spit 
4. A small point of land running into the sea, 
or a long narrow shoal extending from the 
shore into the sea. 
But Hermod rode with Niord, whom lie took 
To show him smts and beaches of the sea. 
M. Arnold, Balder Dead, iii. 
On a narrow spit of sand between the rocks a dozen 
little girls are laughing, romping, and pattering about. 
Kingsley, Two Years Ago, il. 
5. In icciiriiifi, the spindle or wire which holds 
the cop, spool, or pini in the shuttle. 
spit 1 (spit), i-.; pret. and pp. spitted, ppr. */<<''- 
thiy. [< ME. spittcii, xpyten, spitien = MD. 
spiten, speten, D. speten = MLG. LG. spefeii = 
OHG. spizzen, G. spiessen = Dan. up/Me (cf. 
Sp. Pg. espetar), spit, turn on a spit; from the 
noun.] I. trans. 1. To thrust a spit through ; 
pierce, transfix, or impale with or as with a spit : 
as, to spit a loin of veal. 
Look to see ... 
Your naked infants spitted upon pikes. 
Shak., Hen. V., iii. 3. 38. 
Howlov'd Patroclus with Achilles Joins, 
To quarter out the ox, and spit the loins. 
W. King, Art of Cookery, 1. 203. 
2. To string on a stick and hang up to dry, as 
herring in a smoke-house. 
II. intrans. To roast anything on a spit; at- 
tend to a spit; use a spit. 
spit 2 (spit), )'.; pret. and pp. spit or spat, ppr. 
spitting. [Under this form are merged several 
orig. diff. forms : (a) Early mod. E. and dial, 
also gpet, < ME. apt Hen, spytten (pret. spitte, 
spytte, sptitte, sput), < AS. spittan, "spyttan (pret. 
*spytte) = G. spntzen Sw. spotta = Dan. spytte, 
spit; (6) late MHG. sputzen, G. speutzen = Icel. 
spyta, spit; (c) ME. speten (pret. spette, spete, 
spetide),< AS. spietan (pret. sptette), spit. These 
forms are supposed to be connected with spew, 
but their relations are not clear. The similar 
forms, MD. spicken, also spur/en, MLG. spigeii, 
spiggen, G. spucken, spit, are secondary forms of 
the verb cognate witn AS. spiwan, E. spew: see 
spew. Hence spattle 1 , spittle 1 , and prob. ult. 
spot."] I. intrans. 1. To eject saliva from the 
mouth; expectorate. 
When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and 
made clay of the spittle. John ix. 6. 
I .i-t him but fasting spit upon a toad, 
And presently it bursts and dies. 
Fletcher and Massinger, A Very Woman, iii. 1. 
2. To fall in scattered drops, as rain. [Colloq.] 
"And" putting her hand out at the window "I 
think it 's spitting already." Hits Ferrier, Marriage, vii. 
It had been spitting with rain for the last half-hour, and 
now began to pour in good earnest. 
Dickens, Sketches, Tales, vii. 
3. To make a noise as if spitting, like an angry 
cat. To spit on or upon, to treat with gross insult or 
ignominy. 
II. trans. To eject from the mouth; spew; 
especially, to eject as or with saliva : as, to spit 
blood. 
Thus spitte I out my venim under hewe 
Of holynesse, to seme holy and trewe. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Pardoner's Tale, 1. 136. 
Sir Roger told me that Old Moll had been often brought 
before him for making Children spit Pins, and giving Maids 
the Night Mare. Addison, Spectator, No. 117. 
To spit Sixpences, to spit with a white nummular ex- 
pectoration from a dry mouth. [Low. ] 
He had thought it rather a dry discourse; and, beginning 
to spit sixpences (as his saying was), he gave hints to Mr. 
Wildgoose to stop at the first public-house they should 
come to. Graves, Spiritual Quixote, iv. 6. (Davies.) 
To spit white, to spit from a dry or feverish mouth, es- 
pecially after a debauch. |Low.] 
If it be a hot day, and I brandish any thing but a bottle, 
I would I might never spit white again. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., i. 2. 237. 
spit 2 (spit), . [Early mod. E. and dial, also 
spot; <ME.spyt; <. spiff, v.] 1. What is ejected 
from the mouth; saliva; spume. 2. The act 
of spitting: as, a cat gives an angry spit. 
The speckl'd toad . . . 
Denes his foe with a fell spit. 
Lovelace, Lucasta, Toad and Spider, p. 42. 
3. Inentom.: (a) The spume of certain insects; a 
frothy, fleecy, or waxy substance secreted by va- 
rious homopterous bugs from specialized pores 
scattered over the general surface of the body. 
(6) An insect which produces such spume : as, 
the cuckoo-spif, Ptyeltis spumarius. See spittle- 
iitsect. 4. A light fall of rain or snow; espe- 
cially, rain or snow falling in light gusts or 
scattered drops or flakes. 
Spits of rain dashed in their faces. 
