witn.
/wɪt/, U.S. /wɪt/ I. Denoting a faculty (or the person possessing it).† 1. The seat of consciousness or thought, the mind: sometimes connoting one of its functions, as memory or attention. Obsolete.† 3. † d. singular and plural. Consciousness; sensation: cf. sense n. 12b, 14 Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > [noun]
hearteOE
moodeOE
wita1000
intention1340
mindc1384
intentc1386
ingeny1477
thinker1835
box1908
the mind > mental capacity > [noun] > power or faculty
wita1000
ability1587
faculty1588
organ1656
the mind > mental capacity > consciousness > [noun]
wita1000
i-mindOE
mindc1350
common wita1398
advertencec1405
common sense1543
consciousness1678
conscious1852
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > [noun] > consciousness
wita1000
mindc1300
perceptiona1398
percipiency1662
feeling1734
consciousness1753
percipience1768
self-feeling1798
sentience1839
sentiencya1850
cœnaesthesisa1856
cœnaesthesia1885
a1000 Boeth. Metr. viii. 45 Ðeos gitsunc hafað gumena gehwelces mod amerred,..ac hit on witte weallende byrnð.
c1175 Lamb. Hom. 71 Ȝif us eni ufel bitit Þonke we gode in ure wit.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 324 First in his witte he all purueid His werc.
a1400 N.T. (Paues) Eph. iv. 17 Mysbylefed men, þat walkeþ in vanyte of hure wyt.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 295 His ouer greet trust which in his witt he bisettid upon hem.
c1480 (a1400) St. Machor 338 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 10 [He] in his hart wele held It, ay retentywe he had a wyt.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid xii. i. 67 And sammyn prent thir sawis in thy wyt.
1549 Forme & Maner consecratyng Archebishoppes sig. F.iiij O holy ghost, into oure wittes, send doune thyne heauenly light.
?1578 W. Patten Let. Entertainm. Killingwoorth 44 A, stay a whyle, see a short wit: by my trooth I had allmost forgot.
1612 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 173 If a mans wit be wandring, let him study the Mathematiks.
a1660 Aphorismical Discov. in J. T. Gilbert Contemp. Hist. Ireland (1879) I. 110 Our Cath.e General did now examen the secret retirements of his witte, to be enformed what best to doe in this extreamitie.
2. † e. wit, whither wilt thou?: phrase addressed to a person who is letting his tongue run away with him.† f. wit and reason: name of an old card game.
a. The faculty of thinking and reasoning in general; mental capacity, understanding, intellect, reason. archaic (now esp. in the wit of man = human understanding).For the corresponding pregnant uses see 5, 6.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intellect > [noun]
i-witc888
anyitOE
witOE
thoughtOE
inwitc1305
intention1340
mindc1384
understandingc1384
intentc1386
intelligencec1390
intellecta1398
minda1398
understanda1400
intellectionc1449
ingeny1477
intellectivec1484
mind-sight1587
intellectual1598
notion1604
intelligency1663
mental1676
nous1678
grasp1683
thinker1835
Geist1871
noesis1881
the mind > mental capacity > thought > [noun]
witOE
thoughtOE
cogitation1557
thinkingness1672
thinkfulness1674
thoughtsomeness1674
cogitativity1722
cogitancy1759
maiden-thought1818
cogitativeness1823
thought centre1846
thought-consciousness1901
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > [noun]
witOE
understandinga1050
intention1340
intendmentc1374
knowledgea1387
intelligencec1390
conceitc1405
intellect?a1475
perceiverancea1500
perceiverationa1500
receipta1500
intendiment1528
reach1542
apprehension1570
toucha1586
understandingnessa1628
apprehensivenessa1639
ingenuity1651
comprehensiona1662
intelligibility1661
intelligency1663
uptake1816
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > reason, faculty of reasoning > [noun]
redeOE
witOE
skillc1175
skillwisenessa1200
reason?c1225
witsa1300
intellecta1398
rationala1398
understandinga1425
natural reason1440
rationabilitya1500
judgement1749
noesis1881
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > [noun] > faculty of sensation > a sense
witOE
sensibility?a1425
sense?1504
sensation1657
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > [noun]
i-witnessc888
knowledging?c1225
wittinga1300
beknowing1340
sciencec1350
bekenningc1380
knowinga1398
knowledgea1398
meaninga1398
cunningshipa1400
feela1400
understanda1400
cognizancec1400
kenningc1400
witc1400
recognizancec1436
cognition1447
recognitionc1450
cognoscencec1540
conscience1570
comprehension1597
comprehense1604
cognizant1634
sciency1642
scibility1677
OE Beowulf 589 Þæs þu in helle scealt werhðo dreogan, þeah þin wit duge.
c1230 Hali Meid. (1922) 21 Hwil þi wit atstond & chastieð þi wil..ne harmeð hit te nawiht.
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 9389 Is brayn & wit is so feble, þat þer nis of him no drede.
c1305 St. Kenelm 220 in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 53 A dombe best wiþoute witte.
c1375 Lay Folks Mass Bk. (MS. B) 343 My lyue, my lymmes þou has me lent, My right witt þou has me sent.
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xx. 266 Kynde witte me telleth, It is wikked to wage ȝow.
c1400 Pety Job 184 in 26 Pol. Poems 127 To gouerne me thow yaue me wyt.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) xii. l. 481 To mychty god..sen I had wit off man Befor my werk to ȝeild me I began.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) 1 Cor. xiv. 20 Brethren be not children in witte.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 193 He was verie pregnant and had an excellent wyt.
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream iv. i. 203 I haue had a dreame, past the wit of man, to say; what dreame it was. View more context for this quotation
1661 J. Glanvill Vanity of Dogmatizing xiv. 134 A good will, help'd by a good wit, can find truth any where.
1675 R. Baxter Catholick Theol. ii. viii. 167 God were not God, if mans shallow wit could comprehend him.
1733 A. Pope Epitaph Gay in Gentleman's Mag. June 319 A Manly wit, a child's simplicity, The morals blameless, and the temper free.
