irascible person wasp1496 shit-fire1598 flesh-pistol1608 tinder-box1608 touchwood1617 Tartar1669 touch and go1675 spitfire1684 vengeance1712 spunkie1821 pepperbox1822 tempest1852 pepperer1864 gingersnap1889 pepperpot1894 spit-cat1898 spit kitten1912 slow burner1930 fireball1931 pop-off1938 1912 R. Kipling in London Mag. Mar. 8/2 There's a nice little spit-kitten for you! Draft additions September 2006 colloquial (now chiefly British). to spit feathers. Chiefly in present participle. a. To have a parched or dry mouth; to be (extremely) thirsty. ΚΠ 1917 Boston Sunday Globe 11 Nov. (Sunday Globe Mag.) 7/5 You can't make it out so, not even if you stand here and talk till you spit feathers. 1997 C. Higson et al. Fast Show: Ser. 3 (BBC TV script for Audience Studio 1, 29 Aug.) 34 All joking aside, love, I'm spitting feathers here, let's have a nice cuppa. 2001 C. Glazebrook Madolescents 198 Pints for the workers, we're spitting feathers here. b. To be or become (extremely) angry or vexed. ΚΠ 1977 D. Mayleas Rewedded Bliss x. 230 Sometimes I could spit feathers. Tom and I have been married three years and he will still sometimes call me Tina. That's the name of his former wife. 1992 Guardian 29 May 17/1 He has been left out for his own good, but the Wigan playmaker is still spitting feathers over his omission from a Test. 2003 J. Stevenson Empress of Last Days 340 She'd be spitting feathers at the implication that Barbados was some kind of primitive culture. Draft additions September 2016 to spit up Chiefly North American. transitive and intransitive. Of a baby: to regurgitate (food, drink, etc.). ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > digestive disorders > have digestive disorder [verb (transitive)] > regurgitate regurgitate1578 regorge1583 to spit up1885 1885 Arch. Pediatrics 2 275 Many children overload their stomachs when it is reasonable to expect that some of the milk will be ‘spit up’, slightly curdled. 1935 D. Paterson & J. F. Smith Mod. Methods Feeding in Infancy & Childhood (ed. 5) vii. 113 Nearly every infant is inclined to posset or spit up a few teaspoonfuls of its feed, usually immediately after the feed is finished. 1979 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald-Jrnl. 13 Aug. 37/2 My seven-month-old son still spits up excessively and projectile vomits several times a day. 1992 Bounty Infant Care Guide (ed. 2) 70/1 Make sure you also have plenty of shirts as your baby will continuously dribble and spit up on them. 2006 J. M. Sobrer tr. M. Rodoreda Broken Mirror i. v. 29 ‘She..hasn't stopped spitting up milk..,’ the nurse told her when she brought the crying child into the dining room. 2015 Dayton (Ohio) Daily News (Nexis) 29 Nov. e9 When we are running errands and my baby spits up, I wipe off as much as I can. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online June 2022). spitv.³ Forms: Also 1600s spitt. Etymology: Old English spittan , = Middle Dutch and Middle Low German spitten (Flemish, Dutch, Low German spitten , West Frisian spitte , North Frisian spat ; also Middle Dutch spetten , Middle Low German speten ), perhaps related to spit n.¹ Now dialect. 1. intransitive. To dig with a spade; to delve. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > industry > earth-moving, etc. > [verb (intransitive)] > dig or excavate gravea1000 delvec1000 wrootc1325 minec1330 gruba1350 sinkc1358 undermine1382 diga1387 spit1393 to pick upc1400 holk1513 graff1532 pion1643 excavate1843 throw1843 crow1853 spade1869 the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > break up land [verb (intransitive)] > dig delvec1000 digc1320 spit1393 fork1647 yelve1817 graft1823 spade1869 spud1889 1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. ix. 184 An hep of eremites henten hem spades, Spitten and spradde donge in despit of hunger. 1648 H. Hexham Groot Woorden-boeck Spaden, to Delve, or to Spit. 2. a. transitive. To plant with a spade. ΚΠ 1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 453 When the heads thereof [sc. saffron] have been plucked up and after twenty daies spitted [printed splited; 1637 spitted] or set againe under mould. 1729 Philos. Trans. 1727–8 (Royal Soc.) 35 573 Spitting and setting the Heads, 1l. 12s. 0d. b. intransitive. To admit of being dug in. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > break up land [verb (intransitive)] > dig > admit of being dug in spita1722 a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1757) 19 If dung was..short, such as ox-dung and horse-dung that would spit. 3. transitive. To dig (up) with a spade; also, to turn up with a plough.So Old English wád spittan, to dig up woad. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > break up land [verb (transitive)] > dig delvec888 to dig up1377 diga1425 pastine?1440 updelvec1440 upstockc1440 hack1620 pastinate1623 repastinate1623 spit1648 spittle1727 spud1828 the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > ploughing > plough (land) [verb (transitive)] eareOE till1377 plough1423 break1499 sheugh1513 ayrec1540 to break up1557 furrow1576 spit1648 whelm1652 manage1655 hack1732 thorough1733 to plough in1764 rout1836 1648 H. Hexham Groot Woorden-boeck Spitten, to Spitt, as, to Spitt turfe. 1726 Philos. Trans. 1725 (Royal Soc.) 33 397 Oftentimes the Tenants spit up as much as will serve their Turn for a Winter's burning. 1764 Randall in Museum Rusticum III. 95 He must remember to go twice in a place with his plough, to keep the ground double spitted. 1843 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 4 i. 41 Cross furrows..afterwards dug or ‘spitted’ by the spade. 1889 Trans. Dev. Assoc. XXI. 102 He sometimes comes up to spit the ground. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < n.¹c1000n.²a1300n.³1507n.⁴1941v.¹a1225v.²c950v.³1393
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