Standard Lemma guide

whewer

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /hwjuːə/ non-rhotic
  • /ʍjuːə/ non-rhotic; without the wine–whine merger
  • /hwjuːɚ/ rhotic
  • /ʍjuːɚ/ rhotic; without the wine–whine merger

1

noun

Meaning 1

whew duck, Eurasian wigeon, wigeon (Mareca penelope).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, dialectal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Century, Wright's English Dialect Dictionary and the 1933 OED take it to be from whew (“(to make) a shrill whistling sound like the cry of a plover”) + -er, and early cites also call the bird the "whistling widgeon".