The Collaborative International Dictionary
Whet \Whet\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Whetted; p. pr. & vb. n. Whetting.] [AS. hwettan; akin to D. wetten, G. wetzen, OHG. wezzen, Icel. hvetja, Sw. v["a]ttja, and AS. hw[ae]t 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.]
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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. -
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 C[ae]sar, I have not slept.
--Shak.To whet on, To whet forward, to urge on or forward; to instigate.
--Shak.
Wiktionary
n. The process by which something is whetted. vb. (present participle of whet English)
WordNet
See whet
Usage examples of "whetting".
His hands are cold as ice, and an hour ago I found him whetting the edge of the great Ghoorka knife which he now always carries with him.
Her fingers tightened in mine, but I drew them forcibly again to my cock, which was beginning to show signs of new life, thanks to all this philosophical discussion whilst in the nude, and I confess that seeing her naked on the couch, clad only in those delicious and naughty black hose with their provocative rosettes to hold them firm and unwrinkled to her lovely legs, was even more whetting to my lustful appetites than all the philosophy of heaven and hell combined.
That evening, as the new peer was whetting Harvest to remove a few recent nicks, a herald came to the tent and presented him with an official notice from Chancery.
Caryll sauntered into the bar for a whetting glass to give him an appetite, and further for the purpose of bespeaking in detail his dinner with the hostess.