C. D. Warner, Their Pilgrimage, p. 176. 
5. Image; likeness. [Vulgar.] 
There was a large lithograph of a horse, dear to the re- 
membrance of the old man from an indication of a dog in 
5844 
the corner. " The very spit of the one I had for years ; it 's 
a real portrait, sir, for Mr. Hanbart, the printer, met me 
one' day and sketched him." 
Mayhew, London Labour and London Poor, II. 4S8. 
spit 3 (spit), c. /. [< D. xpittfii, dig; appar. con- 
nected with speten, spit : see tpif*.] To spade ; 
plant by spading. 
Saffron . . . in the moneth of July, . . . when the heads 
thereof have been plucked up, and after twenty days spit- 
ted or set againe under mould. 
Holland, tr. of Camden, p. 453. (Danes.) 
spit 3 (spit), H. [E. dial.; cf. spifi, v.] A spade ; 
hence, the depth of a spade in the earth ; a spad- 
ing or spadeful. [Prov. Eng.] 
It [a curious harp] was raised by labourers at the depth 
of twelve spiti or spadings under the earth in Coolness 
Moss, near Newcastle, between Limerick and Killarney. 
O'Curry, Anc. Irish, II. xxxiii. 
spitalt, spittle 2 ! (spit'al, spit'l), . [< ME. spyt- 
tl' 1 , spitel, xpytelle, by apheresis from hosjiit<tl: 
see hospital.] A hospital ; properly, a hospital 
for lazars. 
He is 
A spittle of diseases, and, indeed, 
More loathsome and infectious. 
Massinger, Picture, iv. 2. 
Kind, pious hands did to the Virgin build 
A lonely Spital, the belated swain 
From the night terrors of that waste to shield. 
Wordsworth, Guilt and Sorrow, xvii. 
spital-houset, spittle-houset (spit'al-, spit'l- 
hous), n. A hospital. 
All the Cripples in tenne Spittle-houses shewe not more 
halting. Dekker, Seven Deadly Sins, p. 36. 
spital-mant,spittle-mant(spit'al-,spit'l-man), 
H. One who fives in a spital or hospital. 
Good Preachers that Hue ill (like >///"'<"'"' 
Are perfect in the way they neuer went. 
Davies, Summa Totalis, p. 26. (Da nee.) 
spital-sermont, spittle-sermont(spit'al-, spif- 
I-ser*mon), n. A sermon preached at or in be- 
half of a spital or hospital. B. Jonson, Under- 
woods, Ixi. 
spitball (spit'bal), H. Paper chewed and made 
into a ball to be used as a missile. [Colloq.] 
spitboz (spit'boks), . [< spit 2 + box*.] A box, 
usually of wood, filled with sand, sawdust, or 
the like, to receive discharges of spittle, to- 
bacco-juice, etc.; a spittoon. Such boxes are some- 
times open, as in country taverns in America, sometimes 
covered, the cover being easily raised by a lever arrange- 
ment, as is common on the continent of Europe. 
spit-bug (spit'bug), M. Any spittle-insect. 
spitchcock (spich'kok), n. [Appar. a corrup- 
tion of "spitcock (< spit 1 + cock 1 ), which may 
have been orig. a name for a fowl roasted on a 
spit, transferred fancifully to an eel split and 
broiled. Cf. spatchcock.] An eel split and 
broiled. 
Will you have some Cray-fish and a Spiteh-cocke ? 
Webster and Dekker, Northward Hoe, i. 1. 
spitchcock (spich'kok), t. t. [< spitcncock, n.] 
To split (an eel) lengthwise and broil it. 
Yet no man lards salt pork with orange-peel, 
Or garnishes his lamb with spitchcock'd eel. 
W. King, Art of Cookery, 1. 18. 
If you chance to be partial to eels. . . . 
Have them spiteh-cock'd or stew'd they're toooily when 
fried ! Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, II. 337. 
spit-curl (spit'kerl), w. A small lock of hair 
curled so as to lie flat on the temple : so called 
jocosely or contemptuously from the circum- 
stance that they were often made with the help 
of saliva. [Colloq. and vulgar.] 
spit-deep (spif dep), a. [< spit 3 + deep.] Hav- 
ing the depth of a spade-cut. [Prov. Eng.] 
spite (spit), w. [Early mod. E. also spight; < 
ME. spite, spyt, spyyt; by apheresis from de- 
spite: see despite. Cf. spitous for despitom.] 
It. Injury; mischief; shame; disgrace; dis- 
honor. 
I'll find Demetrius and revenge this spite. 
Shak., M. N. D., iii. 2. 420. 
Day and night hel work my spight, 
And hanged I shall be. 
ItiMn Hood and the Bishop (Child's Ballads, V. 299). 
2. A disposition to thwart and disappoint the 
wishes of another; ill-will; malevolence; mal- 
ice; grudge; rancor. 
