What does whisket mean?
Whisket is a rare, obsolete English noun meaning “a small whisker.” It belongs to the vocabulary of older English and is chiefly encountered in historical dictionaries and literature rather than in contemporary speech. In its old sense, the word denoted a small or diminutive whisker, a modest feature of facial hair; it was not the utensil used for beating or whisking food. A modern speaker discussing facial hair would ordinarily use whisker, or a more specific modern term, rather than whisket. The word's unusual sound makes it memorable, but its practical value today is chiefly historical. Whisket is worth knowing because it illustrates how English diminutive forms can preserve a small distinction that later disappears from everyday vocabulary.
nounAn obsolete term for a small whisker, especially a small tuft of facial hair.
- An obsolete small whisker, especially a small tuft of facial hair.
"The old glossary describes a whisket as a small whisker."
"The portraitist carefully rendered every small whisket on the sitter's face."
"Archival dictionaries list whisket among the older terms for a small whisker."
The regular plural is whiskets, though the form is rarely encountered because the noun is obsolete.
"The scholar found several whiskets listed in the early glossary."
Whisket is a whisper of a word: a diminutive that once meant a small whisker.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of whisket
Whisket is an English diminutive formed from whisk with the suffix -et. Older senses of whisk included a whisker or small hair-like feature, and the same root also gave rise to whisker. Whisket consequently came to mean literally a small whisker.
How whisket is actually used
Rare and obsolete. The word is chiefly encountered in dictionaries, glossaries, and historical texts; in modern English, whisker is the usual term.