1842 R. I. Wilberforce Rutilius & Lucius 139 We profess not to discover the truth by our own wit.
1879 J. McCarthy Hist. our Own Times II. xx. 98 The wit of man could suggest nothing satisfactory.
1879 E. Arnold Light of Asia viii. 232 Shun drugs and drinks which work the wit abuse.
b. In plural, in reference to a number of persons.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > reason, faculty of reasoning > [noun]
redeOE
witOE
skillc1175
skillwisenessa1200
reason?c1225
witsa1300
intellecta1398
rationala1398
understandinga1425
natural reason1440
rationabilitya1500
judgement1749
noesis1881
a1300 Cursor Mundi 23759 Crist[es] help sal be us ner, His helpes and vr wittes eke.
1463 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 27 To fynde remydyes and weyes as by there wittes may be fowunde moost sewr.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Luke xxiv. f. cxviijv Then openned he their wyttes, that they myght vnderstond the scriptures.
1591 H. Savile tr. Tacitus Life Agricola in tr. Tacitus Ende of Nero: Fower Bks. Hist. 242 That militare wittes are not refined to that sharpenesse and suttelty, that is practised in..courtes of iustice.
1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. Pref. sig. B2 Herein we can see what the illustrious wits of the Atomical and Corpuscularian Philosophers durst but imagine.
1700 T. Brown Amusem. Serious & Comical i. 7 Some Men can never be brought to Write correctly in this Age, till they have form'd their Wits upon the Ancients.
c. Often denoting indifferently the faculty or the person possessing it, and hence sometimes used definitely for the person in respect of this faculty. Almost always in plural, of a number of persons, and commonly with qualifying adjective. archaic.For the corresponding pregnant uses see 9, 10.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > [noun] > intelligent person > collectively
wit1536
intellect1602
1536 Act 27 Hen. VIII c. 42 §1 In his Unyversities of Oxforde and Cambridge..where yowth and good wyttes be educate.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes Pref. **v b A sence not comen for euerie witte to picke out.
a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) Pref. to Rdr. Many yong wittes be driuen to hate learninge, before they know what learninge is.
1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 274 Gods-Hill, in which Iohn Worsley erected a schole for the training up of young wits.
1750 S. Johnson Rambler No. 24. ⁋7 The great Praise of Socrates is, that he drew the Wits of Greece..from the vain Pursuit of natural Philosophy to moral Inquiries.
1874 J. S. Blackie On Self-culture 58 The rock, on which great wits are often wrecked for want of a little kindly culture of unselfishness.
d. at one's wit's end (occasionally ends): utterly perplexed; at a loss what to think or what to do. So to bring (drive, or put) to one's wit's end: to perplex utterly.Now commonly taken as 2c, the word being written as genitive plural (wits') even in reference to a single person.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > perplexity, bewilderment > confused, at a loss [phrase]
at one's wit's end (occasionally ends)1377
seek1390
will of wane (also wone)a1400
will of redea1425
on wild1477
to be at a muse1548
at a loss1592
at a stopa1626
in a fog?c1640
in a wood1659
at a wit-standa1670
at sea1768
at fault1833
far to find, seek1879
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > perplexity, bewilderment > act of perplexing > perplex, nonplus [phrase]
to bring (drive, or put) to one's wit's end1377
to cast (also throw) a mist before a person's eyes?a1475
to set (also run) on ground1600
to make butter and cheese of1642
to put to the gaze1646
philogrobolized in one's brains1653
to strike all of (on) a heap1711
to blow, cast, throw stour in one's eyes1823
knot1860
to give (one) furiously to think1910
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xv. 363 Astrymyanes also aren at her wittes ende.
c1420 J. Lydgate Assembly of Gods 1665 When they were dreuyn to her wyttes ende.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Isa. xx. B They shalbe also at their wittes ende, and ashamed one of another.
?1553 Respublica (1952) i. iii. 8 And she att hir wittes endes what for to saie or doe.
1598 R. Bernard tr. Terence Andria ii. iv, in Terence in Eng. 41 You bring him to his wits end.
1681 J. Flavell Method of Grace iii. 54 What shall we do? is the doleful cry of men at their wits end.
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 311. ¶1 I am at my Wits End for fear of any sudden Surprize.
1782 F. Burney Cecilia V. ix. iv. 53 Two ladies..are quite, as one may say, at their wit's ends.
1826 J. Galt Last of Lairds xl. 360 The old Laird..fairly finding himself driven to his wit's-end.
1853 C. Kingsley Hypatia I. xiii. 292 Raphael, utterly at his wits' end.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > loquacity or talkativeness > talkativeness [phrase]
wit, whither wilt thou?1602
1602 T. Dekker Satiro-mastix sig. I Th'art within a haire of it, my sweet Wit whether wilt thou? my delicate Poeticall Furie.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) iv. i. 154 A man that had a wife with such a wit, he might say, wit whether wil't? View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) i. ii. 53 How now Witte, whether wander you? View more context for this quotation]
1617 I. H. in Greenes Groatsworth of Witte (rev. ed.) To Wittie Poets sig. A2 This olde Ballad made in Hell: Ingenio perij, qui miser ipse meo: Wit, whither wilt thou? woe is me.
a1627 T. Middleton More Dissemblers besides Women iv. ii, in 2 New Playes (1657) 54 Cap. Wit whether wilt thou? Dond. Marry to the next pocket I can come at.
1637 T. Heywood Royall King i. i. C2 Cap. Wit: is the word strange to you, wit? Bon. Whither wilt thou?
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > other card games > [noun] > others
laugh and lie down1522
mack1548
decoyc1555
pinionc1557
to beat the knave out of doors1570
imperial1577
prima vista1587
loadum1591
flush1598
prime1598
thirty-perforce1599
gresco1605
hole1621
my sow's pigged1621
slam1621
fox-mine-host1622
whipperginnie1622
crimpa1637
hundred1636
pinache1641
sequence1653
lady's hole1658
quebas1668
art of memory1674
costly colours1674
penneech1674
plain dealing1674
wit and reason1680
comet1685
lansquenet1687
incertain1689
macham1689
uptails1694
quinze1714
hoc1730
commerce1732
matrimonya1743
tredrille1764
Tom come tickle me1769
tresette1785
snitch'ems1798
tontine1798
blind hazard1816
all fives1838
short cards1845
blind hookey1852
sixty-six1857
skin the lamb1864
brisque1870
handicap1870
manille1874
forty-five1875
slobberhannes1877
fifteen1884
Black Maria1885
slapjack1887
seven-and-a-half1895
pit1904
Russian Bank1915
red dog1919
fan-tan1923
Pelmanism1923
Slippery Sam1923
go fish1933
Russian Banker1937
racing demon1938
pit-a-pat1947
scopa1965
1680 C. Cotton Compl. Gamester (ed. 2) xvi. 97 Wit and Reason..is a Game something like one and thirty.
a. Any one of certain particular faculties of perception, classified as outer (outward) or bodily, and inner (inward) or ghostly, and commonly reckoned as five of each kind (see 3b): = sense n. 12, 13 (see also inwit n. 2b). Also common wit = common sense n. 5 (In early use occasionally loosely extended to include other bodily faculties, as speech and locomotion.) Obsolete except as in 3b, 3c.
