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# wisp

«wisp» in Mova's judaism dictionary: **a thin, light piece or strand of something: a wisp of…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (a wisp, wisps); adjective wispy (wispy, wispier, wispiest)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A wisp is a thin, light piece or strand of something: a wisp of hair, a wisp of grass. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/W/wisp/#m1)

2) A wisp of smoke, cloud or steam is a thin line or small amount drifting in the air. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/W/wisp/#m2)

3) (informal) A wisp of a person is a small, thin person. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/W/wisp/#m3)

4) A will-o'-the-wisp is a strange, faint light that floats over marshes at night and is said to lead travellers astray. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/W/wisp/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

Interpretation: In the Sefer Yetzirah translation, "wisp" is offered as a way to render ruach, the Hebrew word meaning wind, spirit and breath, which the book treats as the first stage of creation. In the primary lessons: In stories and descriptions, wisps of smoke curl from chimneys, wisps of cloud float in the sky, wisps of hair blow in the wind; it gives a soft, light picture. In science, wispy clouds high in the sky are called cirrus. Phrases: a wisp of smoke, a wisp of hair, wispy clouds.

### examples

- Perhaps capturing an intermediary concept between the immaterial divine imminence and the material wind is ‘wisp’, meaning both a small breeze and a phantom presence, but ‘Holy Wisp’ is a rather underwhelming expression. (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/W/wisp/#x1)
- A wisp of smoke rose from the candle. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/W/wisp/#x2)
- She pushed a wisp of hair out of her eyes. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/W/wisp/#x3)
- Wispy clouds floated high in the blue sky. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/W/wisp/#x4)
- Only a wisp of steam came from the cup. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/W/wisp/#x5)
- The old man had a few wispy white hairs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/W/wisp/#x6)
- The bird carried a wisp of straw to its nest. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/W/wisp/#x7)

### note

Plural: wisps. Adjective: wispy. Similar: strand, thread, puff. A «will-o'-the-wisp» is a strange light seen over marshes in old stories — and something you can never catch.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «wisp» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/W/wisp/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.