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whet

whet is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 3 senses. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.

Definitions

  1. 1.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 Cæsar, I have not slept. Shak. To whet on, To whet forward, to urge on or forward; to instigate. Shak.
  2. 2.The act of whetting.
  3. 3.That which whets or sharpens; esp., an appetizer. "Sips, drams, and whets." Spectator. Whet slate (Min.), a variety of slate used for sharpening cutting instruments; novaculite; -- called also whetstone slate, and oilstone.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

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