ΚΠ
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 53 Þis is nu of þis wit [sc. sight] inoch.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 23999 O wijttes all me wantid might, Gang, and steyuen, and tung, and sight.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 251 Þe wyttes of þe zaule.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1871) III. 467 Nesche is i-knowe by meny wittes, for it is knowe boþe by gropynge and by siȝt.
1422 J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. 242 Al the wittis and meuynges of the body.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 519 He ȝaue to men inward sensityue wittis and outward sensityue wittis.
1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1845) xxiv. ii. 108 These are the .v. wyttes remeuing inwardly: Fyrst, commyn wytte, and than ymaginacyon, Fantasy, and estymacyon truely, And memory.
?1541 R. Copland Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens ii. sig. Ejv In whiche of the ventrycles is the wyt of smellynge founded?
1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet ii. iii. 68 Thou hast more of the goose in one of thy wits, than I haue in al my fiue. View more context for this quotation
b. five wits: usually, the five (bodily) senses; often vaguely, the perceptions or mental faculties generally, = wits (in sense 3c or 4b). Also (jocularly) fifteen wits. Obsolete or rare (archaic).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intellect > [noun] > intellectual powers
five witsc1200
wits1362
inwitc1380
spiritsc1450
fifteen wits1606
intellectuals1615
intellects1649
furniture1788
plant1861
marbles1902
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > [noun] > faculty of sensation > the senses
the fivefold mightsa1200
five witsc1200
passionsa1425
senses?1530
common senses1533
fifteen wits1606
Cinque Ports1633
cinque outposts, posts1649
perceptions1666
perceptives1835
c1200 Vices & Virtues 17 Ða fif wittes ðe god me betahte to lokin of mine wrecche lichame.
c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 117 Þy fyve wyttys, þe uttyr and þe ynnyr.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 17018 Hering, sight, smelling and fele, cheuing er wittes five.
c1460 Wisdom 163 in Macro Plays 41 Þe v. wyttis of my sowll with-inne.
?1520 J. Rastell Nature .iiii. Element sig. Biij I comforte the wyttes fyue The tastyng smellyng & herynge I refresh the syght and felynge To all creaturs a lyue.
?1533 W. Tyndale Expos. Mathew vii. f. cxiijv There is no breade in the sacrament ner wyne: though the fyve wittes saye all ye.
1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) II. 960/1 The v. wittes bodely and ghostlye.
1571 G. Buchanan Admonitioun Trew Lordis sig. B.6 Quhen thay bendit all thair fyue wittis, to stop the Regent.
1606 G. Chapman Sir Gyles Goosecappe v. i Haue you no pittie in your villanous iests, but runne a man quite from his fifteene witts?
1610 A. Cooke Pope Ioane 113 Though men..had bene..bewitched and distract of their fiue wits.
1830 Ld. Tennyson Owl i. 6 Alone and warming his five wits, The white owl in the belfry sits.
1878 J. Morley Diderot I. iv. 86 Everybody now has learnt that morality depends not merely on the five wits, but on the mental constitution within, and on the social conditions without.
c. plural. Mental faculties, intellectual powers (of a single person or a number of persons: cf. 2b); often practically equivalent to the singular in sense 2. to have one's wits about one: to have one's mental powers in full exercise, to be mentally alert. to live by one's wits: to get one's living by clever or (now esp.) crafty devices, without any settled occupation.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intellect > [noun] > intellectual powers
five witsc1200
wits1362
inwitc1380
spiritsc1450
fifteen wits1606
intellectuals1615
intellects1649
furniture1788
plant1861
marbles1902
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > branch of knowledge > [noun] > collectively
wisdomsc888
artsc1300
wits1362
sciencea1387
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > be cunning or act cunningly [verb (intransitive)] > live by crafty devices
to live by one's wits1612
society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > get or make money [verb (intransitive)] > earn one's living > irregularly
to live by one's wits1612
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > notice, observation > listen attentively [phrase] > be alert
to have one's wits about one1622
to be all there1864
he (or she) never misses (does not miss, etc.) a trick1922
to have (also keep) one's eye on the ball1937
to be on the ball1939
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. i. 129 Þou dotest daffe,..Dulle are þi wittes.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 515 I se wel þat hit is sothe, þat alle mannez wyttez To vn-thryfte arn alle þrawen.
1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) i. 21 To be full besy in all the wyttes and mightes of youre soulle.
1533 J. Gau tr. C. Pedersen Richt Vay 87 Quhen our hart and vittis are ful of sorow.
1576 A. Fleming tr. Cicero in Panoplie Epist. 14 So soone as I gathered my wits together.
1612 B. Jonson Alchemist iii. iv. sig. G4v How doe they liue by their wits, there, that haue vented Sixe times your fortunes? View more context for this quotation
1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. 99 I had my wits about me; and a hand that was able to finde me worke.
1681 J. Dryden Absalom & Achitophel 6 Great Wits are sure to Madness near ally'd.
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VII. lxxxviii. 326 That my wits may not be sent a wooll-gathering.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas II. v. i. 266 Have all your wits about you,..you are nursing a viper in your bosom.
1820 L. Hunt Indicator 12 Jan. 111 That letter touched her kind wits.
1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop ii. lxxiii. 221 Living by his wits—which means by the abuse of every faculty that worthily employed raises man above the beasts.
1883 R. L. Stevenson Silverado Squatters 146 This expression..at last penetrated his obdurate wits.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > [noun] > physical sensation
feelinga1225
witc1290
sentimentc1374
perceivinga1398
scentc1422
feelc1450
sensation1598
aesthesis1601
sensing1613
sensity1613
resentment1634
perceptiona1652
scenting1657
sensating1666
awaring1674
sensitivity1819
sense perception1846
sentition1865
c1290 St. Brendan 12 in S. Eng. Leg. 220 Seint brendan..cride on him al for-to is wit him cam.
c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Lucrece. 1815 Sche loste at onys bothe wit & breth, And in a swo she lay.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1755 He keuered his wyttes, Swenges out of þe sweuenes.
