cuttle

¹

[ kuht-l ]

noun

1. cuttlefish.
2. cuttlebone.

cuttle

²

[ kuht-l ]

verb (used with object)

, Textiles.

, cut·tled, cut·tling.

1. to fold (cloth) face to face after finishing.
2. to allow (cloth) to lie without further treatment after fulling, milling, scouring, etc.

cuttle

/ ˈkʌtəl /

noun

1. short for cuttlefish cuttlebone
2. little cuttle
   a small cuttlefish, Sepiola atlantica, often found on beaches

Word History and Origins

Origin of cuttle¹

before 1000; late Middle English codel, Old English cudele (replaced in the 16th century by cuttlefish and subsequently reshortened)

Origin of cuttle²

First recorded in 1535–45; origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of cuttle¹

Old English cudele; related to Old High German kiot bag, Norwegian dialect kaule cuttle, Old English codd bag

Example Sentences

Sometimes ink was made of the cuttle fish or from lees of wine.

From Project Gutenberg

The belief in the power of the cuttle to sink a ship and devour her crew is as widely spread over the surface of the globe, as it is ancient in point of time.

From Project Gutenberg

This family becomes extinct at the close of the 79Mesozoic, though the cuttles as a whole perhaps culminate in the modern.

From Project Gutenberg

The animals of the North American Indians are represented as stealing fire sometimes from the cuttle fish and sometimes from one another.

From Project Gutenberg

Among those so stung with unrest were several of the gigantic, pallid cuttles.

From Project Gutenberg