whether 
■Sometimes the correlative clause is formed simply l)y a 
particle of negation. 
Whether one Nym . . . had the chain or no. 
Shak., M. W. of W., iv. .■;. 33. 
This obscure thorn-eater of malice and detraction, as 
well as of Quodlibets and .Sophisms, knowes not whether 
it were illegall or not. Milton, An Apology, etc. 
His [.Solomon's] case isleft disputable to this day, whether 
he ever recovered by repentance or no. 
SiUlingfleet, Sermons, II. iii. 
Whether we are in Danger or no at present, 'twere Pre- 
sumption in me to judge. Iloieell, Letters, I. vi. 11. 
To that frere wyll I go, 
And bring him to you, 
Whether he wyl or no. 
Playe of Itobyn Mode (Child's Ballads, V. 421). 
2. Introducing a single alternative, the other 
being implied : as, 1 do not know whether he is 
yet gone [or not] . 
God woot wher he was like a manly knyghte. 
Chaucer, Troilus, ii. 1263. 
You shall demand of him whether one Captain Dumain 
be i' the camp. Shak., All's Well, iv. 3. 139. 
These are but winds and flaws to try the floting vessell 
of our faith tvhether it be stanch and sayl well. 
Milton, Church-Government, i. 7. 
These dark doctrines and puzzling passages were in- 
serted to be the test of ingenuous, of sincere and well- 
disposed minds : to see, tvhetlier, when we were once sat- 
isfied that a lK)ok came from God, we would acquiesce in 
every thing contained in it. Bp. Atterbury , Sermons. 1 1, ix. 
Whether orno. Seeiwi. 
He would be as likely to believe me guilty as not. . . . 
'What would he do, whether or no ? 
Dickens, Bleak House, Iii. 
whether^t, >i(h\ An obsolete form of ichither. 
whe'thering (hweTH'er-ing), n. [Origin ob- 
scure.] The retention of the afterbirth in 
cows, (iardner. 
whethersot (hweTH'er-s6), /(irfe/. ^jrow. [ME.; 
< whether^ + srA.'i Whichever of two, or of the 
two. 
Warne alle the compaignye that longen to this fraternite, 
man and woman, that is with-inne the tonne, to come to 
the exsequies of hym or of hir that is deede, whethir-so 
it be. Unylish Gilds (E. E. T. S.), p. 74. 
whetile (liwe'til), ». [Imitative; of. yaffle] 
The green woodpecker, Gecinus viridis. See 
cut under popinjay. 
whet-slate (hwet'slat), «. A very fine-grained 
liard silieious rock, suitable for making whet- 
stones and hones. Also called novacuHte and 
hone.'itone. 
whetstone (hwet'ston), n. [Early mod. E. also 
whestone; < ME. whetston, tceiston, watstoii, 
weston, < AS. hwetstdn (= MD. iveisteen = MLQ. 
wettesten, tvetsteii = OIIG. wezzistein, MHG. 
wetzesteiii, G. wetzstein), a whetstone, < hicetkin, 
whet, + stoH, stone.] 1. A stone for sharpen- 
ing cutlery or tools by friction. 'Whetstones are 
made of various kinds of stone, the finer kinds being a 
silieious slate, and when used are moistened with oil or 
water. 
Diligence is to the understanding as the whetsdQnfi to the 
razor. South. 
Whetftto7ies or scythestonea used to be made solely by 
hand in large quantities at stone quarries in Derbyshire. 
N. and Q., 7th ser., XI. 173. 
2. Figuratively, that which sharpens, stimu- 
lates, or incites the faculties or ajipetites. 
I assure you, there is no such whetstone to sharpen a 
good witte and encourage a will to learninge as is praise. 
Aschani, The Scholemaster, p. 20. 
Let them read Shakespeare's sonnets, taking thence 
A whetatone for their dull intelligence. 
Shelley, To his Genius. 