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 6047 Withouten witt he was ligyng.
4. The understanding or mental faculties in respect of their condition; chiefly = ‘right mind’, ‘reason’, ‘senses’, sanity.† a. singular: esp. in phrases in (one's right) wit, sane, of sound mind; chiefly out of (by, from, of) wit or one's wit, insane, mad, out of one's mind; also out of wit adverb, madly, furiously. Obsolete (or dialect).figurative.1602 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor ii. i. 131 Heres a fellow frites humor out of his wits.1656 R. Short Περι Ψυχροποσιας 62 Our small beer, or water skared out of its wits.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > mental health > [noun]
healthc1000
in witc1000
i-mindOE
mindc1380
reasonc1405
wit-state?c1450
common sense1536
sense1536
senses1540
soundness1548
sanitya1616
wisdoma1616
mental health?1650
saneness1727
mens sana1853
balance1856
lucidity1874
clear-headedness1882
the world > health and disease > mental health > [adjective]
in (one's right) witc1000
wittyc1000
wisec1290
well-tempered1340
reasonablec1400
safe1402
perfectc1440
well in (also of) one's witsa1450
right in one's geara1500
well-advised1532
sensed1549
unmad1570
well-advised1585
rational1598
solid1606
in one's (right) senses1613
formala1616
of (in) disposing mind or memory1628
compos mentis1631
righta1638
well-hinged1649
well-balanced1652
spacked1673
clear-headed1709
sane1721
unfantastic1794
unmaddened1797
pas si bête1840
lucid1843
unfantastical1862
clothed and in one's right mind1873
right-minded1876
ungiddy1904
clear1950
the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > [adjective] > insanity or madness > affected with
woodc725
woodsekc890
giddyc1000
out of (by, from, of) wit or one's witc1000
witlessc1000
brainsickOE
amadc1225
lunaticc1290
madc1330
sickc1340
brain-wooda1375
out of one's minda1387
frenetica1398
fonda1400
formada1400
unwisea1400
brainc1400
unwholec1400
alienate?a1425
brainless1434
distract of one's wits1470
madfula1475
furious1475
distract1481
fro oneself1483
beside oneself1490
beside one's patience1490
dementa1500
red-wood?1507
extraught1509
misminded1509
peevish1523
bedlam-ripe1525
straughta1529
fanatic1533
bedlama1535
daft1540
unsounda1547
stark raving (also staring) mad1548
distraughted1572
insane1575
acrazeda1577
past oneself1576
frenzy1577
poll-mad1577
out of one's senses1580
maddeda1586
frenetical1588
distempered1593
distraught1597
crazed1599
diswitted1599
idle-headed1599
lymphatical1603
extract1608
madling1608
distracteda1616
informala1616
far gone1616
crazy1617
March mada1625
non compos mentis1628
brain-crazed1632
demented1632
crack-brained1634
arreptitiousa1641
dementate1640
dementated1650
brain-crackeda1652
insaniated1652
exsensed1654
bedlam-witteda1657
lymphatic1656
mad-like1679
dementative1685
non compos1699
beside one's gravity1716
hyte1720
lymphated1727
out of one's head1733
maddened1735
swivel-eyed1758
wrong1765
brainsickly1770
fatuous1773
derangedc1790
alienated1793
shake-brained1793
crack-headed1796
flighty1802
wowf1802
doitrified1808
phrenesiac1814
bedlamite1815
mad-braineda1822
fey1823
bedlamitish1824
skire1825
beside one's wits1827
as mad as a hatter1829
crazied1842
off one's head1842
bemadded1850
loco1852
off one's nut1858
off his chump1864
unsane1867
meshuga1868
non-sane1868
loony1872
bee-headed1879
off one's onion1881
off one's base1882
(to go) off one's dot1883
locoed1885
screwy1887
off one's rocker1890
balmy or barmy on (or in) the crumpet1891
meshuggener1892
nutty1892
buggy1893
bughouse1894
off one's pannikin1894
ratty1895
off one's trolley1896
batchy1898
twisted1900
batsc1901
batty1903
dippy1903
bugs1904
dingy1904
up the (also a) pole1904
nut1906
nuts1908
nutty as a fruitcake1911
bugged1920
potty1920
cuckoo1923
nutsy1923
puggled1923
blah1924
détraqué1925
doolally1925
off one's rocket1925
puggle1925
mental1927
phooey1927
crackers1928
squirrelly1928
over the edge1929
round the bend1929
lakes1934
ding-a-ling1935
wacky1935
screwball1936
dingbats1937
Asiatic1938
parlatic1941
troppo1941
up the creek1941
screwed-up1943
bonkers1945
psychological1952
out to lunch1955
starkers1956
off (one's) squiff1960
round the twist1960
yampy1963
out of (also off) one's bird1966
out of one's skull1967
whacked out1969
batshit1971
woo-woo1971
nutso1973
out of (one's) gourd1977
wacko1977
off one's meds1986
the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > [adverb] > madly
woodlyc1000
madlyc1225
out of (by, from, of) wit or one's wit1470–85
bedlamlya1569
bedlamlike1576
distractedly1608
madling1608
monthly1611
brainsicklya1616
maddinglya1625
frenzilya1688
crazily1814
insanely1828
dementedly1844
off1866
hippomaniacally1876
pathologically1925
manically1927
dottily1937
feyly1959
kookily1968
nutso1980
c1000 Ælfric Lives Saints xv. 7 Wode he gehælde and on witte gebrohte.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 832 Swa swiðe wa him was þat al his wit he for-læs.
c1290 St. Dunstan 600 in S. Eng. Leg. 19 Heo iwerth a-non out of hire witte, and feol a-doun riȝt þer.
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 10872 He made him as bi wit.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 27168 Man in wiit Or man mai falle was vte of itt.
c1374 G. Chaucer Anelida & Arcite 102 Arcyte..swore he wold dey..Or from his witte he wold twynne.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1483 Neiȝh wod of witte.
1425 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 66 Wiþ witte and good mende.
1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur i. xi. 50 They were wrothe out of wyt.