This is not the opinion of one, for some priuatetpite, but 
the judgement of all. Ascham, The 3cholemaster, p. 78. 
Nor called the gods, in vulgar spite, 
To vindicate his helpless right. 
Marcell, Essay on Government. 
3. Chagrin; vexation; ill luck; trouble. 
The time is out of joint : O cursed spite, 
That ever I was born to set it right ! 
Shak., Hamlet, i. 5. 189. 
In spite Of, literally, in defiance or contempt of ; in op- 
position to ; hence, notwithstanding. Sometimes abbre- 
viated to spite of. 
spitted 
Death to me subscribes, 
since, spite of him, I'll live in this poor rhyme. 
Shak., Sonnets, cvii. 
Honour is into Scotland gone, 
In spite of England's skill. 
Johnie Scot (Child's Ballads, IV. 69). 
= Syn. 2. Animosity, Ill-trill, Enmity, etc. (see animosity), 
pique, spleen, defiance. Inttpite of, Despite, etc. Seeo(- 
wwutandtng. 
spite (spit), r. /. ; pret. and pp. spited, ppr. spit- 
ing. [Early mod. E. also spight; < late ME. 
unit/'; < xpite, w.] 1. To dislike; regard with 
ill-will. 
I gat my master's good-will, who before spited me. 
Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, ii. 
Hash hated or spited Obed, partly on Margaret's account, 
partly because of misunderstandings with his mother. 
S. Judd, Margaret, i. 3. 
2. To thwart; cross; mortify; treat malicious- 
ly: as, to cut off one's nose to spite one's face. 
I'll sacrifice the Iamb that I do love, 
To spite a raven's heart within a dove. 
Shak., T. N., v. 1. 134. 
3. To fill with vexation; offend. 
The nobles, spited at this indignity done them by the 
commons, firmly united in a body. 
Nni.it, Nobles and Commons, lit. 
spite-blastedt (spit'blas'ted), a. Distracted 
or defeated by spite. Jfasne, Pierce Penilesse, 
p. 34. [Bare.] 
spiteful (spif fill), o. [< ME. spytefuUe; < spite 
+ -ful.] Filled with spite; having a malevo- 
lent or grudging disposition ; malicious. 
A wayward son, 
Spiteful and wrathful. 
Shak., Macbeth, iii. 6. 12. 
spitefully (spit'ful-i), odr. 1. Shamefully ; out- 
rageously. 
And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them 
spitefully, and slew them. Mat. xxli. . 
2. In a spiteful manner; mischievously; ma- 
liciously. 
At last she spitefully was bent 
To try their wisdom's full extent. 
Niii.it. Cadenus and Vanessa. 
spitefulness (spit' ful -nes), n. The state or 
character of being spiteful ; the desire to vex, 
annoy, or injure, proceeding from irritation ; 
malevolence; malice. 
It looks more like spitefulness and ill nature than a dili- 
gent search after truth. Keill, Against Burnet. 
spitfire (spit'fir), . [< spitf, v., + obj. fire.] 
An irascible or passionate person ; one whose 
temper is hot or fiery. [Colloq.] 
spit-frogt (spit'frog), . [<pi< 1 , v., + frog 1 .] 
A small sword. John Taylor, Works (1630). 
[Slang.] (If ares.) 
spitkid (spit'kid). M. A'aut., a spitbox. 
spitoust, a. [ME., also spetous; by apheresis 
from despitous: see despitovs. Cf. spite.] Spite- 
ful; malicious; mischievous. 
That arowe was as with felonye 
Envenymed, and with spitous blame. 
Rom. of the Rose, 1. 979. 
spitouslyt, flrfr. [ME., < spitons + -fy 2 .] Spite- 
fully; angrily; injuriously. 
They were ful glad whan I spak to hem faire, 
For, God it wot, I chidde hem spitously. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Wife of Bath s Tale, L 223. 
spit-poison (spit'poi'zn), M. [< spift, v., + obj. 
poison.] A malicious or venomous person; 
one given to calumny. 
The scourge of society, a spit-poison, a viper. 
South, Sermons, X. 290. 
spit-rack (spit'rak), . An iron rack, formerly 
used, on which a spit was hung before a fire. 
A common form was 
that of a pair of tall 
andirons fitted with 
hooks to support the 
ends of the spit. 
spit-sticker (spif- 
stik'er), n. In en- 
graving, a graver 
with convex faces. 
E. H. Knight. 
spit-swordt (spif- 
sord), n. Same as 
estoc: a term intro- 
duced in the six- 
teenth century. spit-rack. 
Grose. 
spittardt (spit'iird), . [< spit 1 + -ard. Cf. 
spitter 1 .] A two-year old hart; a spitter. Top- 
sell, Four-Footed Beasts (1607), p. 122. (Halli- 
icell.) 
spitted (spit'ed), p. a. [< ME. y-spyted, spit- 
ted: see iptt*.] 1. Put upon a spit; thrust 
through, as if with a spit; impaled. 2. 