To give, deserve, or win the whetstonet, old phrases 
in which a whetstone appears as the proverbial prize for 
lying. Confirmed liars or slanderers were sometimes pub- 
licly exhiltited with a whetstone fastened to them. Com- 
pare the following allusion.s. 
If Mother Hubbjird, in the vein of Chaucer, happened 
to tell one canicular tale, father Elderton and his son 
Greene, in the vein of .Skelton, or Scoggin, will counterfeit 
an hundred dogged faljles, libels, calumnies, slanders, lies 
for the wJietstone, what not. G. Harvey, Four Letters. 
The wliettstone is a knave that all men know, 
"i'et many on him doe much cost bestowe : 
Hee's us'd almost in every shoppe, but whye? 
An edge must needs be set on every lye. 
Quoted in Chamber's Book of Days, II. 45. 
This will explain a smart repartee of Sir Francis Bacon's 
before King James, to whom Sir Kenelm Digby was relat- 
ing that he had seen the true philosopher's stone in the 
possession of a hermit in Italy, and when the king was 
very curious to understand what sort of stone it was. and 
Sir Kenelm much puzzled in describing it. Sir Fi-a. Bacon 
interposed, and said, " Perhaps it was a ivhetstone." 
Z. drey. 
whetstone-slate (hwet'stonslal), «. Siimc as 
ichcl-slfllr. 
Whettent (hwefn), r. t. [< ii-hei + iii'^.] To 
whet. [Rare.] 
My niynd was greedelye whetned 
'I'oo parle with the Regent. Stanihurst, M\M(l, iii. 
6896 . 
whetter (hwet'^r), H. [< whet + -er'^.'] 1. One 
who or that which whets or sharpens. 
Love, like other sweet things, is no whetter of the 
stomach. Fielding, Joseph Andrews, (Latham.) 
2t. Specifically, one who indulges in whets or 
drams; a dram-drinker; a tippler. 
There are in and about the Royal-Exchange a sort of 
people commonly known by the name of Whetters, who 
drink themselves into an Intermediate state of being 
neither drunk nor sober before the hours of Exchange or 
business. Steele, Tatler, No. 138. 
The Whetter is obliged to refresh himself every moment 
with a liquor, as the Snuff-taker with a powder. 
Steele, Tatler, No. 141. 
wheugh, interj. A variant of whew'^. 
whewl (hwu), interj. [Sometimes also wheugh, 
formerly also whti; an exclamation in imita- 
tion of whistling ; ei. Icel. hviss ! Cf. whoottov 
hoot.] An exclamation, uttered with a whistling 
sound, expressing astonishment or dismay. 
In a cold morning, whu — at a lord's gate. 
How you have let the porter let me wait ! 
Vanbrugh, Confederacy, Prol. 
He swears by the Rood. Whetv ! 
Tennyson, Queen Mary, 1. 1. 
whewl (hwu), «. [Sometimes also ivheugh, 
formerly also whue ; < lohew'^, interj. or f.] 1. 
A whistling sound, usually noting astonish- 
ment. 
The fryer set his fist to his mouth. 
And whuted whues three. 
Robin Hood and the Curtail Fryer (Child's Ballads, \. 276). 
Behind them lay two long, low, ugly-looking craft, at 
sight of which Yeo gave a long wheugh. 
Kingsley, Westward Ho, xix. 
Lepel suppressed a whew. 
nannay. Singleton Fontenoy, ix. 
2. Same as whewer. 
Wigeon (French Vigeon, from the Latin "Vipio), also 
called locally "Whewer" and "Whew" (names imitative 
of the whistling call-note of the male). 
A. Newton, Encyc. Brit., XXIV. 661. 
whewl (hwu), V. i. [< n-hcw^, interj.] To ut- 
ter the interjection whew or a sound like it ; 
whistle with a shrill pipe, as a plover or duck. 
I had often been wondering how they [the plovers] staid 
sae lang on the heights that year, for I heard them aye 
wheu'ing e'en an' morn. l^ogg. Brownie, iii. 
whew^ (hwu), V. i. [Origin obscure.] 1. To 
fly hastily; make great speed. Also whiew. 
