whet

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”).

• (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

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

1. (transitive) To hone or rub on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening – see whetstone.
   • c. 1596-97, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act IV scene i:

     Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?

   • (Can we date this quote?) John Milton

     The mower whets his scythe.

   • (Can we date this quote?) 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

   • c. 1599, William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act II scene i:

     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.

• whetter (rare)
• whetstone

whet (plural whets)

1. The act of whetting something.
2. That which whets or sharpens; especially, an appetizer.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Spectator

     sips, drams, and whets

• thew