# whey

> English word · Noun · IPA /hweɪ/ · frequency rank #27,339

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

## Etymology
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”)).

## Easily confused with
- **wy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whey-vs-wy)
- **who** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whey-vs-who)
- **why** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whey-vs-why)
- **WWE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whey-vs-wwe)
- **woe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whey-vs-woe)
- **Wie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whey-vs-wie)
- **wry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whey-vs-wry)
- **wye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whey-vs-wye)
- **whom** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whey-vs-whom)
- **whip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whey-vs-whip)
- **whoa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whey-vs-whoa)
- **woes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whey-vs-woes)
- **whim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whey-vs-whim)
- **whit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whey-vs-whit)
- **wren** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whey-vs-wren)
- **whos** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whey-vs-whos)
- **whig** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whey-vs-whig)
- **Wray** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whey-vs-wray)
- **whiz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whey-vs-whiz)
- **wily** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whey-vs-wily)

## Common misspellings (6)
`hwey`, `wehy`, `wheyy`, `whhey`, `whye`, `wwhey`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/whey