wattle: Meaning and Definition of

wat•tle

Pronunciation: (wot'l), [key]
— n., v., adj. -tled, -tling,
—n.
  1. Often,a number of rods or stakes interwoven with twigs or tree branches for making fences, walls, etc.
  2. a number of poles laid on a roof to hold thatch.
  3. (in Australia) any of various acacias whose shoots and branches were used by the early colonists for wattles, now valued esp. for their bark, which is used in tanning.
  4. a fleshy lobe or appendage hanging down from the throat or chin of certain birds, as the domestic chicken or turkey.
—v.t.
  1. to bind, wall, fence, etc., with wattle or wattles.
  2. to roof or frame with or as if with wattles.
  3. to form into a basketwork; interweave; interlace.
  4. to make or construct by interweaving twigs or branches: to wattle a fence.
—adj.
  1. built or roofed with wattle or wattles.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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