Wisp

Definition: Wisp

Wisp

Noun

1. A small tuft or lock; "wisps of hair".

2. A small person; "a mere wisp of a girl".

3. A small bundle of straw or hay.

4. A flock of snipe.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "wisp" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1591. (references)

Computing

Literature

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

Assemblage

Group, cluster, Pleiades, clump, pencil; set, batch, lot, pack; budget, assortment, bunch; parcel; packet, package; bundle, fascine, fasces, bale; seron, seroon; fagot, wisp, truss, tuft; shock, rick, fardel, stack, sheaf, fascicle, fascicule, fasciculus, gavel, hattock, stook.

Demon

Vampire, ghoul; afreet, barghest, Loki; ogre, ogress; gnome, gin, jinn, imp, deev, lamia; bogie, bogeyman, bogle; nis, kobold, flibbertigibbet, fairy, brownie, pixy, elf, dwarf, urchin; Puck, Robin Goodfellow; leprechaun, Cluricaune, troll, dwerger, sprite, ouphe, bad fairy, nix, nixie, pigwidgeon, will-o'-the wisp.

Crosswords: Wisp

Will o' the Wisp (1919)

Wisp o' the Woods (1919)

The Will O' the Wisp Peggy (1917)

Willo the Wisp (1981)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• A Wisp of Smoke (reference)

• Immortelles: Memoir of a Will-O'-The Wisp (reference)

• Will O' the Wisp (reference)

• Willie the Wisp (reference)

• Wisp (reference)

  (more book examples)

Music

• Will O' the Wisp (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Will o' the wisp photo'd by B. Hufnagel. Credit: National Library of Medicine.

Where there's smoke... A worker in an eastern arsenal turns the thread surface on a medium-caliber gun. Note the wisp of smoke rising from the point where the thread is being cut. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Expressions using "wisp": a wisp of a boy ♦ wisp of bast ♦ wisp of hair ♦ wisp of hay. Additional references.

Ending with "wisp": will-of-the-wisp, Will-o'-the-wisp, will-o-the-wisp, Will-with-the-wisp.

Albanian

vogëlinë, tufëz (cluster, fascicle, fascicule, quiff, tassel), fije (cord, fiber, fibre, glimmering, leaf, none, sheet of paper, string, thread, wire, yarn), bukël (coil of hair, Crimp, curl, lock, weasel). (various references)

Arabic 

‏مقسة, ‏لفافة ورقية (spill), ‏قطعة رفيعة من شىء, ‏حزمة (beam, bob, bunch, bundle, pack, parcel, pencil, sheaf, tuft), ‏خيوط الدخان, ‏خصلة شعر (lock, lock of hair, tress, tuft), ‏الهزيل. (various references)

Bulgarian 

ято бекасини, стиска (pinch, tussock), ръкойка, кичур (agglomerate, cluster, fascicle, fascicule, forelock, strand), образувам тънка струйка, образувам тънка лента, нещо крехко, нещо мимолетно, нещо дребничко, насуквам на тънка дилка, правя тънка струйка, правя тънка лента, дилка (strand). (various references)

Czech

vích (wad), vìchet (wad, whisk), pramínek (trickle), otýpka (bundle, faggot, truss, wad), chumáè (lock, trail, wad). (various references)

Farsi 

مشت (Buffet, Clump, Fist, Handful, Knock, Pounce, Punch, Yerk), گردگیر (Duster, Whisk), حلقه (Chain, Curl, Earring, Gird, Girdle, Hank, Hoop, Loop, Ran, Ring, Segment, Vortex, Whorl, Wicket), تمیزکردن (Clean, Cleanse, Scavenge, Scrub), جاروب کوچک (Whisker), جاروب کردن (Broom, Scavenger, Sweep, Whisk), دراوردن (Erupt, Evolve, Gouge, Render), بقچه بندی , بسته (Barred, Bundle, Package, Packet, Parcel, Shog, Shut, Stack), بصورت حلقه دسته . (various references)

Finnish

virvatuli (ignis fatuus, will-o'-the wisp), hattara (cloudlet, wisp of cloud), hahtuva (flock, tuft, wisp of cloud). (various references)

French

toupet, petit bout, mince volute, mèche (wick), fine, brin (wire), babillarde. (various references)

German

Wisch (note, piece of bumph, piece of paper), Strohbündel, Haarbüschel (flocci). (various references)

