Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A covering for the hand that encases the thumb separately and the four fingers together.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To put mittens on.
- To give the mitten to. See phrase under mitten, n.
- noun A glove; a covering for the hand, with or without fingers.
- noun A covering for the hand, differing from a glove in not having a separate cover for each finger, the thumb only being separated, made of leather, dogskin, sealskin, etc., or knitted of thick wool.
- noun A mitt.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A covering for the hand, worn to defend it from cold or injury. It differs from a glove in not having a separate sheath for each finger.
- noun A cover for the wrist and forearm.
- noun [Colloq.] to dismiss as a lover; to reject the suit of.
- noun [Colloq.] to treat roughly; to handle without gloves.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A type of
glove orgarment that covers ahand with a separate sheath for the thumb, but not for other fingers.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun glove that encases the thumb separately and the other four fingers together
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
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Examples
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Her mitten is off, and the big Colt's revolver is in her hand.
The Sundog Trail 1905
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Her mitten is off, and the revolver is in her hand.
The Sun-dog Trail 1905
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But as the mitten was already up on the advent calendar, I decided it was a good day for my wee snowman.
Archive 2007-12-01 katelnorth 2007
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But as the mitten was already up on the advent calendar, I decided it was a good day for my wee snowman.
Advent Day 11: Snowman katelnorth 2007
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The mitten is a thing by which he may be traced, and I'll send my peons to start inquiries tomorrow.
In Clive's Command A Story of the Fight for India Herbert Strang
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Again the mitten was a caressing obstacle to utterance.
Smoke Bellew Jack London 1896
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They are also known as mitten or thumb cats because they can learn to pick up things, open latches or move objects with near-human dexterity.
unknown title 2009
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They are also known as mitten or thumb cats because they can learn to pick up things, open latches or move objects with near-human dexterity.
unknown title 2009
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There seems to be a bit of a craze sweeping the nation at the moment, a whirlwind of activity that can only be described as a mitten maelstrom.
The A.D.D. Knitter--because why should knitting be any different? The A.D.D. Knitter 2009
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Some said that Susan had given her young man the mitten, meaning thereby that she had signified that his services as a suitor were dispensed with.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 20, No. 121, November, 1867 Various
bilby commented on the word mitten
From etymonline.com regarding the phrase get the mitten.
"From 1755 as 'lace or knitted silk glove for women covering the forearm, the wrist, and part of the hand,' worn fashionably by women in the early 19c. and revived towards the end of it. Hence get the mitten (1825), of men, 'be refused or dismissed as a lover' (colloquial), from the notion of receiving the mitten instead of the hand."
July 8, 2022