2. To box (one) on the ear; to strike or box (the ear); as, to wherret
a child. [Obs.]
Wher"ret, n. A box on the ear. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.
Wher"ry (?), n.; pl. Wherries (#). [Cf. Icel. hverfr shifty, crank,
hverfa to turn, E. whirl, wharf.] (Naut.) (a) A passenger barge or
lighter plying on rivers; also, a kind of light, half-decked vessel
used in fishing. [Eng.] (b) A long, narrow, light boat, sharp at both
ends, for fast rowing or sailing; esp., a racing boat rowed by one
person with sculls.
Wher"ry, n. [Cf. W. chwerw bitter.] A liquor made from the pulp of crab
apples after the verjuice is expressed; — sometimes called crab wherry.
[Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
Wher"so (?), adv. Wheresoever. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Whet (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Whetted; p. pr. & vb. n. Whetting.] [AS.
hwettan; akin to D. wetten, G. wetzen, OHG. wezzen, Icel. hvetja, Sw.
vättja, and AS. hwæt vigorous, brave, OS. hwat, OHG. waz, was, sharp,
Icel. hvatr, bold, active, Sw. hvass sharp, Dan. hvas, Goth. hwassaba
sharply, and probably to Skr. cud to impel, urge on.]
1. To rub or on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the
purpose of sharpening; to sharpen by attrition; as, to whet a knife.
The mower whets his scythe.
Milton.
Here roams the wolf, the eagle whets his beak.
Byron.
2. To make sharp, keen, or eager; to excite; to stimulate; as, to whet
the appetite or the courage.
Since Cassius first did whet me against Cæsar, I have not slept.
Shak.
To whet on, To whet forward, to urge on or forward; to instigate. Shak.
Whet, n.