spittle

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspɪ.t(ə)l/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪtəl

Etymology 1

Alteration of dialectal spattle (by association with spit (noun)), from Old English spātl, which is related to spǣtan (whence spit (verb)).

Noun

spittle (countable and uncountable, plural spittles)

1. Spit, usually frothy and of a milky coloration.
   • 2023 September 30, HarryBlank, “Meeting in the Middle”, in SCP Foundation‎^[1], archived from the original on 25 May 2024:

     "Who are you?!" he blurted into the woman's palm, and she shook it off in obvious disgust, wiping spittle onto his D-class uniform.

2. Something frothy and white that resembles spit.
3. Spit-up or drool of an infant.

Derived terms

• fasting spittle
• lickspittle
• spittly

Translations

spit, usually frothy

• Aghwan: 𐕉𐕒𐕡𐕢𐔴𐕚𐕒𐕡𐕎 (ćupesun)
• Bulgarian: плюнка f (pljunka), храчка f (hračka)
• Catalan: escopinada (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 吐沫 (zh) (tùmo)

• French: crachat (fr) m, postillon (fr) m (droplets)
• Galician: cuspidela f, cuspidura f, cuspiñada f, cuspiñazo m, lapo m
• German: Spucke (de) f
• Greek: ροχάλα (el) (rochála)

  Ancient: σίαλον n (síalon)

• Hungarian: köpet (hu), nyál (hu)
• Irish: seile f
• Italian: sputo (it) m
• Japanese: 唾 (ja) (つばき, tsubakí, つば, tsuba)
• Javanese: idu, kecoh
• Korean: 침 (ko) (chim)
• Latvian: spļāviens m, siekalas f pl
• Ottoman Turkish: توكوروك (tükürük)
• Persian: تف (fa) (tof), بفچ (bafč)
• Plautdietsch: Kjwiel n, Spie m, Kwoakjs m
• Portuguese: cuspe (pt) m
• Romanian: scuipat (ro)
• Russian: слюна́ (ru) f (sljuná), плево́к (ru) m (plevók)
• Scottish Gaelic: seile m, ronn m
• Spanish: escupida (es), escupitajo (es), lapo (es) m
• Sylheti: ꠍꠦꠙ (séfo)
• Telugu: లాలాజలము (te) (lālājalamu)
• Tocharian B: pitke
• Ukrainian: слина f (slyna)
• Walloon: raetchon (wa) m, raetchote (wa) f

Etymology 2

Noun

spittle (countable and uncountable, plural spittles)

1. (now archaic) Alternative form of spital
   • a. 1633, George Herbert, The Thanksgiving:

     I'll build a spittle, or mend common ways […]

Etymology 3

Representing a frequentative form of spit (“a spade's depth”), equivalent to spit +‎ -le.

Noun

spittle (countable and uncountable, plural spittles)

1. A small sort of spade.

Verb

spittle (third-person singular simple present spittles, present participle spittling, simple past and past participle spittled)

1. To dig or stir with a small spade.

Anagrams

• pittles