Broel-ett; HaUiwcll. [Prov. Eng.] — 2. To 
hurry or bustle about; work tempestuously. 
[New Eng.] 
Her father . . . had married a smart second wife "to 
look after matters." . . . Nothing ever got ahead of her ; 
she u'hewed round ; when she was wheu'ing she neither 
wanted Bel to hinder nor help. 
Mrs. A. D. T. Whitney, The Other Girls, vii. 112. 
whew'-^ (hwu), n. [< whew-, r.] A sudden van- 
ishing away. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
whew-duck (hwu'duk), n. [< whew^ + duel'; cf. 
whewer.] The i)andle-whew, whewer, or wid- 
geon, Marecu penelope, among whose names 
are c<mard sifflenr and Anas fi.ttnlaris. [Local, 
British.] 
In some parts of England it [the widgeon] is . . . called 
the Whew-duck and Whewei-. 
Yarrell, British Birds (4th ed.), IV. 40O. (Encyc. Diet.) 
whewellite (hwu 'el -it), n. [Named after W. 
Il'hewell, master of Trinity College, Cambridge.] 
Native calcium oxalate, a rare mineral occur- 
ring in monoclinic crystals, colorless or white 
with brilliant luster. 
whewer (hwfi'er), ». [< whcw'^ + -eel.] The 
whew-duck. [Prov. Eng.] 
In Norfolk, according to Ray, whewers. 
C. Swainson, Brit. Birds (1885), p. 155. 
wheyi (hwa), 11. [Early mod. E. also whay ; 
also dial, xcliiij: < ME. whey, whci, hwei. < AS. 
hwSiij = Fries, weye = MD. wey, D. wei, also 
MD. hny, hoy, hid = LG. wey, wnje, hei, heii, 
whey; root unknown. Cf. W. ehwig, whey 
fermented with sour herbs; ehivig, sour, fer- 
mented.] The serum of milk ; that part of milk 
which remains fluid after the proteids have 
been coagulated by rennet as in cheese-mak- 
ing, or by an acid as in the natural souring of 
milk. Whey is often mixed with wine, or flavored with 
herbs, spices, etc., and used as a cooling beverage. 
The pined Fisher or poor-Daiery-Renter 
That Hues of whay, for forfeiting Indenture. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, i. 3. 
Down to the milke-house, and drank three glasses of 
whey. Pepys, Diary, 11. 398. 
Alum Whey, the whey formed In the coagulation of milk 
by powdered alum. — Whey cure, the treatment of cer- 
tain diseases by means of the internal administration of 
tiuantitiesof whey, sometimes combined with baths in the 
same li(|uid. This " cure " is usually practised In eoiniee- 
tioii with drinking and bathing in minei'al waters at Euro- 
pean spas.— Wine whey. See wine. 
which 
whey^t, «. An obsolete form of quey. 
5 wheyes (4 years old), £6. 
H. Hall, Society In Elizabethan Age, App. I. 
whey-beard (hwa'berd), n. The whitethroat, 
Sylvia cinerea. Macgilliiray ; Montagu. See cut 
under whitethroat. [Local, British.] 
wheyey (hwa'i), a. [< whey^ -(- -ey for -yl.] 
Partaking of the nature of whey ; containing or 
resembling whey. Bacon, Nat. Hist., ^ 43. 
whey-face (hwa'fas), n. [< w/if^l + face^.] A 
face white or pale, as from fear; also, a person 
having a white or pale face, or looking pale 
from fright. 
Go, prick thy face, and over-red thy fear. 
. . . What soldiers, ivhey/ace ? 
Shak., Macbeth, v. 3. 17. 
whey-faced (hwa'fast), a. [< xchey^ + face^ + 
-ed^. a. cream-faced.] Having a white or pale 
face; pallid. 
All this You made me quit, to follow 
That sneaking, Whey-fac'd God Apollo. 
Prior, To Fleetwood Shephard (1689). 
wheyish (hwa'ish), «. [< whey'^ + -ish'^.] Hav- 
ing the qualities of whey ; thin ; watery. 
