whettingn.
/ˈhwɛtɪŋ/ The action of whet v.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > sharpness of edge or point > [noun] > sharpening
sharping1398
whetting1398
sharpening1580
wheta1628
the mind > attention and judgement > [noun] > sharpening of
whetting1667
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) xvi. xxiii Þe whestone haþ þre propretees þt it serueþ anoþre þinge in whettinge and wasteþ hym silfe some and some.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 524/1 Whettynge, or scharpynge, acucio.
1574 W. Bourne Regim. for Sea (1577) vi. 28 b I would not wish them to meddle with..whettyng of the side of the needle.
1616 T. Draxe Bibliotheca Scholastica 176 Whetting (viz. of kniues and sithes) is no letting. [Cf. quot. a1628 at whet n. 1.]
1631 Bp. J. Hall Occas. Medit. (ed. 2) (2nd state) §cxxxi Recreation is intended to the minde, as whetting is to the sithe.
1667 R. Allestree Causes Decay Christian Piety xiv. 344 That we should sacrifice the one [sc. the Churches peace]..to the whetting and inflaming of the other [sc. curiosity].
1774 G. White Let. 2 Sept. in Nat. Hist. Selborne (1789) 102 The titmouse..early in February begins to make two quaint notes, like the whetting of a saw.
1852 M. Arnold Empedocles on Etna, & Other Poems ii. 164 With one arm over his head, Watching how the whetting sped.
Compounds
General attributive.
whetting-block n.
ΚΠ
1678 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. v. 93 They wedge the blade of the Saw hard into the Whetting Block.
whetting-board n.
ΚΠ
1825 W. Hone Every-day Bk. (1826) I. 1081 It..furnishes shoemakers with..whetting-boards to smooth the edges of their knives upon.
whetting-glass n.
ΚΠ
1703 G. Farquhar Twin-rivals i. i. 5 I have brought you a Whetting-Glass, the best Old Hock in Europe; I know 'tis your drink in a Morning.
whetting-stone n.
ΚΠ
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1865) I. 417 A qwettenge-ston.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1923; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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