whetten

English

Etymology

From whet +‎ -en.

Verb

whetten (third-person singular simple present whettens, present participle whettening, simple past and past participle whettened)

1. (transitive, rare) To whet.

Anagrams

• wenteth

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Middle English

Alternative forms

• whette, whætte, whettyn, qwete, whett

Etymology

From Old English hwettan, from Proto-Germanic *hwatjaną.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʍɛtən/

Verb

whetten

1. To sharpen; to make sharp, pointy or acute, especially with a whetstone.
2. To sharpen one's claws or tusks; to prepare for attack.
3. To motivate; to encourage or cause eagerness.
4. (rare) To stimulate or increase endurance.
5. (rare) To growl or groan; to make hostile noises.
6. (rare) Of the teeth or feet; to grind against something.

Conjugation

Conjugation of whetten (weak in -ed)

infinitive	(to) whetten, whette
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	whette	whetted
2nd-person singular	whettest	whettedest
3rd-person singular	whetteth	whetted
subjunctive singular	whette
imperative singular		—
plural1	whetten, whette	whetteden, whettede
imperative plural	whetteth, whette	—
participles	whettynge, whettende	whetted, ywhetted

¹Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Derived terms

• whestone
• whettynge

Descendants

• English: whet
• Scots: what

References

• “whetten (v.)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-19.