whisk

whisk · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*weys-
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*wiskaz
3. Old Norse · derived fromvisk
4. Middle English · inherited fromwhisk
5. English todaywhisk

From Middle English whisk, borrowed from Old Norse visk, from Proto-Germanic *wiskaz, *wiskō (“bundle of hay, wisp”), from Proto-Indo-European *weys-. Cognates Cognate with Danish visk, Dutch wis, German Wisch, Latin virga (“rod, switch”), viscus (“entrails”), Lithuanian vizgéti (“to tremble”), Czech věchet (“wisp of straw”), Sanskrit वेष्क (veṣka, “noose”). Compare also Old English wiscian (“to plait”), granwisc (“awn”). The unetymological wh- is probably expressive of the sound; compare the same development in whip and onomatopoeias such as whack and whoosh.

whisk · noun²

So called from the rapid action of sweeping the cards off the table after a trick has been won.

Words from the same roots