1490 Caxton's Blanchardyn & Eglantine (1962) xlvi. 178 Arte thou now dronke, or folyshe, or from thy witte?
1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. iii. f. 207 As no man in his right wit wil graunt.
a1620 M. Fotherby Atheomastix (1622) i. xiv. §3. 151 It is a thing so euident, that there is a God; that whosoeuer denieth it, is (surely) out of his wit.
1724 A. Ramsay Tea-table Misc. (1733) I. 86 The wife was wood, and out o' her wit.
b. plural = sense n. 17: esp. in in or out of one's wits.to be in one's right wits: see right adj. 8a.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > [noun] > power or faculty > in normal sane condition
wit1340
sense1536
senses1540
1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 785 His wyttes fayles, and he ofte dotes.
1431 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 87 Beyng yn goode heale and yn my full wittes.
c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Augustine (1910) 32 For a tyme it had a-wey hir wittis.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) 1 Cor. xiv. 23 Will they not saye that ye are out off youre wittes?
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 107 Such a one as lacketh his right wittes.
1604 T. Dekker & T. Middleton Honest Whore v. ii. 173 How fell he from his wits?
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) iv. ii. 90 I am as well in my wits (foole) as thou art. View more context for this quotation
1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII 226 Ioan..was vnable..to beare the Griefe of his Decease, and fell distracted of her Wittes.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) York 228 Seeing his wits is nearer and dearer to any man then his wealth.
1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. Diss. i. 306 Nor is it possible for a Person in his wits, to alter his Conduct,..from a Suspicion, that [etc.].
1840 T. B. Macaulay Ld. Clive in Ess. (1880) 518 The governor..was frightened out of his wits.
II. Denoting a quality (or the possessor of it).
*
5. † b. Practical talent or cleverness; constructive or mechanical ability; ingenuity, skill. Obsolete as a specific sense.† c. Of animals: Intelligence, sagacity. Obsolete.
a. Good or great mental capacity; intellectual ability; genius, talent, cleverness; mental quickness or sharpness, acumen. archaic.The earliest quots. may belong to other senses, e.g. 6 or 11.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > high intelligence, genius > [noun]
wit1297
ingeny1474
inginea1522
ingenuity1600
flame1642
genius1749
iridescency1799
iridescence1803
brilliance1807
brilliancy1842
superintelligence1876
ingenium1879
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > sharpness, shrewdness, insight > [noun]
sharpnessc897
yepshipc1000
insightc1175
yepleȝȝcc1175
yephedea1250
wit1297
fellnessa1382
policyc1440
discerningc1450
policec1450
inspectiona1527
perceivance1534
aptitude1548
sagacity1548
acuity?1549
nimbleness1561
acumen1579
seeing eye1579
esprit1591
acuteness1601
depth1605
penetration1605
knowingness1611
shrewdnessa1616
piercingnessa1628
discernment1646
sharpwittedness1647
nasuteness1660
arguteness1662
sagaciousness1678
perceptivity1700
keenness1707
cuteness1768
intuition1780
recollectedness1796
long-headedness1818
perceptiveness1823
kokum1848
incision1862
incisiveness1865
penetrativeness1873
flair1881
hard-boiledness1912
smart1964
spikiness1977
sus1979
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 10812 Þo..he vnderstod of is wit, & of is wisdom, Him þoȝte it was a gret lere to al is kinedom.
c1320 Cast. Love 1080 Of whom and hou comeþ hit, Such reson and such wit, Þat þou..darst nymen þe Forte dispute a-ȝeynes me?
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 8543 Salamon..was a borli bachelere,..O wijt o wisdom..Was neuer nan wiser.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1839) vii. 78 Nyghe that Awtier is a place..where the Holy Croys was founden, be the Wytt of Seynte Elyne.
c1450 Mirk's Festial 27 Þay began to dyspute wyth hym; but..þay haden no wytte ne no powste forto ȝeynestonde hym.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Rev. xiii. 18 Let hym that hath wytt count the nombre off the beest.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) ii. i. 257 Esc. Are there not men in your Ward sufficient to serue it? Elb. 'Faith sir, few of any wit in such matters. View more context for this quotation
1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 13 The weake constitutions of the Southerne Nations are supplied by the extraordinarie gifts of the minde: terme them what you please, either wit, or subtiltie.
1711 A. Pope Ess. Crit. 4 Authors are partial to their Wit, 'tis true, But are not Criticks to their Judgment too?
1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) xi. 108 Where was the wit of the sharp-sighted men of sound mind? Where the dexterity of the lawyers?
1874 F. D. Maurice Friendship Bks. vi. 163 The blessing of wit and foresight.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [noun] > skill or art > inventive or constructive skill
ginc1175
compassc1320
witc1325
enginec1330
devicec1400
engininga1450
artifice1540
imaginea1550
ingeniousness1555
ingeniosity1607
ingenuousness1628
ingenuity1649
contrivance1659
artfulness1670
contrivancy1877
devicefulness1894
c1325 Spec. Gy Warw. 212 God..ȝeueþ wit in alle craftes.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 1632 A pales gert make..Full worthely wroght & by wit caste.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. iv. sig. C8v It was a goodly heape for to behould, And spake the praises of the workmans witt.
1648 J. Beaumont Psyche xi. xxi. 186 Those engines which so strangely spit Death's multipli'd, and deadlier made by Wit.
1691 J. Ray Wisdom of God 3 The best Telescopes that could possibly be invented or polished by the Wit and Hand of an Angel.
1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Archit. Pref. 4 The Enemy was oftener overcome..by the Architect's Wit, without the Captain's Arms, than by the Captain's Arms without the Architect's Wit.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by nature > [noun] > intelligence
witc1400
sagacity1555
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > wisdom, sagacity > [noun] > in animals
witc1400
sagacity1555
c1400 26 Pol. Poems ii. 61 Þere [sc. the drones'] wit is wane To stroiȝe the hony.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iii. f. 145 The witte of this beast Nutianus reporteth, he once had experience of.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 658 The admirable witte of this beast appeareth in her swimming or passing ouer the Waters.
