whisker

Middle English wisker, whisk (verb) +‎ -er^[1]

• IPA^(key): /ʍɪskə(ɹ)/, /wɪskə(ɹ)/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪskə(ɹ)

whisker (plural whiskers)

1. That part of the beard which grows upon the sides of the face, usually of the male, or upon the chin, or upon both.
2. A hair of the beard.
4. One of the long, projecting hairs growing at the sides of the mouth of a cat, or other animal.
5. (colloquial) The (very small) distance between two things.

   It missed falling on your foot by a whisker.

   • 2011 May 14, Peter Scrivener, “Sunderland 1 - 3 Wolverhampton”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:

     Boosted by their reward, Wolves continued to push forward and Jamie O'Hara came within a whisker of doubling the lead, smashing a 25-yard effort on to the bar.

6. (nautical) Spreaders from the bows to spread the bowsprit shrouds.
7. (statistics) A graphic element that shows the maxima and minima in a box plot.
8. One who, or that which, whisks, or moves with a quick, sweeping motion.
9. (metallurgy) A small tendril that forms on metal.

• whisker on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Whisker in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)