wattle

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A construction of branches and twigs woven together to form a wall, barrier, fence, or roof.

   And there the heathen Prince, Arviragus, / Gave him an isle of marsh whereon to build; / And there he built with wattles from the marsh / A little lonely church in days of yore, […].

2. 2
   noun

   Loose hanging skin in the neck of a person.

   The buttons below his waddle open to reveal a ruddy V, tidemark of the sun.

3. 3
   noun

   Any of several Australian trees and shrubs of the genus Acacia, or their bark, used in tanning, seen as a national emblem of Australia.

   The tents and sheets are made of the best Canadian duck, tanned for the purpose of preservation with a strong extract of iron-bark and wattle-bark.

4. 4
   noun

   framework consisting of stakes interwoven with branches to form a fence

From Middle English wattel, watel, from Old English watel, watul (“hurdle”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wey- (“to turn, wind, bend”).

Topics