Advertisement

Origin and history of wisp

wisp(n.)

late 13c., "handful or bundle of hay, grass, etc.," used for burning or cleaning or as a cushion; a word of uncertain origin, perhaps from an unrecorded Old English word cognate with Norwegian and Swedish visp "wisp," all of unknown origin.

It is sometimes said to be connected with whisk (which also is sometimes strenuously denied) or with Middle Low German and Middle Dutch wispel "a measure of grain." The meaning "thin, filmy portion" is attested by 1836. As a verb by 1590s, "rub down with a wisp."

also from late 13c.

Entries linking to wisp

will-o'-the-wisp(n.)

"ignis fatuus or a mythic character embodying such;" earlier Will with the wisp, Will with a wisp, etc. 1590s, from the masc. proper name Will + wisp "bundle of hay or straw used as a torch." Compare Jack-o'-lantern. Figurative for "anything that deludes or misleads" by 1660s.

wispy(adj.)

"like a wisp," 1717, from wisp + -y (2). Related: Wispiness. Earlier adjective was wispen (1580s).

    Advertisement

    More to explore

    whisk
    late 14c., "quick stroke, sweeping movement," probably from Old Norse visk "wisp of hay, something to sweep with," from Proto-Germanic..."move quickly" (source also of Danish visk "broom," Middle Dutch wisch, Dutch wis, Old High German wisc, German wisch "wisp..., brush"), from PIE root *weis- "to turn, twist" (source also of Sanskrit veskah "noose," Czech vechet "a wisp of straw,"...
    dot
    dott, once, "speck, head of a boil," perhaps related to Norwegian dot "lump, small knot," Dutch dot "knot, small bunch, wisp...
    toilet
    Toilet paper is attested from 1884 (the Middle English equivalent was arse-wisp). Toilet training is recorded from 1940....
    spook
    According to Klein's sources, possible outside connections include Lettish spigana "dragon, witch," spiganis "will o' the wisp...
    O
    on or of, and is still literary in some words (o'clock, Jack-o'-lantern, tam-o'-shanter, cat-o'-nine-tails, will-o'-the-wisp...
    war
    The glamour may be the mere delirium of fever, which as soon as war is over dies out and shows itself for the will-o'-the-wisp...
    parcel
    late 14c., "a portion or part of something" (a sense preserved in the verb and in the phrase parcel of land, which is from c. 1400), from Old French parcele "small piece, particle, parcel," and directly from Medieval Latin parcella, from Vulgar Latin *particella, extended form (v
    bundle
    early 14c., "bound collection of things," from Middle Dutch bondel, diminutive of bond, from binden "to bind," or perhaps a merger of this word and Old English byndele "binding," from Proto-Germanic *bund- (source also of German bündel "to bundle"), from PIE root *bhendh- "to bin
    flock
    Old English flocc "a group of persons, company, troop," related to Old Norse flokkr "crowd, troop, band," Middle Low German vlocke "crowd, flock (of sheep);" of unknown origin, not found in other Germanic languages; perhaps related to folc "people," but the metathesis would have
    packet
    mid-15c., paket, "a little package or parcel" (late 12c. as a surname), "in earliest use applied to a parcel of letters or dispatches, and esp. to the State parcel or 'mail' of dispatches to and from foreign countries" [OED], from Middle English pak "bundle" (see pack (n.)) + dim

    Share wisp

    Advertisement
    Trending
    Dictionary entries near wisp
    Advertisement