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Spurtle

noun, verb

Definitions

Noun

1
Either of two Scottish kitchen implements made of wood: a flat one for turning oatcakes, or a stick for stirring porridge.
"One day they built a fire in the yard and made a black kettle of apple butter so big that when they stood over it and stirred the apple mash with spurtles, the scene put Ada in mind of the witches in Macbeth working at their brew."

Verb

1
To spurt, spatter or sputter; to spurt in a scattering manner.
"Upon the head hee lent so violent a stroke, That the poore emptie skull, like some thin potsheard broke, The braines and mingled blood, were spertled on the wall"

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Scots spurtle, spurtill (“potstick, spatula”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps an alteration of Middle English spatyl, spatule, from Old French espatule (“spatula”). If so, then doublet of spattle and spatula.

Etymology 2

From spirt + -le. According to the Poly-Olbion project, coined by poet Michael Drayton in 1606.

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