Wisp
/wɪsp/noun
A small, thin, or fragile bundle, tuft, or trace of something.
Did you know?In Middle English, a wisp was literally a small bundle of straw or twigs, and the word later helped shape the eerie phrase “will-o’-the-wisp,” a wandering light tied to folklore and misdirection.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*weis-
“to plait, weave, or turn”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*wispą
“a bundle or tuft”
Old English
OE
wisp
“a bunch or bundle, especially of straw or twigs”
Middle English
ME
wisp
“a small bundle; later, a slight trace or thin tuft”
Modern English
English
wisp
“a thin, slight, or feathery trace; a small tuft or bundle”