WHISKER

noun Etymology: singular of ~s mustache, from 2whisk Date: circa 1600 1. a hair of the beard, b. plural mustache , the part of the beard growing on the sides of the face or on the chin, hairbreadth , one of the long projecting hairs or bristles growing near the mouth of an animal (as a cat or bird), an outrigger extending on each side of the bowsprit to spread the jib and flying jib guys, 4. a shred or filament resembling a ~, a thin hairlike crystal (as of sapphire or copper) of exceptional mechanical strength used especially to reinforce composite structural material, ~ed adjective ~y adjective