Other forms: whetted, whetting, whets
To whet is to sharpen a blade, or to sharpen an appetite. Whet the knife, whet the appetite, a whetstone.
The appetite sense is now much the commoner, and it means to increase rather than to satisfy — something that whets your appetite leaves you wanting more. It is not the same word as wet, and whet your appetite is constantly misspelled.
1verbwhetTo sharpen a blade, or to sharpen an appetite.
“He whetted his axe before heading into the woods to chop firewood.”
whet is a sharpening.
Old English hwettan means to sharpen, from a Germanic root meaning sharp.
Proto-Indo-European
*kʷeh₁d- — sharp
Proto-Germanic
*hwatjaną — to sharpen, whet; (figurative) to incite, instigate
Proto-West Germanic
*hwattjan — to sharpen, whet
Old English
hwettan — to sharpen, whet; (figurative) to encourage, incite
Middle English
whetten — to make the edge of (a sword, tool, etc.) sharp; to grunt, snort; to scrape the ground with (one’s feet); to make a chattering or grinding sound; (figurative) of a person: to prepare for battle; to make (one’s wit) alert or keen; to strengthen (one’s heart or will); to incite, provoke
English, today
whet
The is derived from Middle English whetten (“to make the edge of (a sword, tool, etc.) sharp; to grunt, snort; to scrape the ground with (one’s feet); to make a chattering or grinding sound; (figurative) of a person: to prepare for battle; to make (one’s wit) alert or keen; to strengthen (one’s heart or will); to incite, provoke”), from Old English hwettan (“to sharpen, whet; (figurative) to encourage, incite”), from Proto-West Germanic hwattjan (“to sharpen, whet”), from Proto-Germanic hwatjaną (“to sharpen, whet; (figurative) to incite, instigate”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European kʷeh₁d- (“sharp”). to teach (“to inculcate or teach (habits, information, etc.)”) is from Deuteronomy 6:6–7 in the Bible (New International Version): “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children.” The word translated as impress is Hebrew שָׁנַן (“to be sharp; to sharpen, whet”). The is derived from the verb.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA