whid

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English *whid, from Old English hwiþa, hwiþu (“air, breeze”) or from Old Norse hviða (“gust of wind”), both from Proto-Germanic *hwiþō (“rush of wind”), from Proto-Germanic *hwi- (“to rush”), from Proto-Indo-European *kwei- (“to hiss, whistle, whisper”). Cognate with Scots quhid (“a squall, blast of wind”).

Noun

whid (plural whids)

1. A quick motion; a rapid, quiet movement, usually by small game.

Verb

whid (third-person singular simple present whids, present participle whidding, simple past and past participle whidded)

1. To move nimbly and with little noise, usually of small game.

Synonyms

• scut
• scud

Etymology 2

Perhaps from Old English cwide (“word, speech”).

Noun

whid (plural whids)

1. (obsolete, Scotland) A lie; a falsehood.
2. (obsolete) A word.
3. (obsolete, UK, dialect) A quarrel.

Verb

whid (third-person singular simple present whids, present participle whidding, simple past and past participle whidded)

1. (obsolete, Scotland, intransitive) To tell a lie.

References

• (lie, falsehood; word): 1873, John Camden Hotten, The Slang Dictionary