whisk

Wikipedia

English

Kitchen whisks (sense 2)

Etymology

Middle English, from Old Norse visk (compare Danish visk), from Proto-Germanic *wisk- 'move quickly' (compare Old English wiscian 'to plait', granwisc 'awn', Dutch wis 'wisp', German Wisch), from Proto-Indo-European *u̯eis (compare Latin virga 'rod, switch', viscus 'entrails', Lithuanian vizgéti 'to tremble', Czech vechet 'wisp of straw', Sanskrit veşka 'noose').

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɪsk

Noun

whisk (plural whisks)

1. A quick, light sweeping motion.

   With a quick whisk, she swept the cat from the pantry with her broom.

2. A kitchen utensil, made from stiff wire loops fixed to a handle, used for whipping (or a mechanical device with the same function).

   He used a whisk to whip up a light and airy souffle.

3. A bunch of twigs or hair etc, used as a brush.

   Peter dipped the whisk in lather and applied it to his face, so he could start shaving.

4. 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.

Translations

quick, light sweeping motion

• Czech: mrsknutí (cs) n
• Finnish: pyyhkäisy (fi), huiskaus (fi)

• Portuguese: lapada (pt) f
• Russian: смахивание (ru) (smáxivanije) n

kitchen utensil

• Arabic: مخفقة (ar) (mixfaqa) f
• Chinese:
  • Mandarin: 打蛋器 (cmn) (dǎdànqì)
• Czech: metla (cs) f
• Danish: piskeris (da) n
• Dutch: garde (nl) m
• Finnish: vispilä (fi)
• French: fouet (fr) m
• German: Schneebesen (de) m, Schaumschläger (de) m

• Japanese: 泡立て器 (ja) (あわだてき, awadateki)
• Luxembourgish: Schnéibiesem (lb) m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: visp (nb) m

  Nynorsk: visp (nn) m

• Portuguese: batedor de claras (pt) m
• Russian: сбивалка (ru) (sbiválka) f, венчик (ru) (vénchik) m
• Swedish: visp (sv) c
• Vietnamese: cái đánh trứng (vi)

bunch of twigs or hair etc, used as a brush

• Czech: věchet (cs) f
• Danish: dusk (da) c, visk (da) c

• Finnish: luuta (fi), vasta (fi)
• Russian: метёлка (ru) (metjólka) f

small handheld broom with a small (or no) handle

• Finnish: huisku, pölyhuisku
• French: balayette (fr) f

• Russian: метёлка (ru) (metjólka) f

Verb

whisk (third-person singular simple present whisks, present participle whisking, simple past and past participle whisked)

1. (transitive) To move something with quick light sweeping motions.

   Vernon whisked the sawdust from his workbench.

2. (transitive) In cooking, to whip e.g. eggs or cream.

   The chef prepared to whisk the egg whites for the angel's food cake.

3. (transitive) To move something rapidly and with no warning.

   The governess whisked the children from the room before they could see their presents.

4. (intransitive) To move lightly and nimbly.

   The children whisked down the road to the fair, laughing and chattering as they went.

Translations

to move something with quick light sweeping motions

• Czech: smést (cs)
• Finnish: pyyhkiä (fi), pyyhkäistä (fi)

• Russian: смахивать (ru) (smaxivatʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: sguab (gd)

in cooking, to whip e.g. eggs or cream

• Czech: šlehat (cs)
• Danish: piske (da)
• Finnish: vispata (fi), vatkata (fi)
• French: fouetter (fr)
• Jèrriais: d'battre
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: vispe (nb)

  Nynorsk: vispe (nn)

• Russian: взбивать (ru) (vzbivatʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: sguab (gd)
• Spanish: batir (es)

to move something rapidly and with no warning

• Finnish: kiidättää (fi)

to move lightly and nimbly

• Finnish: rientää (fi)
• Russian: юркнуть (ru) (júrknut')

• Spanish: deslizarse (es)