Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Spit; saliva.
  • noun The frothy liquid secreted by the nymphs of froghoppers.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun See spital.
  • noun The mucous substance secreted by the salivary glands; saliva; saliva ejected from the mouth.
  • To dig or stir with a small spade.
  • noun A kind of small spade.
  • noun A spadelike implement with a short handle, used in putting cakes into an oven.
  • noun The secretion surrounding the larva of a spittle-insect.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Prov. Eng. A small sort of spade.
  • noun obsolete See spital.
  • noun The thick, moist matter which is secreted by the salivary glands; saliva; spit.
  • noun (Zoöl.) See Cuckoo spit (b), under Cuckoo.
  • transitive verb Prov. Eng. To dig or stir with a small spade.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Spit, usually frothy and of a milky coloration.
  • noun Something frothy and white that resembles spit.
  • noun Spit-up or drool of an infant.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a clear liquid secreted into the mouth by the salivary glands and mucous glands of the mouth; moistens the mouth and starts the digestion of starches

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English spitel, alteration (influenced by spit) of spatel, from Old English spātl.]

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