---
title: whisker — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «whisker» in the school dictionary: One of the long stiff hairs that grow near the mouth of a cat, a mouse, a seal and many other animals, used to feel things. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# whisker

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** long stiff hairs, Hair, cat, Whiskers, We, She · **What happens:** grow, use, feel, mean, twitch, smell · **To what, where:** mouth, things, face, whiskers, fish, cat

<!-- .vabout -->
«whisker» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 8 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [whisker in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/whisker.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
One of the long stiff hairs that grow near the mouth of a cat, a mouse, a seal and many other animals, used to feel things.

<!-- fold The tree, 26 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:whisker:m1:1
# text = One of the long stiff hairs that grow near the mouth of a cat, a mouse, a seal and many other animals, used to feel things.
1	One	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	0	root	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
4	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
5	stiff	stiff	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	hairs	hair	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	nmod	_	_
7	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
8	grow	grow	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
9	near	near	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	mouth	mouth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
12	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	mouse	mouse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
19	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	seal	seal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	conj	_	_
21	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	24	cc	_	_
22	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	24	amod	_	_
23	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	24	amod	_	_
24	animals	animal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	26	punct	_	_
26	used	use	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	24	conj	_	_
27	to	to	PART	TO	_	28	mark	_	_
28	feel	feel	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	26	advcl	_	_
29	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	28	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
30	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grow** | present | the long stiff hairs |  |  | the mouth of a cat and a seal and many other animals |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme near mouth=Location |
| 2 | **use** | participle | the long stiff hairs *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **feel** | to-infinitive | the long stiff hairs *not said here* | things |  |  |  |  | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent thing=Theme |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: whiskers — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Hair growing on a man's face.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:whisker:m2:1
# text = Hair growing on a man's face.
1	Hair	hair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
2	growing	grow	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	1	acl	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	's	's	PART	POS	_	5	case	_	_
7	face	face	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grow** | gerund | Hair *not said here* |  |  | a man's face |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on face=Location |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: informal — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A very small amount or distance.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:whisker:m3:1
# text = A very small amount or distance.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	very	very	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	amount	amount	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	distance	distance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

<!-- .note -->
The example in this meaning, parsed on its own:

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"by a whisker" means only just.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:whisker:m3e:1
# text = "by a whisker" means only just.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	by	by	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	whisker	whisker	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
6	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	only	only	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	just	just	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  | by a whisker | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The cat's whiskers twitched as it smelled the fish.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:whisker:x1:1
# text = The cat's whiskers twitched as it smelled the fish.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	whiskers	whisker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
5	twitched	twitch	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl	_	_
6	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	smelled	smell	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	advcl	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	fish	fish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **twitch** | participle |  | the cat's whiskers *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn body\_internal\_motion-49.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **smell** | past | cat | the fish |  |  |  |  | vn see-30.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer fish=Stimulus |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Whiskers help a cat feel its way in the dark.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:whisker:x2:1
# text = Whiskers help a cat feel its way in the dark.
1	Whiskers	whisker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	help	help	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	feel	feel	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
6	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	dark	dark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **help** | present | Whiskers | a cat |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent cat=Beneficiary clause=Theme |
| 2 | **feel** | infinitive | a cat *not said here* | cat's way |  | the dark |  |  | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent way=Theme in dark=Location |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We won the race by a whisker.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:whisker:x3:1
# text = We won the race by a whisker.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	won	win	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	race	race	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	whisker	whisker	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **win** | past | We | the race |  |  |  | by a whisker | vn succeed-74-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent race=Eventuality |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She came within a whisker of beating the record.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:whisker:x4:1
# text = She came within a whisker of beating the record.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	within	within	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	whisker	whisker	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	of	of	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
7	beating	beat	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	acl	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	record	record	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come** | past | She |  |  |  |  | within a whisker | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **beat** | gerund | a whisker *not said here* | the record |  |  |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location record=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandpa had grey whiskers on his chin.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:whisker:x5:1
# text = Grandpa had grey whiskers on his chin.
1	Grandpa	Grandpa	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	grey	grey	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	whiskers	whisker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	chin	chin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | Grandpa | grey whiskers |  | Grandpa's chin |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent whisker=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The mouse cleaned its whiskers with its paws.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:whisker:x6:1
# text = The mouse cleaned its whiskers with its paws.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	mouse	mouse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	cleaned	clean	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	whiskers	whisker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	paws	paw	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **clean** | past | the mouse | mouse's whiskers |  |  |  | with mouse's paws | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP PP.instrument»: agent=Agent whisker=Patient with paw=Instrument |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Seals use their whiskers to find fish in murky water.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:whisker:x7:1
# text = Seals use their whiskers to find fish in murky water.
1	Seals	seal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	use	use	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	whiskers	whisker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	find	find	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
7	fish	fish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	murky	murky	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | present | Seals | Seals's whiskers |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent whisker=Patient |
| 2 | **find** | to-infinitive | Seals *not said here* | fish |  | murky water |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent fish=Topic |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In a moment not a tail or a whisker was to be seen.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:whisker:x8:1
# text = In a moment not a tail or a whisker was to be seen.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	moment	moment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	_
4	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	whisker	whisker	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
10	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	13	aux:pass	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	13	mark	_	_
12	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	13	aux:pass	_	_
13	seen	see	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **see** | past · passive |  |  |  |  | moment |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V» |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
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