Wattle

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈwÉ’tÉ™l/
• US enPR: wätʹəl, IPA: /ˈwÉ’tÉ™l/
• Rhymes: -É’tÉ™l
• Homophones: what'll (in accents with the wine-whine merger)

Full definition of wattle

Noun

1. A construction of branches and twigs woven together to form a wall, barrier, fence, or roof.
• TennysonAnd there he built with wattles from the marsh
  A little lonely church in days of yore.
2. A single twig or rod laid on a roof to support the thatch.
3. A wrinkled fold of skin, sometimes brightly coloured, hanging from the neck of birds (such as chicken and turkey) and some lizards.
4. A barbel of a fish.
5. A decorative fleshy appendage on the neck of a goat.
6. Loose hanging skin in the neck of a person.
7. Any of several Australian trees and shrubs of the genus Acacia, or their bark, used in tanning.

Derived terms

• wattle and daub

Coordinate terms

• (skin on head of birds) caruncle, comb, cockscomb, crest, snood

Verb

1. (transitive) To construct a wattle, or make a construction of wattles.