whet

Meanings

Verb

• To hone or rub on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening – see whetstone.
• To stimulate or make more keen.
• To preen.

Noun

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

Origin

• From Middle English whetten, from Old English hwettan, from Proto-West Germanic *hwattjan, from Proto-Germanic *hwatjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₁d-.
• Cognate with Dutch wetten, German wetzen, Icelandic hvetja, dialectal Danish hvæde.