The word "wet" is a technical term. If you spray a water repellent like Scotchgard on your clothes, they will become hydrophobic, and water won't cling to the

The word "wet" is a technical term. If you spray a water repellent like Scotchgard on your clothes, they will become hydrophobic, and water won't cling to the cloth, nor penetrate its surface. In other words, hydrophobic materials are hard to wet. Waxy surfaces are also hard to wet. See "wetting" on wikipedia (not to be confused with nocturnal enuresis ;-). Wetting is a verb. Maybe the title should have read "Daddy? Why does water wet?" That might have resolved the confusion, at the risk of angering grammatical pedants.