kittle1
/ˈkɪt(ə)l
/(also kittle-cattle /ˈkɪt(ə)lkat(ə)l/)
adjective archaic
Difficult to deal with; prone to erratic behaviour.
Origin
Mid 16th century: from kittle 'to tickle' (now Scots and dialect), probably from Old Norse kitla.
Rhymes
kittle2
/ˈkɪt(ə)l/verb [no object] Scottish & Northern Irish
(Of a cat) give birth: she has kittled in my chair...
- The cat's just kittled in the little room.
- If your cat and my cat kittled on the same day, that'd be a coincidence.
- They were all young animals, kittled in a wood not far from the lodge.
Origin
Mid 16th century: perhaps a back-formation of kitling 'young animal, cub'.