1610 J. Guillim Display of Heraldrie iii. xii. 122 The Fox is full of wit.
6. † b. Contextually in predicative use: A piece of wisdom or prudence, a wise thing to do; also, something demanding or showing wisdom, a matter of practical wisdom. Obsolete.† c. A prudent measure or proceeding; an ingenious plan or device. Obsolete.The uses exemplified by the quots. are probably of various or mixed origin.
a. Wisdom, good judgement, discretion, prudence: = sense n. 11. Obsolete except in phrases like to have the wit to, which combines the notions of intelligence and good sense.The phrase in quot. 1604 has become proverbial, though commonly taken in sense 8.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > wisdom, sagacity > [noun]
righteousnesseOE
snoterc950
witnessc950
wisdomOE
insightc1175
witc1175
smeighnessc1200
sleighta1300
witternessa1300
inwitc1305
wittiheadc1315
wisenessc1320
witterheda1325
wisehede1340
slyness1357
sapience1377
wisdomhood138.
prudencea1382
sapienta1400
sentencec1400
advice?a1439
sophyc1440
profunditya1500
wittiness1543
Minerva1601
depth1605
Sophia1649
visionariness1817
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > reason, faculty of reasoning > common sense > [noun]
witc1175
sensea1382
conscience1449
mother witc1475
common wit1517
common sense1536
philosophy1557
good sense?1562
sconce1567
mother-sense1603
ingenuity1651
bonsense1681
rumgumption1686
nous1706
gumption?1719
rummlegumption1751
savvy1785
horse sense1832
kokum1848
sabe1872
common1899
marbles1902
gump1920
loaf1925
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > discernment, discrimination > [noun] > good or sound judgement
witc1175
sentencec1400
judgement1536
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 3040 Godess sune..Iss..godess word. & godess witt.
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 9391 Vor wat he aþ Manliche bigonne he it aþ bileued Wommanliche as vor defaute of wit in his heued.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 29204 Þe gift o wijt of vnder-standing, O consail, strenght, o gode dreding, O conand-scipe, and o pite.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 285 Þat he ordaind wit his witte He multiplis and gouerns itte.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 3079 Quen he [sc. Ishmael] was of age and witte A wijf he spused of egipte.
c1430 Hymns Virgin (1867) 5 Heil welle of witt and of merci!
1552 T. Wilson Rule of Reason (rev. ed.) sig. Dvj As vertue, is contrarie vnto vice, witte vnto folie, manhode, vnto Cowardise.
1555 J. Heywood Two Hundred Epigrammes with Thyrde sig. Ciiiv When ale is in, wyt is out. When ale is out, wyt is in.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet ii. ii. 91 Breuitie is the soule of wit, And tediousnes the lymmes and outward florishes, I will be briefe. View more context for this quotation
1681 J. Dryden Absalom & Achitophel 12 For Lavish grants suppose a Monarch tame, And more his Goodness than his Wit proclaim.
1701 J. Swift Disc. Contests Nobles & Commons ii. 18 But, however, they had the Wit to recal him [sc. Aristides].
1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World ii. 169 But they were taught more Wit to their Cost in Two or Three Days.
1886 J. Ruskin Præterita I. xi. 376 One piece of good fortune, of which I had the wit to take advantage.
1926 S. Baldwin in Morning Post 8 Oct. 15/3 Men..who..had formed his Majesty's Government..and who had the wit to understand what the challenge meant.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > wisdom, sagacity > [noun] > wise action or procedure
wisdom1362
witc1400
skill1600
ingenuity1657
c1400 Rule St. Benet (verse) 1609 Þarfor es wit, to lest & mast, Wine or aile softly to tast.
1421–2 T. Hoccleve Min. Poems xx. 115 Whane that a man is in prosperite, To drede a fall comynge it is a wit.
1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. 344 To fenyhe foly quhile is wyt.
1562 J. Mountgomery in Archaeologia (1883) 47 229 Gettinge ys a chaunce and keapinge a witte.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > [noun] > a plan > ingenious
wit1340
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 257 Þe ilke eddre ous tekþ a wel grat wyt þet we ne hyere naȝt þane charmere.
c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Hypsipyle. 1420 To syndyn hym into sum fer cuntre Here as this Iason may distroyed be. This was his wit.
c1440 Gesta Romanorum vi. 16 I shall shew þe a goode wit in þis cas; and if þou wolt do after my conseile, þou shalt not repente.
1607 T. Dekker & J. Webster North-ward Hoe v. sig. G2 Was't not a pritty wit of mine..to haue had him rod into Puckridge, with a horne before him?
7. Quickness of intellect or liveliness of fancy, with capacity of apt expression; talent for saying brilliant or sparkling things, esp. in an amusing way. archaic. (Cf. sense 8)Formerly sometimes opposed to wisdom or judgement; often distinguished from humour (see quots., and note s.v. humour n. 9).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > wit, wittiness > [noun]
wittiness1543
conceitedness1576
wit1578
conceit1593
mercury1653
saltiness1670
bel-esprit1806
1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 15 As the Bee is oftentimes hurte with hir owne honny, so is wit not seldome plagued with his owne conceipte.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 i. ii. 10 Men of al sorts take a pride to gird at me:..I am not only witty in my selfe, but the cause that wit is in other men. View more context for this quotation
1650 W. Davenant Pref. to Gondibert 48 Witte is not only the luck and labour, but also the dexterity of thought.
1665 R. Boyle Disc. iii. iii, in Occas. Refl. sig. D3 That nimble and acceptable Faculty of the Mind, whereby some Men have a readiness, and subtilty, in conceiving things, and a quickness, and neatness, in expressing them, all which the custom of speaking comprehends under the name of Wit.
1704 T. Yalden On Sir Willoughby Aston 187 His flowing wit, with solid judgment join'd, Talents united rarely in a mind, Had all the graces and engaging art, That charm the ear and captivate the heart.
1765 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 18 Dec. (1932) (modernized text) VI. 2694 If you have real wit it will flow spontaneously and you need not aim at it... Wit is so shining a quality, that everybody admires it, most people aim at it, all people fear it, and few love it unless in themselves.
1777 M. Morgann Ess. Dramatic Char. Falstaff 163 It being very possible, I suppose, to be a man of humour without wit; but I think not a man of wit without humour.
