whet
Part of speech: verb
noun
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: 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”)
Inflected forms:
form: whets
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: whetting
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: whetted
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: whetted
pos: verb
tags: past
form: whet
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: whet
pos: verb
tags: past
form: no-table-tags
pos: verb
tags: table-tags
form: glossary
pos: verb
tags: inflection-template
form: whet
pos: verb
tags: infinitive
form: whet
pos: verb
tags: first-person
present
singular
form: whetted
pos: verb
tags: first-person
past
singular
form: whet
pos: verb
tags: present
second-person
singular
form: whettest
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
second-person
singular
form: whetted
pos: verb
tags: past
second-person
singular
form: whettedst
pos: verb
tags: archaic
past
second-person
singular
form: whets
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: whetteth
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
singular
third-person
form: whetted
pos: verb
tags: past
singular
third-person
form: whet
pos: verb
tags: plural
present
form: whetted
pos: verb
tags: past
plural
form: whet
pos: verb
tags: present
subjunctive
form: whetted
pos: verb
tags: past
subjunctive
form: whet
pos: verb
tags: imperative
present
form: -
pos: verb
tags: imperative
past
form: whetting
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: whetted
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: whets
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: To sharpen (something, such as a knife or sword) by rubbing on an object, especially a whetstone; to hone.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?
And the Mower whets his ſithe,
Here roams the wolf, the eagle whets his beak.
gloss: 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.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
gloss: To make more keen or to stimulate (someone's appetite, interest, etc.); to hone, to sharpen.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
transitive
examples: 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.
In the end, porn doesn’t whet men’s appetites—it turns them off the real thing.
gloss: To encourage (someone) to do something; to incite, to urge.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
obsolete
transitive
gloss: To inculcate or teach (habits, information, etc.).
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
obsolete
transitive
gloss: Of a bird: to preen (its feathers).
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
obsolete
rare
transitive
gloss: To make more keen; to stimulate.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
intransitive
gloss: To prepare for an attack.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
intransitive
gloss: To consume drink or food as an appetizer.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
intransitive
obsolete
gloss: An act of sharpening something by rubbing on an object, especially a whetstone.
pos: noun
gloss: An occasion to do something; a go, a turn.
pos: noun
tags: broadly
dialectal
gloss: A period of time between two sharpenings of a scythe.
pos: noun
tags: broadly
dialectal
gloss: 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.
pos: noun
tags: figuratively
examples: sips, drams, and whets
To make a nice Whet before Dinner […]
gloss: A thing which makes one's desire, interest, etc., more keen; an incitement, an inducement.
pos: noun
tags: figuratively
examples: 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.
Related words: whetstone
Derived words: unwhet
whetsaw
whet slate
whet someone's appetite
whetted
whetten
whetter
whetting
a-whet
sawwhet
saw-whet owl
Translations:
lang: Arabic
word: حَدَّدَ
roman: ḥaddada
lang: Arabic
word: شَحَذَ
roman: šaḥaḏa
lang: Belarusian
word: тачы́ць
roman: tačýcʹ
lang: Bulgarian
word: остря
roman: ostrja
lang: Bulgarian
word: точа
roman: toča
lang: Catalan
word: esmolar
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 磨
lang: Czech
word: brousit
lang: Czech
word: nabrousit
lang: Czech
word: ostřit
lang: Czech
word: naostřit
lang: Dutch
word: wetten
lang: Dutch
word: scherpen
lang: Dutch
word: slijpen
lang: Finnish
word: hioa
lang: Finnish
word: teroittaa
lang: French
word: aiguiser
lang: German
word: wetzen
lang: Hungarian
word: köszörül
lang: Ingrian
word: luisata
lang: Irish
word: faobhraigh
lang: Irish
word: géaraigh
lang: Italian
word: affilare
lang: Lao
word: ລັບ
roman: lap
lang: Latin
word: acuō
lang: Luxembourgish
word: wetzen
lang: Luxembourgish
word: schäerfen
lang: Luxembourgish
word: schläifen
lang: Macedonian
word: остри
roman: ostri
lang: Macedonian
word: точи
roman: toči
lang: Māori
word: oroi
lang: Maranao
word: bagid
lang: Nuosu
word: ꍚ
roman: zhur
lang: Polish
word: ostrzyć
lang: Polish
word: naostrzyć
lang: Portuguese
word: afiar
lang: Portuguese
word: amolar
lang: Romanian
word: ascuți
lang: Russian
word: пра́вить
roman: právitʹ
lang: Russian
word: точи́ть
roman: točítʹ
lang: Russian
word: поточи́ть
roman: potočítʹ
lang: Sicilian
word: mmulari
lang: Slovak
word: brúsiť
lang: Slovak
word: nabrúsiť
lang: Slovak
word: ostriť
lang: Slovak
word: naostriť
lang: Spanish
word: afilar
lang: Swedish
word: fila
lang: Swedish
word: skärpa
lang: Swedish
word: slipa
lang: Tamil
word: இடங்கம்
roman: iṭaṅkam
lang: Thai
word: ลับ
roman: láp
lang: Ukrainian
word: точи́ти
roman: točýty
lang: Woiwurrung
word: kirk-kirk-konak