whisk
/ˈwɪsk/ noun, verb
Forms whisks whisking whisked
- noun A quick, light sweeping motion. “With a quick whisk, she swept the cat from the pantry with her broom.”
- noun A kitchen utensil, now usually made from stiff wire loops fixed to a handle (and formerly of twigs), used for whipping (or a mechanical device with the same function). “He used a whisk to whip up a light and airy souffle.”
- noun A bunch of twigs, hair, etc., used as a brush. “Peter dipped the whisk in lather and applied it to his face, so he could start shaving.”
- noun A small handheld broom with a small (or no) handle. “I used a whisk to sweep the counter, then a push-broom for the floor.”
- noun A plane used by coopers for evening chines.
- noun A kind of cape, forming part of a woman's dress.
- verb (transitive) To move something with quick light sweeping motions. “Vernon whisked the sawdust from his workbench.”
- verb (transitive) In cooking, to whip e.g. eggs or cream. “The chef prepared to whisk the egg whites for the angel's food cake.”
- verb (transitive) To move something rapidly and with no warning. “The governess whisked the children from the room before they could see their presents.”
- verb (intransitive) To move lightly and nimbly. “The children whisked down the road to the fair, laughing and chattering as they went.”
- verb (transitive) To move whiskers.
- noun (obsolete) The card game whist.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English whisk, borrowed from Old Norse visk, from Proto-Germanic *wiskaz, *wiskō (“bundle of hay, wisp”), from Proto-Indo-European *weys-.
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.
So called from the rapid action of sweeping the cards off the table after a trick has been won.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A game at cards; whist. [Obs.] Taylor (1630).
- noun The act of whisking; a rapid, sweeping motion, as of something light; a sudden motion or quick puff.
- noun A small bunch of grass, straw, twigs, hair, or the like, used for a brush; hence, a brush or small besom, as of broom corn.
- verb To sweep, brush, or agitate, with a light, rapid motion; as, to whisk dust from a table; to whisk the white of eggs into a froth.
Etymology [See Whist, n.]
Etymology [Probably for wisk, and of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. visk a wisp; akin to Dan. visk, Sw. viska, D. wisch, OHG. wisc, G. wisch. See Wisp.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “whisk”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details