withe /wɪθ/noun 4verb 2forms 3 noun4 •A flexible, slender shoot or twig, especially when used as a band or for binding; a withy.It was most ingeniously secured at vacant hours, by a withe twisted in the handle of the door, and stakes set against the window-shutters;[…] — 1810 •A band of twisted twigs. •An iron attachment on one end of a mast or boom, with a ring, through which another mast or boom is rigged out and secured.Some short topgallant masts are rigged with a withe on the after part of the mast-head, through which a sliding-gunter royal-mast is run up, with its heel resting in a step on the topmast cap. — 1841 •An elastic handle to a tool to save the hand from the shock of blows. verb2 •To bind with withes.These frames are usually constructed of rough trees tightly withed and wedged together. — 1888 •To beat with withes."He'll trim you up for tossing Suse that note," said Am Bayne to his own companion. / "Ye-es, and you'll get a withing, too," declared the other. — 1901 formswithed · withing · withes
