A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 2002 (DOST Vol. XII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1375, 1460-1500, 1693
[1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1]
Wisk, Wysk, Whisk, n. [Quhisk n.] A quick, sharp stroke, a swift (sweeping) movement. — 1375 Barb. v 643.
The king … Waytyt the sper in the cummyng & with a wysk the hed off strak 1460 Hay Alex. 544.
Quhan ony was condempnit be iustice, Thay keist thame to that hors in his trillis, Quhilk … with ane wisk ane end of thame he made a1500 Henr. Fab. 2898.
Fechtand thusgait, the gled sat on ane twist … And with ane wisk, or owthir off thame wist, He claucht his cluke betuix thame in the threid a1500 King Hart 199.
Fresche Bewtie, with ane wysk, come belyve And thame all reistit 1693 Urquhart Rabelais iii xvii 141.
Three whisks of a broom besom
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Wisk n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 16 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/wisk_n>
