means The act of striking something repeatedly with a flexible lash or rod, or by extension any fast, snapping motion or a thorough defeat.

from From the verb 'whip,' which entered Middle English (as 'wippen') likely from a Middle Low or Middle Dutch source meaning to move or swing quickly. The sense of beating came naturally from the tool itself, and the kitchen sense of 'whipping' cream — beating it briskly into froth — followed the same logic of rapid repeated motion. The '-ing' simply turns the action into an ongoing one.