See Also: withe-rod(medicine)
withe(1)(dictionary)
withe(2)(dictionary)

withe(1) (iou)



withe noun. Also with.
[Old English wiTTe = Old Frisian withthe, Middle Dutch wisse (Dutch wis), Old High German wit, withi, wid, widi, Old Norse vie, vieja (cf. Gothic kunawida bonds), from Germanic, ult. from base repr. by WIRE noun. Cf. WITHY noun.]
A band consisting of a tough flexible shoot of a willow etc., or of several such shoots twisted together; such a shoot used for binding, tying, or plaiting. OE.
b. A willow wand or garland carried into the monarch's or a nobleman's house at Easter; the ceremony or festivity itself. LME-L16.
c. gen. A pliant shoot or bough. E19.
R. C. Praed A trailing withe of orange begonia.
A halter, properly one made with withes. ME-L17.
Any of several plants with flexible shoots; esp. (a) (now dial.) a willow; (b) W. Indies (more fully black withe) a shrub, Trichostigma fruticosum (family Phytolaccaceae), whose stems are used for making baskets. ME.
PRICKLY withe.
In technical uses: (a) Nautical an iron ring through which a spar is secured to a mast or boom; (b) a handle of elastic material for a tool, used to absorb shock. M19.
Comb.: withe-rod either of two N. American viburnums, Viburnum nudum and V. cassinoides; a thin flexible twig from such a shrub.