Etymology

whid

W4H4I1D2

Today it means: A quick motion; a rapid, quiet movement, usually by small game. Full definition →

Middle English *whid ← Old English hwiþa ← Old Norse hviða
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whid · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*kwei-“to hiss, whistle, whisper”
  2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*hwi-“to rush”
  3. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*hwiþō“rush of wind”
  4. Old Norse · derived fromhviða“gust of wind”
  5. Old English · inherited fromhwiþa
  6. Middle English · inherited from*whid
  7. English todaywhid

From Middle English *whid, from Old English hwiþa, hweoþu (“air, breeze”) or from Old Norse hviða (“gust of wind”), both from Proto-Germanic *hwiþō (“rush of wind”), from Proto-Germanic *hwi- (“to rush”), from Proto-Indo-European *kwei- (“to hiss, whistle, whisper”). Cognate with Scots quhid (“a squall, blast of wind”).

whid · noun, verb2

  1. Old English · inherited fromcwide“word, speech”
  2. English todaywhid

Perhaps from Old English cwide (“word, speech”).

Words from the same roots

Old Norsehviða all →

whither

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.