whisk
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: From Middle English whisk, borrowed from Old Norse visk, from Proto-Germanic *wiskaz, *wiskō (“bundle of hay, wisp”), from Proto-Indo-European *weys-.
Cognates
Cognate with Danish visk, Dutch wis, German Wisch, Latin virga (“rod, switch”), viscus (“entrails”), Lithuanian vizgéti (“to tremble”), Czech věchet (“wisp of straw”), Sanskrit वेष्क (veṣka, “noose”).
Compare also Old English wiscian (“to plait”), granwisc (“awn”).
The unetymological wh- is probably expressive of the sound; compare the same development in whip and onomatopoeias such as whack and whoosh.
Inflected forms:
form: whisks
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: whisks
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: whisking
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: whisked
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: whisked
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: A quick, light sweeping motion.
pos: noun
examples: With a quick whisk, she swept the cat from the pantry with her broom.
gloss: A kitchen utensil, now usually made from stiff wire loops fixed to a handle (and formerly of twigs), used for whipping (or a mechanical device with the same function).
pos: noun
examples: He used a whisk to whip up a light and airy souffle.
gloss: A bunch of twigs or hair etc, used as a brush.
pos: noun
examples: Peter dipped the whisk in lather and applied it to his face, so he could start shaving.
gloss: A small handheld broom with a small (or no) handle.
pos: noun
examples: I used a whisk to sweep the counter, then a push-broom for the floor.
gloss: A plane used by coopers for evening chines.
pos: noun
gloss: A kind of cape, forming part of a woman's dress.
pos: noun
examples: My wife in her new lace whiske.
gloss: To move something with quick light sweeping motions.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Vernon whisked the sawdust from his workbench.
He that walks in gray, whisking his riding Page.
She held out her empty glass and it was adroitly whisked from her hand.
gloss: In cooking, to whip e.g. eggs or cream.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: The chef prepared to whisk the egg whites for the angel's food cake.
First, marinate the tofu. In a bowl, whisk the kecap manis, chilli sauce, and sesame oil together. Cut the tofu into strips about 1cm thick, mix gently (so it doesn't break) with the marinade and leave in the fridge for half an hour.
gloss: To move something rapidly and with no warning.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: July 3, 1769, Horace Walpole, letter to the Earl of Strafford
I beg she would not impale worms, nor whisk carp out of one element into another.
The governess whisked the children from the room before they could see their presents.
gloss: To move lightly and nimbly.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: The stories did not seem to me to touch life. […] They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator.
The children whisked down the road to the fair, laughing and chattering as they went.
gloss: To move whiskers.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
Derived words: champagne whisk
matcha whisk
tea whisk
whisk fern
whiskless
whisklike
tim-whiskey
whisk away
whiskey
whisk off
Translations: