whey
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English whey, wheye, whei, from Old English hwǣġ, hwæiġ, hwæġ, hweġ (“whey”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwaij (“whey”) (compare Saterland Frisian Waai, Woaie, West Frisian waai, Dutch wei, Low German Wei, German Low German Wei), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- (“to pile up, build”) (compare Old Church Slavonic чинъ (činŭ, “order”), Ancient Greek ποιέω (poiéō, “to pile up, make”), Sanskrit कय (káya, “every one”)).
Pronunciation edit
- enPR: hwā, wā, IPA(key): /hweɪ/, /weɪ/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
- Rhymes: -eɪ
- Homophones: way, weigh, wey (in accents with the wine-whine merger)
Noun edit
whey (usually uncountable, plural wheys)
- The liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained in the process of making cheese.
- 1805, Songs for the Nursery, page 23:
- Little Miss Muffet, She sat on a tuffet, Eating of curds and whey; There came a little spider, Who sat down beside her, And frighted Miss Muffet away.
- 1847, Emily Brontë, chapter XX, in Wuthering Heights[1]:
- {...} if I wished any blessing in the world, it was to find him a worthy object of pride; and I’m bitterly disappointed with the whey-faced, whining wretch!
Coordinate terms edit
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
liquid remaining after milk has been curdled
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See also edit
Middle English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Old English hwǣġ, hwæiġ, hwæġ, hweġ, from Proto-West Germanic *hwaij (“whey”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
whey (uncountable)
- The leftovers from milk curdled during cheesemaking; whey.
- (rare) The result of strained almond milk.
Descendants edit
References edit
- “whei, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-09-01.