Greek 

τσουλούφι (forelock). (various references)

Hebrew 

לקרצף (curry, pare, rasp, scrape), לעשות צרור, ל�"בריש (brush), קומץ (handful), חביל�" (bundle, pack, package, parcel, sheaf, wad), א� יץ (bundle, wad). (various references)

Hungarian

szalmacsomó. (various references)

Indonesian

seutas. (various references)

Italian

strofinaccio (cloth, dish cloth, duster, floorcloth), fascio (beam, bundle, faggot, sheaf, truss, wad), ciuffo (topknot, tuft). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

鬼火 (jack-o'-lantern, will-o'-the-wisp), 燐火 (ignis fatuus, phosphorous light, will-o'-the-wisp), 狐火 (St. Elmo's fire, will-o'-the-wisp), 一条の煙 (a wisp of smoke). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

おにび (jack-o'-lantern, will-o'-the-wisp), きつねび (St. Elmo's fire, will-o'-the-wisp), いちじょうのけむり (a wisp of smoke), り�"か (automobile accident, ignis fatuus, neighbouring house, phosphorous light, traffic accident, will-o'-the-wisp). (various references)

Manx

sap (man of straw). (various references)

Pig Latin

ispway.(various references)

Portuguese

tufo (flock, tussock, tussock moth), punhado (bunch, fistful, handful), pequeno molho ou feixe, paveia (sheaf), mancheia, mão-cheia, espanador (duster). (various references)

Romanian

smoc (Bob, bunch, bundle, floccus, flock, lock, tuft), mãturicã (whisk), mãnunchi (bunch, bundle, cluster, fascicle, handle, head, knot, lock, pack, sheaf, truss), şomoiog. (various references)

Russian 

пучок (bunch, bundle, cluster, fascicle, fascicule, funiculus, tuft). (various references)

Scottish

sop (a wisp, loose bundle of straw). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

svežanj slame, sugestija (suggestion), pramen (coma, lock, patch, tress, tussock), nešto tanano, čuperak (cowlick, forelock, shag, shock, topknot, tuft, tussock). (various references)

Spanish

manojito, jirón (shred), ingenio (ability, apparatus, artfulness, cleverness, consciousness, contraption, device, engine, erudition, foundry, genius, ingenuity, inventiveness, mill, nimbleness, plant, saltiness, talented person, wit), fragmento (chip, fragment, morsel, shiver, shred), agudeza (acridity, acuity, acumen, acuteness, asperity, insight, mot, quickness, severity, sharpness, wit, witticism). (various references)

Swedish

tofs (crest, tassel, tuft), tapp (dowel, faucet, flock, peg, pintle, plug, spigot, tap, tenon), hårtott. (various references)

Turkish

ufacık şey (minikin, mite), tutam (a handful, cluster, cut, nest, pinch, smack, soupcon, sprinkle, sprinkling, tuft), küçük süpürge. (various references)

Ukrainian

скручувати у джгут, скрутень, серпанок (gauze, haze, mist, veil, zephyr), щезати (evanesce), обтирати соломою, мітелка, жмуток (cluster, sheaf, wad), жмакати (crumple, wad), паперова кулька, джгут (binder). (various references)

Vietnamese 

người lùn tịt, nắm, mớ, đ�" nh i nhép. (various references)

Welsh

tusw (bunch). (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "wisp": wisped, wispier, wispiest, wispily, wispiness, wispinesses, wisping, wispish, wisplike, wisps, wispy. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Wisp" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: fisp, isp, ispbx, ispo, waspe, wiap, wijs, wilp, wip, wipl, wips, wirp, wisc, wisk, wiso, wisq, wiss, wiza, wizi, wrisp, wsi, wyap. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-1 letter: pis, psi, sip, wis.

-2 letters: is, pi, si.

+1 letter: swipe, whips, wimps, wipes, wisps, wispy.

+2 letters: pewits, pilaws, pitsaw, ripsaw, swiped, swipes, swiple, twirps, wipers, wisped.

+3 letters: cowpies, cowslip, impawns, inswept, inwraps, peewits, pillows, pitsaws, ripsaws, shipway, slipway, spewing, swiping, swiples, swipple, tawpies, upswing, upwinds, wampish, wapitis, warship, waspier, waspily, waspish, weepies, whipsaw, whisper, wikiups, wimpish, wimples, windups, winesop, wispier, wispily, wisping, wispish, worship.