Words with Webster: Whisker, Plus Friendly Fill-Ins

We have two fun features for you this Friday. First up is Words with Webster, in which he tells us about something that is common to cats. This is followed by Friendly Fill-Ins.

Words with Webster

Hi, all! It’s me, Real Cat Webster. Welcome to Words with Me. Today’s word is “whisker.” I know, we all know what whiskers are, right? They’re those “long projecting hairs or bristles growing near the mouth of an animal (as a cat or bird).”[1] But have you ever wondered when people started calling whiskers, whiskers? Probably not, but I’m still going to tell you!

First off, the Oxford English Dictionary says that the first known use of the word in writing was in about 1425, but it didn’t mean an animal whisker yet. It meant something like a fan or a brush (something that whisks). Our meaning for “whisker” came about in 1678, in the London Gazette. It's about a horse though:

A light gray Gelding,..with an iron mark of a G. on the near Buttock, and two whiskers on the upper lip.

In 1748 came a mention of a cat’s whisker:

A whisker first and then a claw.

This was from “Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes,” by Thomas Gray.

And finally, Thomas Henry Huxley wrote an interesting thing about cats’ whiskers in 1881:

The “whiskers” of cats owe their functional importance to the abundant supply of nerves to the follicles in which their bases are lodged.

To learn more about whiskers, check out when I did the word "vibrissa" last year.

Friendly Fill-Ins

And now it’s time for Friendly Fill-Ins, from 15andmeowing and McGuffy’s Reader. They are a fun way to learn a little bit about the authors of the blogs you read. The first two questions, answered by old SoLT this week, are from Ellen of 15andmeowing, and the next two, answered by Real Cat Paisley, are from Annie of McGuffy’s Reader.

Old SoLT’s answers:

1. My favorite line from a film is “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” From Jaws, of course.

2. Other than blogs, a website I visit often is … well, I am on Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary all day while I’m working, and usually The Chicago Manual of Style online too. Other than that, Facebook is probably the site I’m on the most…looking at cute animals!

Real Cat Paisley’s answers:

3. When I feel down, I meow a whole bunch until Mommy plays with me or cuddles me.


4. If I could drive a car (which I’m pretty sure I could do, if I could just reach Mommy’s keys!), I would...um, actually I don't know what I would do, but I bet it would be fun!

And now, please enjoy this clip from Jaws. You're gonna need a bigger boat!

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[1] Merriam-Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary.