whig
/ʍɪɡ/noun, verb
whig is spelled W-H-I-G: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,270th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, whig means “Buttermilk” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of whig is whigs.
How many letters and syllables are in whig?
| Letters | 4: W-H-I-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 29,270th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is whig?
Whig appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,270th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce whig?
- /ʍɪɡ/
Whig has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-whig.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with whig
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of whig
- whigs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- whigging participle, present
- whigged participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does whig mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
UKobsoleteAcidulated whey, sometimes mixed with buttermilk and sweet herbs, used as a cooling beverage.
- 2
Buttermilk.
verb
- 1
To urge forward; drive briskly.
- 2
To jog along; move or work briskly.
- 3
To weird out or disturb someone.
noun
- 1
UKA member of an 18th- and 19th-century political party in Britain that was opposed to the Tories, and eventually became the Liberal Party.
- 2
UKrareA member (especially a politician) of the former Liberal Party or its successor, the Liberal Democrats.
- 3
USAn advocate of war against, or independence from, Britain during the American Revolution.
- 4
USA member of a 19th-century US political party opposed to the Democratic Party.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Whig in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a member of an 18th- and 19th-century political party:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Whig |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does whig come from?
Probably from Middle English wheyȝe, weyȝe, wege, variant of whey. More at whey.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).