Wiktionary

whey

EnglishEdit

 
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Alternative formsEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Middle English whey, wheye, whei, from Old English hwǣġ, hwæiġ, hwæġ, hweġ (“whey”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwai (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”)).

PronunciationEdit

  • enPR: hwā, wā, IPA(key): /ʍeɪ/, /weɪ/
    • Audio (UK)(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪ
  • Homophones: way, weigh, wey (in accents with the wine-whine merger)

NounEdit

whey (usually uncountable, plural wheys)

  1. 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 termsEdit

Derived termsEdit

TranslationsEdit

See alsoEdit

Middle EnglishEdit

Alternative formsEdit

EtymologyEdit

Inherited from Old English hwǣġ, hwæiġ, hwæġ, hweġ, from Proto-West Germanic *hwai.

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): /ʍɛi̯/
  • (dialectal) IPA(key): /wɛi̯/, /xʍɛi̯/

NounEdit

whey (uncountable)

  1. The leftovers from milk curdled during cheesemaking; whey.
  2. (rare) The result of strained almond milk.

DescendantsEdit

  • English: whey (whig)
  • Scots: quhaye, quhay, quhey, whey, fey

ReferencesEdit

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