whist

1
[ wist, hwist ]
See synonyms for whist on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a card game, an early form of bridge, but without bidding.

Origin of whist

1
1655–65; earlier whisk, perhaps identical with whisk, though sense relationship uncertain

Other definitions for whist (2 of 2)

whist2
[ hwist, wist ]

interjection
  1. hush! silence! be still!

adjective
  1. hushed; silent; still.

noun
  1. Chiefly Irish. silence: Hold your whist.

verb (used without object)
  1. British Dialect. to be or become silent.

verb (used with object)
  1. British Dialect. to silence.

Origin of whist

2
1350–1400, Middle English; imitative

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use whist in a sentence

  • For the privilege of being invited to teas, bridge whists, of being sure of a place in the local social life.

    The Fighting Shepherdess  | Caroline Lockhart

British Dictionary definitions for whist (1 of 2)

whist1

/ (wɪst) /


noun
  1. a card game for four in which the two sides try to win the balance of the 13 tricks: forerunner of bridge

Origin of whist

1
C17: perhaps changed from whisk, referring to the sweeping up or whisking up of the tricks

British Dictionary definitions for whist (2 of 2)

whist2

/ (hwist) /


interjection, adjective, verb
  1. a variant of whisht

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012