whet

Etymology

From Middle English whetten, from Old English hwettan (“to whet, sharpen, incite, encourage”), from Proto-Germanic *hwatjaną (“to incite, sharpen”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷēd- (“sharp”). Cognate with Dutch wetten (“to whet, sharpen”), German wetzen (“to whet, sharpen”), Icelandic hvetja (“to whet, encourage, catalyze”), dialectal Danish hvæde (“to whet”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈwɛt/
  • (without wine–whine) IPA^(key): /ˈʍɛt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈwɛt/, [ˈwɛ(ʔ)t̚]
  • (without wine–whine) IPA^(key): /ˈʍɛt/, [ˈʍɛ(ʔ)t̚]
• Rhymes: -ɛt
• Homophone: wet

Verb

whet (third-person singular simple present whets, present participle whetting, simple past and past participle whetted)

1. (transitive) To hone or rub on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening – see whetstone.
   • Milton

     The mower whets his scythe.

   • Byron

     Here roams the wolf, the eagle whets his beak.

2. (transitive) To stimulate or make more keen.

   to whet one's appetite or one's courage

   • Shakespeare

     Since Cassius first did whet me against Caesar, / I have not slept.

   • 2003-10-20, Naomi Wolf, The Porn Myth, New York Magazine

     In the end, porn doesn’t whet men’s appetites—it turns them off the real thing.

Noun

whet (plural whets)

1. The act of whetting something.
2. That which whets or sharpens; especially, an appetizer.
   • Spectator
   • sips, drams, and whets

Anagrams

• thew