- whip (v.)
- mid-13c., wippen "flap violently," from Proto-Germanic *wipp- (cf. Danish vippe "to raise with a swipe," Middle Dutch, Dutch wippen "to swing," Old High German wipf "swing, impetus"), from PIE *wib- "move quickly." The cookery sense is from 1670s. Related: Whipped; whipping. Whipping boy first recorded 1640s; whipping block is from c.1877. Whip-saw is attested from 1530s; whip snake first recorded 1774.
- whip (n.)
- early 14c., from whip (v.). In parliamentary use from 1850 (the verb in this sense is recorded from 1742), from the sense in fox-hunting. The parliamentary whip's duty originally was to ensure the attendance of party members on important occasions.