whet

Meaning

Verb

1. (transitive) To hone or rub on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening – see whetstone.
2. (transitive) To stimulate or make more keen.
3. (obsolete, transitive) To preen.

Noun

1. The act of whetting something.
2. That which whets or sharpens; especially, an appetizer.

Synonyms

sharpen

hone

grind

edge

stimulate

excite

polish

🇵🇱

incite

quicken

scrape

honed

rub

be sharpened

strop

file

fille

fret

grate

inflame

irritate

lag

mosey

nettle

pique

provoke

rankle

rile

shamble

shine

strap

time

⌚

tootle

try

vex

walk

🚶

make keen

acuminate

make sharp

aggravate

amble

appetizer

arouse

brush

chafe

creep

dawdle

dilly-dally

drag one’s feet

dram

exacerbate

Translations

aiguiser

affûter

affiler

wetten

scherpen

afilar

wetzen

aguçar

afiar

schärfen

slijpen

ακονίζω

schleifen

scharf machen

affilare

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈwɛt/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: whetten

Inherited from Old English: hwettan

Cognate with Dutch: wetten

Cognate with German: wetzen

Cognate with Icelandic: hvetja

Cognate with Danish: hvæde

In summary

From Middle English whetten, from Old English hwettan (“to whet, sharpen, incite, encourage”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwattjan, from Proto-Germanic *hwatjaną (“to incite, sharpen”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₁d- (“sharp”).
Cognate with Dutch wetten (“to whet, sharpen”), German wetzen (“to whet, sharpen”), Icelandic hvetja (“to whet, encourage, catalyze”), dialectal Danish hvæde (“to whet”).