If it be fresh and sweet butter ; but say it be sour and 
wheyish ? B. Jonson, Staple of News, ii. 1. 
A diet of Asses or other Wheyish Milk. 
O. Harvey, Vanities of Philosophy and Physick 
((ed. 1702), xi. 
wheyishness (hwa'ish -nes), «. The state or 
quality of being wheyish. Southey. ( Worces- 
ter.) 
whey-whig (hwa'hwig), n. A pleasant and 
sharj) beverage, made by infusing mint or sage 
in buttermilk-whey. HalliweU. 
whey-worm, «. See whay-worm. 
whf. -An abbreviation of wharf. 
whlchl (hwich), pron. [< ME. which, whuch, 
hwuch (alsounassibilated hwic), a reducedform, 
with loss of orig. t, of "whilch, whulch, wilche, 
hwilch, wtdch, hwukh, assibilated forms of whilk, 
while, whnlc, hwidc (> Se. whilk; quhilk), < AS. 
hwilc, hwytc, hwelc = OS. hwilik ^OFries. hwelik, 
hwelh; hwel- = D. welk = MLG. LG. wclk = 0H6. 
hwelih, tvelih, wielih, welich, welch, MHG. welch, 
welich, G. welche, which, = Icel. hvilikr, of what 
kind, = Sw. Dan. hrilken, m., hvilket, neut., = 
Goth, hweileiks, yihich; < hwa, the stem of AS. 
hwd, etc., who, + AS. -lie, etc., a formative 
seen also in such (which is closely parallel pho- 
netically to which), each, etc.] A. interrog. 
What one of a certain implied number or sett 
indicating a general knowledge of a certain 
group of individuals, and seeking for a selec- 
tion of one or more from that number: thus, 
whicli do you want? implying a limitation which 
is absent from the question what do you want f 
Many good works have I shewed you from my Father ; 
for which of those works do ye stone me ? John x. 32. 
Who is it that says most ? wAtcft can say more 
Than this rich praise, that you alone are you ? 
Shak; Sonnets, Ixxxiv. 
Are any of these charges admitted to be true by the 
friends of the Administration, and, If any. which ? 
D. Webster, Speech, Senate, June 27, 1834. 
But which Is It to be"? Fight or make friends? "Why," 
says he, " I think it will be the best manner to spin a coin 
for it." /(. L. Stevenson, Master of Ballantrae, ii. 
Used adjectively, with a selective and interrogative force, 
to limit a noun. 
Cost. From my lord to my lady. 
J'rin. From which lord to lehich lady ? 
Shak., L- L. L., iv. 1. 105. 
Me miserable ! which way shall I fly 
Infinite wrath and inflnite despair'? 
Milton, P. I.., iv. 73. 
In an old exclamatory use, what I 
"Lol" selth holy letterure, "wftiche lordes beth this 
shrewes [are these wretches] ! " 
Thilke that god moste gyueth, leste good thei deleth. 
Piers Plowman (B), X- 27. 
Kay the stiward . . . dide as a nobleknyght; if or the 
thre Princes seidc, "Mercy god, whiche a stiward is this ! " 
Mertin (E. E. T. S.X iii- 661. 
Which Is which? which is the one, which the other? a 
common phrase implying inability to distinguish between 
two or more things. I'sed relatively as well as interroga- 
tively : see the quotation. 
The whole mass of buildings is jammed together in a 
manner that from eertain points of view makes it far 
from apparent which feature is which. 
H. James, Jr., Little Tour, p. 159. 
B. rel. 1. As a simple relative pronoun: (a) 
Who or whom. [Obsolete or archaic] 
Now that I see my lady bright 
Which I have loved with al my might. 
Chaucer, Death of Blanche, 1. 478. 
The yonger sone ser Abell was his name, 
Whiche of his enmys had but litlll drede. 
Generydes (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1922. 
Our Father which ai't in heaven. Mat. vi. 9. 