1782 W. Cowper John Gilpin 169 Now Gilpin had a pleasant wit And lov'd a timely joke.
8. † c. A witty saying or story; a jeu d'esprit: in the collocation wits, fits, and fancies. Obsolete.
a. That quality of speech or writing which consists in the apt association of thought and expression, calculated to surprise and delight by its unexpectedness (for particular applications in 17th and 18th century criticism see esp. quots. 1650, 1677, 1685, 1690, 1704, 17111); later always with reference to the utterance of brilliant or sparkling things in an amusing way.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > wit, wittiness > [noun] > brilliancy of wit or language > in conversation, writing
wit1542
salt1574
smartness1643
esprita1797
smart1845
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes Pref. **vij b Neither dooe I esteme it a thyng worthie blame..with laughter to refreshe the mynde.., so that the matier to laugh at bee pure witte and honeste [L. modo risus sit argutus ac liberalis].
1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing i. i. 60 They neuer meet but there's a skirmish of wit betweene them. View more context for this quotation
1606 G. Chapman Monsieur D'Oliue i. i Critickes, Essayists, Linguists, Poets, and other professors of that facultie of wit.
1633 G. Herbert Church Porch in Temple xxxix Laugh not too much: the wittie man laughs least: For wit is newes onely to ignorance.
1650 W. Davenant Pref. to Gondibert 47 Witte is the laborious, and the lucky resultances of thought, hauing towards its excellence..as well a happinesse, as care.
1664 R. Flecknoe Short Disc. Eng. Stage G 6 Comparing him [Jonson] with Shakespear, you shall see the difference betwixt Nature and Art; and with Fletcher, the difference betwixt Wit and Judgement.
1677 J. Dryden Authors Apol. Heroique Poetry in State Innocence Pref. sig. c2v The definition of Wit..is only this: That it is a propriety of Thoughts and Words; or in other terms, Thought and Words, elegantly adapted to the Subject.
1684 A. Wood Life & Times (1894) III. Lord Chief Justice asked him ‘if it were Oxford Wit’, that also ‘he should say that if Magna Charta would not do it Longa Sparta should do the busines’.
1685 J. Dryden Sylvæ Pref. sig. A6 I drew my definition of Poetical Wit from my particular consideration of him [sc. Virgil].
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding ii. xi. 68 Wit lying most in the assemblage of Ideas, and putting those together with quickness and variety.
1693 J. Dennis Miscellanies Pref. sig. a2v A true description of Wit; which is a just mixture of Reason and Extravagance.
1697 J. Dryden Ded. Æneis in tr. Virgil Wks. sig. e3v Les Petits Esprits:..who like nothing but the Husk and Rhind of Wit; preferr a Quibble, a Conceit, an Epigram, before solid Sense, and Elegant Expression.
1704 A. Pope Corr. 26 Dec. (1956) I. 2 True Wit I believe, may be defin'd a Justness of Thought, and a Facility of Expression.
1711 A. Pope Ess. Crit. 19 True Wit is Nature to Advantage drest, What oft was Thought, but ne'er before Exprest.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 62. ¶2 Mr. Lock's Account of Wit, with this short Explanation, comprehends most of the Species of Wit, as Metaphors, Similitudes, Allegories, Ænigmas, Mottos, Parables, Fables, Dreams, Visions, dramatick Writings, Burlesque, and all the Methods of Allusion.
1744 Corbyn Thomas (title) An Essay Towards Fixing the True Standards of Wit, Humour, Raillery, Satire, and Ridicule.
1858 O. W. Holmes Autocrat of Breakfast-table iii. 55 We get beautiful effects from wit,—all the prismatic colors,—but never the object as it is in fair daylight.
a1859 L. Hunt in Jrnl. Educ. (1884) Feb. 79 Wit consists in the arbitrary juxtaposition of dissimilar ideas for some lively purpose of assimilation or contrast, generally of both.
1900 Hammerton J. M. Barrie & his Bks. 78 There is more ‘heart’ in humour, and more ‘head’ in wit.
b. With qualification (see quots. and sheer adj.).
ΚΠ
1633 G. Herbert Church Porch in Temple xi When thou dost tell anothers jest, therein Omit the oathes, which true wit cannot need.
1653 R. Flecknoe Miscellania 100 Jests, Clenches, Quibbles, Bulls, &c.,..which although properly they be not Wit (excepting Jests onely, which is a kind of sportive and wanton wit).
1682 Duke of Buckingham Ess. Poetry 12 True Wit is everlasting, like the Sun.
1693 J. Dennis Miscellanies Pref. sig. a4v Scarron's Burlesque has nothing of a Gentleman in it, little of good Sense, and consequently little of true Wit.
1704 J. Addison in tr. Ovid Metamorph. in Poet. Misc.: 5th Pt. 589 As true Wit is nothing else but a Similitude in Ideas, so is false Wit the Similitude in Words.
1704 J. Addison in tr. Ovid Metamorph. in Poet. Misc.: 5th Pt. 590 Ovid, who is the greatest Admirer of this mix'd Wit of all the Ancients, as our Cowley is among the Moderns.
1711 J. Gay Present State of Wit 20 The Spectator, whom we regard as our shelter from that Flood of False Wit and Impertinence.
1765 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 28 Dec. (1932) (modernized text) VI. 2697 There is a species of minor wit which is much used,..I mean raillery.
1779 S. Johnson Cowley in Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets I. 104 These conceits Addison calls mixed wit; that is, wit which consists of thoughts true in one sense of the expression, and false in the other.
1792 D. Stewart Elem. Philos. Human Mind I. v. 305 (note) I speak here of pure and unmixed wit, and not of wit, blended, as is most commonly, with some degree of humour.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > wit, wittiness > wit with words > [noun] > instance of
crank1594
wits, fits, and fancies1595
jerk1598
quirk1600
tongue-squib1628
dictery1632
repartee1637
quip1645
good thing1671
bon mot1735
a play on (also upon) words1761
sally1781
wordplay1794
southboarda1805
mot1813
smartism1830
1595 A. Copley (title) Wits, Fittes and Fancies. Fronted and entermedled with Presidentes of Honour and Wisdome.
1626 W. Vaughan Golden Fleece i. 12 Except you season your Auisoes with some light passages with wits, fits, & fancies.
1632 R. Brome Northern Lasse i. ii. B 2 b Hee..breakes as many good iests as all the Wits, Fits, and Fancies about the Towne.
