Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Whet

Whet (hwĕt), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Whetted; p. pr. & vb. n. Whetting.] [AS. hwettan; akin to D. wetten, G. wetzen, OHG. wezzen, Icel. hvetja, Sw. vättja, and AS. hwæt vigorous, brave, OS. hwat, OHG. waz, was, sharp, Icel. hvatr, bold, active, Sw. hvass sharp, Dan. hvas, Goth. hwassaba sharply, and probably to Skr. cud to impel, urge on.]

1. To rub or on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening; to sharpen by attrition; as, to whet a knife.

The mower whets his scythe. Milton.

Here roams the wolf, the eagle whets his beak. Byron.

2. To make sharp, keen, or eager; to excite; to stimulate; as, to whet the appetite or the courage.

Since Cassius first did whet me against Cæsar, I have not slept. Shak.

To whet on, To whet forward, to urge on or forward; to instigate. Shak.

Whet, n.

1. The act of whetting.

2. That which whets or sharpens; esp., an appetizer. "Sips, drams, and whets." Spectator.

Whet slate (Min.), a variety of slate used for sharpening cutting instruments; novaculite; — called also whetstone slate, and oilstone.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty.