Added 9 October 2026

whisk

/ˈwɪsk/ noun

Latin root: virga Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about whisk at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A quick, light sweeping motion.
With a quick whisk, she swept the cat from the pantry with her broom.
A kitchen utensil, now usually made from stiff wire loops fixed to a handle (and formerly of twigs), used for whipping (or a mechanical device with the same function).
He used a whisk to whip up a light and airy souffle.
A bunch of twigs, hair, etc., used as a brush.
Peter dipped the whisk in lather and applied it to his face, so he could start shaving.

To move something with quick light sweeping motions.
Vernon whisked the sawdust from his workbench.
In cooking, to whip e.g. eggs or cream.
The chef prepared to whisk the egg whites for the angel's food cake.
To move something rapidly and with no warning.
The governess whisked the children from the room before they could see their presents.

From Middle English whisk, borrowed from Old Norse visk, from Proto-Germanic *wiskaz, *wiskō (“bundle of hay, wisp”), from Proto-Indo-European *weys-. Cognates Cognate with Danish visk, Dutch wis, German Wisch, Latin virga (“rod, switch”), viscus (“entrails”), Lithuanian vizgéti (“to tremble”), Czech věchet (“wisp of straw”), Sanskrit वेष्क (veṣka, “noose”). Compare also Old English wiscian (“to plait”), granwisc (“awn”). The unetymological wh- is probably expressive of the sound; compare the same development in whip and onomatopoeias such as whack and whoosh.