whet
/ˈwɛt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.62 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To sharpen (something, such as a knife or sword) by rubbing on an object, especially a whetstone; to hone.
Archaic; Transitive verb
verb
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.
Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?"
- "And the Mower whets his ſithe,"
- "Here roams the wolf, the eagle whets his beak."
- "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."
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”)
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈwɛt/
- British English: /ˈwɛt/
Usage
Inflected Forms
whets (present, singular)
whetting (participle, present)
whetted (participle, past)
whetted (past)
no-table-tags (table tags)
glossary (inflection template)
whetted (first person, past)
whettest (archaic, present)
whetted (past, second person)
whettedst (archaic, past)
whetteth (archaic, present)
whetted (past, singular)