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verb (used with object)
1.
to sharpen (a knife, tool, etc.) by grinding or friction.
2.
to make keen or eager; stimulate: to whet the appetite; to whet the curiosity.
noun
3.
the act of whetting.
4.
something that whets; appetizer or drink.
5.
Chiefly Southern U.S.
a.
a spell of work.
b.
a while: to talk a whet.
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Whetted
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
Origin:
before 900; Middle English whetten (v.), Old English hwettan (derivative of hwæt bold); cognate with German wetzen, Old Norse hvetja, Gothic gahwatjan to incite
before 900; Middle English whetten (v.), Old English hwettan (derivative of hwæt bold); cognate with German wetzen, Old Norse hvetja, Gothic gahwatjan to incite
Related forms
whet·ter, noun
un·whet·ted, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To whetted
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
whet
O.E. hwettan, from P.Gmc. *khwatjanan (cf. O.N. hvetja "to sharpen, encourage," M.L.G., M.Du. wetten, O.H.G. wezzan, Ger. wetzen "to sharpen," Goth. ga-hvatjan "to sharpen, incite"), from an adj. represented by O.E. hwæt "brave, bold," O.S. hwat "sharp," from P.Gmc. *khwataz, from PIE base *qwed-
EXPAND"sharp" (cf. Skt. codati "incites," lit. "sharpens"). Fig. sense was in O.E.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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