Unnumbered source etymology
Original entry ↗To brush or dress, as with a wisp. · To rumple. · To produce a wisp, as of smoke. · To emit in wisps.
A small bundle, as of straw or other like substance; a twisted handful of something; any slender, flexible structure or group. · A small, thin line of cloud, smoke, or steam. · A whisk, or small broom. · A will o' the wisp, or ignis fatuus.
From Middle English wispe, wyspe, wips, wipse, perhaps from an unrecorded Old English *wisp, *wips. Cognate with West Frisian wisp, Dutch wisp (“bundle of hay or straw”), Norwegian bokmål/Swedish/Bornholm Danish visp (“handful or bundle of grass, hay, etc.”). Akin also to Middle Dutch/Middle Low German wispel (“measure of grain”).
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
This page abbreviates 3 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
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"expansion": "Middle Low German wispel (“measure of grain”)"
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{
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"To brush or dress, as with a wisp.",
"To rumple.",
"To produce a wisp, as of smoke.",
"To emit in wisps."
],
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"A small bundle, as of straw or other like substance; a twisted handful of something; any slender, flexible structure or group.",
"A small, thin line of cloud, smoke, or steam.",
"A whisk, or small broom.",
"A will o' the wisp, or ignis fatuus."
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