wattle
wattle Lexical Profile
wattle Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A colored fleshy lobe hanging from the head or neck of the turkey and certain other birds, reptiles, or goats.
"The rooster's bright red wattle swayed beneath its beak as it strutted across the barnyard."
Australian Any of various Australian trees or shrubs of the genus Acacia (family Fabaceae), characterized by flexible branches and abundant, fragrant clusters of yellow or cream flowers.
"In late winter, the golden wattle bursts into bloom across the Australian bushland."
A material for making fences, walls, and roofs consisting of rods or stakes interlaced with twigs or branches.
"Early medieval cottages were frequently constructed using a sturdy framework of oak timber and woven wattle coated with mud."
• verb
To make, enclose, or build with intertwined twigs or branches.
"The villagers wattled flexible willow branches together to create a protective enclosure for their sheep."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'wattle' with the near-homophone 'waddle' (to walk with short steps and a clumsy swaying motion, like a duck).
• Rhymes for wattle
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
The construction sense comes from Old English 'watul', meaning a hurdle or woven framework of twigs, derived from a Proto-Germanic root for weaving; Australian settlers later applied this word to native acacia trees because their flexible branches were used to build wattle-and-daub huts.