whey

CEFRB2

/hweɪ/

noun · interjection

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    The thin liquid left after milk has been separated to make cheese.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A shout for attention

Examples

  • Did you keep the whey after you strained the yogurt?

  • It's neither milk nor whey.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5

Also pronounced

  • /weɪ/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A shout of enthusiasm or delight

  2. The liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained in the process of making cheese.

interjection

Extra meaning

  1. Shouted when someone drops a glass or other crockery, especially in a pub.

More examples

In context

  • The whey is in the fridge.

  • {...} if I wished any blessing in the world, it was to find him a worthy object of pride; and I’m bitterly disappointed with the whey-faced, whining wretch!

  • Little Miss Muffet, She sat on a tuffet, Eating of curds and whey; There came a little spider, Who sat down beside her, And frighted Miss Muffet away.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The clear liquid that separates from milk during cheese making is called blank.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English whey, wheye, whei, from Old English hwǣġ, hwæiġ, hwæġ, hweġ (“whey”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwaij (“whey”) (cognate with Saterland Frisian Waai, Woaie, West Frisian waai, Dutch wei, Low German Wei, German Low German Wei), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- (“to pile up, build”) (compare Old Church Slavonic чинъ (činŭ, “order”), Ancient Greek ποιέω (poiéō, “to pile up, make”), Sanskrit कय (káya, “every one”)).