whet
verbEtymology
The verb is derived from Middle English whetten (“to make the edge of (a sword, tool, etc.) sharp; to grunt, snort; to scrape the ground with (one’s feet); to make a chattering or grinding sound; (figurative) of a person: to prepare for battle; to make (one’s wit) alert or keen; to strengthen (one’s heart or will); to incite, provoke”), from Old English hwettan (“to sharpen, whet; (figurative) to encourage, incite”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwattjan (“to sharpen, whet”), from Proto-Germanic *hwatjaną (“to sharpen, whet; (figurative) to incite, instigate”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₁d- (“sharp”). Verb sense 1.3.3 (“to inculcate or teach (habits, information, etc.)”) is from Deuteronomy 6:6–7 in the Bible (New International Version): “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children.” The word translated as impress is Hebrew שָׁנַן (shanán, “to be sharp; to sharpen, whet”). The noun is derived from the verb. cognates * Dialectal Danish hvæde (“to whet”) * Dutch wetten (“to whet, sharpen”) * German wetzen (“to whet, sharpen”) * Icelandic hvetja (“to whet, encourage, catalyze”)
- inherited from whetten — “to make the edge of (a sword, tool, etc.) sharp; to grunt, snort; to scrape the ground with (one’s feet); to make a chattering or grinding sound; (figurative) of a person: to prepare for battle; to make (one’s wit) alert or keen; to strengthen (one’s heart or will); to incite, provoke”
Definitions
To sharpen (something, such as a knife or sword) by rubbing on an object, especially a…
To sharpen (something, such as a knife or sword) by rubbing on an object, especially a whetstone; to hone.
- Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?
- And the Mower whets his ſithe,
- Here roams the wolf, the eagle whets his beak.
Of an animal such as a boar
Of an animal such as a boar: to sharpen (its horns, teeth, tusks, etc.) by rubbing on a stone, etc., in preparation for an attack.
To make more keen or to stimulate (someone's appetite, interest, etc.)
To make more keen or to stimulate (someone's appetite, interest, etc.); to hone, to sharpen.
- to whet one's appetite or one's courage
- Since Cassius first did whet me against Caesar, / I have not slept.
- My faith in vegetarianism grew on me from day to day. Salt's book whetted my appetite for dietetic studies. I went in for all books available on vegetarianism and read them.
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To encourage (someone) to do something
To encourage (someone) to do something; to incite, to urge.
To inculcate or teach (habits, information, etc.).
Of a bird
Of a bird: to preen (its feathers).
To make more keen
To make more keen; to stimulate.
To prepare for an attack.
To consume drink or food as an appetizer.
An act of sharpening something by rubbing on an object, especially a whetstone.
An occasion to do something
An occasion to do something; a go, a turn.
A period of time between two sharpenings of a scythe.
An item of drink or food consumed as an appetizer or to ward off hunger until a meal
An item of drink or food consumed as an appetizer or to ward off hunger until a meal; specifically, a small amount of liquor drunk as an appetizer; a dram, a nip.
- sips, drams, and whets
- To make a nice Whet before Dinner […]
A thing which makes one's desire, interest, etc., more keen
A thing which makes one's desire, interest, etc., more keen; an incitement, an inducement.
- A really good game, to my mind, must have an element, however slight, of physical danger to the player. This is the great whet to skilled performance.
The neighborhood
- neighborwhetstone
Derived
unwhet, whetsaw, whet slate, whet someone's appetite, whetted, whetten, whetter, whetting, a-whet, sawwhet, saw-whet owl
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for whet. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA