Wiktionary

whisker

See also: Whisker

English edit

 
Zinc whiskers (8) (tendrils that form on metal).

Etymology edit

Middle English wisker, whisk (verb) +‎ -er[1]

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ʍɪskə(ɹ)/, /wɪskə(ɹ)/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪskə(ɹ)

Noun edit

whisker (plural whiskers)

  1. That part of the beard which grows upon the sides of the face, usually of the male, or upon the chin, or upon both.
  2. A hair of the beard.
  3. One of the long, projecting hairs growing at the sides of the mouth of a cat, or other animal.
  4. (colloquial) The (very small) distance between two things.
    It missed falling on your foot by a whisker.
    • 2011 May 14, Peter Scrivener, “Sunderland 1 - 3 Wolverhampton”, in BBC Sport‎[1]:
      Boosted by their reward, Wolves continued to push forward and Jamie O'Hara came within a whisker of doubling the lead, smashing a 25-yard effort on to the bar.
  5. (nautical) Spreaders from the bows to spread the bowsprit shrouds.
  6. (statistics) A graphic element that shows the maxima and minima in a box plot.
  7. One who, or that which, whisks, or moves with a quick, sweeping motion.
  8. (metallurgy) A small tendril that forms on metal.

Derived terms edit

Translations edit

References edit

  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “whisker”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Further reading edit

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