quick-wittedadj.
/ˌkwɪkˈwɪtᵻd/, U.S. /ˈˌkwɪkˈˌwɪdᵻd/ Having a quick or ready wit; quick to grasp, or react to, a situation; mentally acute, sharp, clever.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > sharpness, shrewdness, insight > [adjective]
sharpc888
yepec1000
spacka1200
yare-witelc1275
fellc1300
yap13..
seeinga1382
far-castinga1387
sightya1400
perceivinga1425
snellc1425
politic?a1439
quickc1449
pregnant?a1475
pert1484
quick-wittedc1525
apt1535
intelligentc1540
queemc1540
ready-witted1576
political1577
of (a) great, deep, etc., reach1579
conceited1583
perspicuous1584
sharp-witteda1586
shrewd1589
inseeing1590
conceived1596
acute1598
pregnate1598
agile1599
nimble-headed1601
insighted1602
nimble1604
nimble-witted1604
penetrant1605
penetrating1606
spraga1616
acuminous1619
discoursing1625
smart1639
penetrativea1641
sagacious1650
nasute1653
acuminate1654
blunt-sharpa1661
long-headed1665
smoky1688
rapid1693
keen1704
gash1706
snack1710
cute1731
mobile1778
wide awake1785
acuminated1786
quick-minded1789
kicky1790
snap1790
downy1803
snacky1806
unbaffleable1827
varmint1829
needle-sharp1836
nimble-brained1836
incisivea1850
spry1849
fast1850
snappy1871
hard-boiled1884
on the spot1903
c1525 J. Rastell Of Gentylnes & Nobylyte sig. A2 For though my fader were a smyth..yet was he a meruelous quyk wyttyd man.
1530 W. Tyndale Prol. Lev. (1884) 297 Allegoryes make a man qwick witted.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) v. ii. 40 How likes Gremio these quicke-witted folkes? View more context for this quotation
1693 J. Dryden tr. Juvenal in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires iii. 38 Quick Witted, Brazen-fac'd, with fluent Tongues.
1702 R. Mead Mech. Acct. Poisons ii. 62 Impatient, ready to Action, Quick-witted.
1767 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy IX. xxiv. 92 The sun did not shine on so fair, so quick-witted and amiable a maid.
1808 S. T. Coleridge Coll. Lett. (1959) III. 111 The Public are quick-witted in detecting the most hidden thing that can be made a topic of chit-chat Scandal.
1824 M. R. Mitford Our Village I. 59 There is always great freshness and originality in an uneducated and quick-witted person.
1870 J. R. Lowell Among my Bks. (1873) 1st Ser. 189 The cultivated and quick-witted men in whose familiar society he lived.
1920 A. Hope Lucinda ii. 24 Waldo was not quick-witted, but he had a good brain. If he got hold of a problem, he would worry it to a solution.
1995 Mother & Baby June 7/2 Quick-witted and charming, Gemini is the jokesmith of the zodiac.
Derivatives
quickˈwittedness n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > sharpness, shrewdness, insight > [noun] > vigour, quickness
vivacity?a1475
quicknessc1475
quickwittedness1616
eyetooth1706
pregnantness1727
ready-wittedness1815
1616 J. Bullokar Eng. Expositor sig. M4v/2 Pregnancy, Quickewittednesse.
1794 W. Godwin Things as They Are I. iii. 39 He discovered no contemptible sagacity and quick-wittedness in the science of horse-flesh.
1863 C. C. Clarke Shakespeare-characters x. 257 He has French quick-wittedness, French good temper.
1883 P. Schaff Hist. Christian Church II. lxxxiii. 712 The curiosity and quickwittedness of the Samaritan Magdalene.
1914 E. S. Keogh in B. Camm Lives Eng. Martyrs (1914) xv. 480 They were saved by the constable's quick-wittedness.
1990 Pilot Sept. 29/2 Safety is often maintained only by the quick-wittedness of the drop zone controller.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.c1525