Whey

Pronunciation

• enPR: wā, IPA: /weɪ/
• Rhymes: -eɪ
• Homophones: way, weigh, wey (in accents with the wine-whine merger)

Origin

Middle English wheye, whei, from Old English hwǣġ, hweġ, from Proto-Germanic *hwają (cf. West Frisian waai, Dutch wei), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *kʷei 'to pile up, build' (cf. Old Church Slavonic чинъ (činŭ, "order"), Ancient Greek ποιέω (poiéō, "to pile up, make"), Sanskrit káya 'body').

Full definition of whey

Noun

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

Derived terms

• wheyey
• wheylike