Emily Dickinson Lexicon

WHIP, v.t. [Sax. hweopan, to whip, and to weep, that is, to whoop or hoop; D. wippen, to shake, to move or wag, to give the strapado; zweepen, to whip; Dan. vipper, to swing; W. çwipiaw, to move briskly, to whip; çwip, a quick flirt or turn. The sense is well expressed by the Welsh, and we say, a man whips round a corner, when running he suddenly turns. It seems to be allied to wipe and sweep, and L. vapulo, and implies a sweeping throw or thrust.]

1. To strike with a lash or sweeping cord; as, to whip a horse.
2. To sew slightly. – Gay.
3. To drive with lashes; as, to whip a top.
4. To punish with the whip; as, to whip a vagrant; to whip one thirty-nine lashes; to whip a perverse boy. Who, for false quantities, was whipp'd at school. – Dryden.
5. To lash with sarcasm. They would whip me with their fine wits. – Shak.
6. To strike; to thrash; to beat out, as grain, by striking; as, to whip wheat. – Cyc. [Not in use in the United States.] To whip about or round, to wrap; to inwrap; as, to whip a line round a rod. – Moxon. To whip out, to draw nimbly; to snatch; as, to whip out a sword or rapier from its sheath. To whip from, to take away suddenly. To whip into, to thrust in with a quick motion. He whipped his hand into his pocket. To whip up, to seize or take up with a quick motion. She whipped up the child, and ran off. Among seamen, to hoist with a whip or small tackle.