whip
/ˈwɪp/ noun, verb
Forms whips whipping whipped
- noun A lash; a pliant, flexible instrument, such as a rod (commonly of cane or rattan) or a plaited or braided rope or thong (commonly of leather) used to create a sharp "crack" sound for directing or herding animals. “I had to use the whip to get the sheep's attention.”
- noun The same instrument used to strike a person or animal for corporal punishment or torture. “Once he ran out of appeals, he knew he would soon feel the sting of the whip.”
- noun A blow administered with a whip.
- noun (hunting) A whipper-in.
- noun (politics) A member of a political party who is in charge of enforcing the party's policies in votes. “I was going to vote against the bill, but the party whip came to see me and made it clear I needed to vote for it.”
- noun (UK politics, with definite article) A document distributed weekly to MPs by party whips informing them of upcoming votes in parliament.
- noun (UK politics, by extension) The regular status of an MP within a parliamentary party, which can be revoked by the party as a disciplinary measure. “to withdraw the whip”
- noun Whipped cream. “Did you want to add some whip to your coffee, ma'am?”
- verb (transitive) To hit with a whip. “The rider whipped the horse.”
- verb (transitive, by extension) To hit with any flexible object. “I whipped her with a newspaper.”
- verb (transitive, slang) To defeat, as in a contest or game.
- verb (transitive) To mix in a rapid aerating fashion, especially food. “to whip eggs or cream”
- verb (transitive) To urge into action or obedience. “He whipped the department into shape.”
- verb (transitive, politics) To enforce a member voting in accordance with party policy.
- verb (transitive, nautical) To bind the end of a rope with twine or other small stuff to prevent its unlaying: fraying or unravelling.
- verb (transitive, nautical) To hoist or purchase by means of a whip.
Synonyms
cat cat-o'-nine-tails flail knout lash quirt scourge sjambok thong party whip whipper-in crop dressage whip driving whip jumping bat fling hurl bung cast chuck whiplash flog welt lather slash strap trounce worst pip mop up
Etymology
From Middle English whippen, wippen (“to flap violently”), from Middle Dutch wippen (“to swing, leap, dance, oscillate”) and Middle Low German wippen (“to move quickly”), from Proto-Germanic *wippōną (“to move back and forth”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyp- (“to shake; to swing”). (See Swedish vippa and Danish vippe (“to shake”)).
The unetymological wh- is probably expressive of the sound of a whip; compare the same development in whisk and onomatopoeias such as whack and whoosh.
The political senses are from whipper-in (“huntsman who keeps the hounds from wandering”), from 18th-century hunting terminology.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To strike with a lash, a cord, a rod, or anything slender and lithe; to lash; to beat; as, to whip a horse, or a carpet.
- verb To drive with lashes or strokes of a whip; to cause to rotate by lashing with a cord; as, to whip a top.
- verb To move nimbly; to start or turn suddenly and do something; to whisk; as, he whipped around the corner.
- noun An instrument or driving horses or other animals, or for correction, consisting usually of a lash attached to a handle, or of a handle and lash so combined as to form a flexible rod. "[A] whip's lash." Chaucer.
Etymology [OE. whippen to overlay, as a cord, with other cords, probably akin to G. & D. wippen to shake, to move up and down, Sw. vippa, Dan. vippe to swing to and fro, to shake, to toss up, and L. vibrare to shake. Cf. Vibrate.]
Etymology [OE. whippe. See Whip, v. t.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “whip”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details