whetten

English

Etymology

From whet (past participle) +‎ -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

Middle English

Alternative forms

• qwete, whett, whette, whettyn
• whætte (Early Middle English)

Etymology

Inherited from Old English hwettan, from Proto-West Germanic *hwattjan, from Proto-Germanic *hwatjaną.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhwɛtən/

Verb

whetten (third-person singular simple present whetteth, present participle whettende, whettynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle whetted)

1. To sharpen; to make sharp, 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/-te)

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

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

Derived terms

• whestone
• whettynge

Descendants

• English: whet
• Scots: what
• Yola: what

References

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