whet

present singular third person whets · participle present whetting · participle past whetted · past whetted · first person past singular whetted · archaic present second person singular whettest · past second person singular whetted · archaic past second person singular whettedst · present singular third person whets · archaic present singular third person whetteth · past singular third person whetted · past plural whetted · past subjunctive whetted · participle present whetting · participle past whetted

1. archaictransitiveTo sharpen (something, such as a knife or sword) by rubbing on an object, especially a whetstone; to hone.

   And the Mower whets his ſithe,

   a. 1645, John Milton, “L’Allegro”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC, page 33

   2 more examples

   Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?

   c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]

   Here roams the wolf, the eagle whets his beak.

   1812, Lord Byron, “Canto II”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. A Romaunt, London: […] [F]or John Murray, […]; William Blackwood, Edinburgh; and John Cumming, Dublin; by Thomas Davison, […], →OCLC, stanza XLII

   Synonyms: steel, strop

2. transitiveOf an animal such as a boar: to sharpen (its horns, teeth, tusks, etc.) by rubbing on a stone, etc., in preparation for an attack.
3. figurativelytransitiveTo make more keen or to stimulate (someone's appetite, interest, etc.); to hone, to sharpen.

   to whet one's appetite or one's courage

   4 more examples

   Since Cassius first did whet me against Caesar, / I have not slept.

   1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]

   My faith in vegetarianism grew on me from day to day. Salt's book whetted my appetite for dietetic studies. I went in for all books available on vegetarianism and read them.

   1925-29, Mahadev Desai (translator), M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Part I, chapter xv

   In the end, porn doesn’t whet men’s appetites—it turns them off the real thing.

   2003 October 9, Naomi Wolf, “The Porn Myth”, in New York Magazine

   Oh, so now you wanna blow up a police station? [...] Nursing home full of old folks just whet your appetite — now you wanna kill a bunch of cops.

   2012, Vince Gilligan, “Live Free or Die”, in Breaking Bad, season 5, episode 1 (television production), spoken by Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks)

   Synonyms: rouse, animate, awaken, electrify, enflame, enkindle, enthrill, exagitate

4. figurativelyobsoletetransitiveTo encourage (someone) to do something; to incite, to urge.
5. figurativelyobsoletetransitiveTo inculcate or teach (habits, information, etc.).

   Synonyms: abet, actuate, goose, fuel, light a fire under, send, sting, bring about

6. figurativelyobsoleteraretransitiveOf a bird: to preen (its feathers).

   Synonyms: primp, smarten up

7. figurativelyintransitiveTo make more keen; to stimulate.
8. figurativelyintransitiveTo prepare for an attack.
9. figurativelyintransitiveobsoleteTo consume drink or food as an appetizer.

plural whets

1. An act of sharpening something by rubbing on an object, especially a whetstone.
2. broadlydialectalarchaic except UKAn occasion to do something; a go, a turn.
3. broadlydialectalarchaic except UKA period of time between two sharpenings of a scythe.
4. figurativelyAn item of drink or food consumed as an appetizer or to ward off hunger until a meal; specifically, a small amount of liquor drunk as an appetizer; a dram, a nip.

   sips, drams, and whets

   1714 July 29 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “SUNDAY, July 19, 1714”, in The Spectator, number 569; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume VI, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC

   1 more example

   To make a nice Whet before Dinner […]

   1769, Elizabeth Raffald, The Experienced English Housekeeper

5. figurativelyA thing which makes one's desire, interest, etc., more keen; an incitement, an inducement.

   A really good game, to my mind, must have an element, however slight, of physical danger to the player. This is the great whet to skilled performance.

   1902, Robert Marshall Grade, The Haunted Major