spit (1), spite, spitte, spyte

[A. S. spitu, spitu, spite; cogn. with Dut. spit; Dan. spid; Sw. spett; M. H. Ger. spiz; Icel. spýta =a spit; spjót =a spear, a lance; Dan. spyd =a spar; Sw.spjut; Ger. spie ; O. H. Ger. spioz.] I. Ordinary Language : 1. A long, pointed spike or iron rod on which meat is impaled for roasting. "Lest that thy wives with spits, and boys with stones, In puny battle slay me." Shakesp.: Coriolanus, iv. 4. 2. A narrow point of land jutting out into the sea; a long, narrow shoal extending from the shore into the sea. "After making a few boards to weather a spit that run out from an island on our lee, Captain Clerke made the signal for having discovered an harbor." -Cook: Third Voyage , bk. i., ch. v. 3. A spade; hence, the depth of earth pierced by a spade at once; a spadeful. "Where the earth is washed from the quick, face it with the first spit of earth dug out of the ditch."-Mortimer: Husbandry. II. Technically : 1. Print .: An obelisk or dagger; the mark (†). 2. Weaving: A horizontal pin in the chamber of a weaver's shuttle, for receiving the spool or pirn. spit-full, spit-ful, s. A spadeful. ( Prov . Eng .) spit-sticker, s . Engr.: A graver or sculper with convex faces. spit (2), s. [SPIT (2), v.] 1. That which is spat or ejected from the mouth; saliva, spittle. 2. The spawn or eggs of certain insects; as, cuckoo- spit. spit (1), *speet, *spyte, v. t. & i. Dut.speter =to spit; spitten to dig.] A. Transitive : [Icel. spit a; [SPIT (1), 8.] IMG:content-0056.png:[blocks in formation] "Saffron spitted ... or set againe under mould."P. Holland: Camden , p. 453. *B. In trans .: To roast anything upon a spit; to attend to or use a spit. spit (2), *spet, *spette, *spit-ten (pa. t. spat , * spette , pa. par. spat , * spitte ), v. t. & i. [A. S. spit tan, spætan (pa. t. spætte ); cogn. with Icel. spýta ; Dan. spytte ; Sw.spotta ; Ger. spützen , spuchen.] A. Transitive : 1. To eject from the mouth; to thrust out, as saliva or other matter, from the mouth. "He still spitting blood." Chapman: Homer's Iliad , xv. 2. To eject or throw out with violence; to belch; as, A cannon spits out fire. B. Intransitive: 1. To eject or throw out saliva from the mouth. "When he had thus spoken, he spat upon the ground." John ix. 6. 2. To mizzle, to drizzle; to rain slightly. "It had been spitting with rain for the last half-hour." -Dickens : Sketches ; Steamboat Excursion . To spit on, or upon : To treat with the greatest contempt. *spit-al, *spit'-tle, *spit-el, s . [O. Fr. ospital =an hospital.] A hospital, a lazar-house. "News have I that my Nell is dead i' the spital." Shakesp.: Henry V., i. 2. *spital-house, s. A hospital. *spital-sermon, subst . A sermon preached on behalf of a spittle or hospital.