Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - whittle

 I. noun  Etymology: Middle English whittel, alteration of thwitel, from thwiten to ~, from Old English thwitan; akin to Old Norse thveita to hew  Date: 15th century archaic a large knife  II. verb  (~d; whittling)  Date: 1552  transitive verb  1.  a. to pare or cut off chips from the surface of (wood) with a knife  b. to shape or form by so paring or cutting  2. to reduce, remove, or destroy gradually as if by cutting off bits with a knife ; pare ~ down expenses  intransitive verb  1. to cut or shape something (as wood) by or as if by paring it with a knife  2. to wear oneself or another out with fretting  • ~r noun