**
9. (transferred from 5.) A person of great mental ability; a learned, clever, or intellectual person; a man of talent or intellect; a genius. archaic or Historical.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > [noun] > intelligent person
wit1508
callent1637
intelligent1640
headpiece1647
intelligence1648
long head1744
intellect1842
sharpshins1883
brain1914
brain-box1942
brainiac1975
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > high intelligence, genius > [noun] > person of superior intellect, genius
wit1508
angel1655
eagle wit1661
genie1676
prodigya1684
genio1684
mastermind1692
genius1711
athlete1759
the brain(s)1844
master-brain1857
gaon1892
supermind1903
poindexter1981
dexter1985
1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. dv Wourschipfull wawane ye wit of our were.
1567 R. Sempill Deeclaratioun Lordis Iust Quarrell (single sheet) Quhair is the wittis wont to reule Scotland?
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. v. 147 You deuine wits of elder Dayes, from whom The deepe inuention of rare Works hath come.
1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets lix. sig. E The wits of former daies, To subiects worse haue giuen admiring praise. View more context for this quotation
1638 R. Brathwait Spiritual Spicerie 433 There goes an Author! One of the Wits!
1653 H. More Antidote against Atheisme iii. x. 136 Cartesius, that stupendious Mechanicall Witt.
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 181 There are a sort of sublimated Wits that will own neither God nor Devil.
1779 S. Johnson Milton in Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets II. 112 Milton the scholar and the wit.
1806 ‘P. Pindar’ Tristia 20 The world..Makes wits of fools, and sanctifies a sinner!
1842 E. Bulwer-Lytton Zanoni i. vi One evening, at Paris,..there was a reunion of some of the most eminent wits of the time.
1867 ‘Ouida’ Cecil Castlemaine's Gage 2 A circle of wits gathered ‘within the steam of the coffee-pot’ at Will's.
10. (transferred from 7.) A person of lively fancy, who has the faculty of saying smart or brilliant things, now always so as to amuse; a witty person.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > wit, wittiness > [noun] > witty person
whinyard1611
truewit1616
wit-monger1620
witship1636
bel-esprit1638
wit-wright1655
wit1692
1692 R. L'Estrange Fables ccclxxi. 343 Intemperate Wits will spare neither Friend nor Foe.
1727 J. Gay Fables I. x. 36 Wits are game-cocks to one another.
1824 W. Irving Tales of Traveller I. 180 There is no character that succeeds so well among wits as that of a good listener.
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. I. 144 Uncle Bill..is evidently the wit of the party.
1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xviii. 156 Go on joking, Ann. You're the wit of the family.
III. Senses, chiefly obsolete, corresponding to those of Latin scientia and sententia.† 12. Meaning, signification: = sense n. 1, 2, 4a.† 13. Way of thinking, opinion, judgement: = mind n.1 16, 17, sense n. 22. Obsolete.
11. † a. Knowledge; learning; plural departments of knowledge, sciences. Obsolete.† b. The fact of knowing, knowledge, awareness.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > scholarly knowledge, erudition > [noun]
learningc897
wisdomc950
witnessc950
lore971
clergya1225
wit1297
apprise1303
gramaryec1320
clergisea1330
cunning1340
lering1340
sciencea1387
schoola1393
studya1393
art?a1400
cunningnessa1400
leara1400
sophyc1440
doctrinec1460
mathesisa1475
grammarc1500
doctorship1567
knowledge1576
scholarship1579
virtuosoship1666
erudition1718
eruditenessa1834
Wissenschaft1834
savantism1855
scholarment1896
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 4818 Þe bissopes him ansuerede..Al wiþ grete reysons & wit of hor boc.
?c1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Arms) l. 18940 Þe holy goost ȝaf hem..Of alle wittis to touche and tast.
1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer ii. f. cccxxxviiv Poore clerkes for wytte of schole, I sette in churches, and made suche persones to preache.
a1800 (?1565) Norwich Grocers' Play: Text B in N. Davis Non-Cycle Plays & Fragm. (1970) 14 The tre is pleasante to gett wysedome and wytt.
ΚΠ
c1330 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) l. 799 No,..bi mine wite, Y no herd þer-of neuer ȝete.
c1425 Wyntoun Cron. v. x. 1936 God has reserwit til hym all Þe wit of þat þat is to fal.
1483 Acts Parl. Scotl. (1875) XII. 32/1 Be counsaile command wit or consent of his hienez.
1648 H. Hexham Groot Woorden-boeck Mijns wetens niet, not with My weet, or knowledge.]
c. Knowledge communicated, ‘intelligence’, information, esp. in to get wit of. Scottish and northern.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > [noun]
kithc900
avaymentc1315
learningc1386
information1390
knowledgea1398
witteringa1400
witting1417
advicec1425
hearinga1450
understanding1473
intelligence?a1475
intellectionc1475
wit1487
instructiona1535
myance1552
fact1566
aviso1589
facts and figures1727
tell1823
message1828
renseignement1841
khubber1878
dope1901
lowdown1905
info1907
poop1911
oil1915
score1938
gen1940
intel1961
scam1964
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xix. 443 The lord dowglas..Gat wit of thair enbuschement.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) xii. l. 1032 Quhill witt tharoff is in-till Ingland gane.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) iv. l. 515 In the toun no wit of this had thai.
1504–5 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1900) II. 474 The men that cersit and sought and gat wit of the silver disch that wes stollin.
a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 188 Bot on nowayis could they gett wott of him.
1633 M. Parker King & Poore Northerne Man sig. A5 Belike the King of me has gotten some weet.
a1700 Laidley Worm of Spindleston Heughs xiv, in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1884) I. ii. 312 The Child of Wynd got wit of it.
1825 J. T. Brockett Gloss. North Country Words (at cited word) ‘He got wit’—he obtained intelligence.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > [noun]
signifiancec1275
wita1340
understanding1340
significancea1400
interpretationc1400
sentence1402
signification?a1425
comprehensec1470
knowledging1532
meaning1600
conceit1607
significancy1618
signality1646
significativeness1652
valor1676
amount1678
significature1822
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter ii. 5 And is þis þe wit.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 96 Þe boȝes of þo traue ine one wytte byeþ alle þe ychosene þet euere were.
c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. II. 277 Þe secounde witt is allegoryke.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 1630 I fayn wolde Wyt þe wytte of þe wryt.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > [noun]
weenc888
doomc900
advicec1300
wonec1300
opiniona1325
sentence1340
sight1362
estimationc1374
witc1374
assent1377
judgementa1393
supposinga1393
mindc1400
reputationc1400
feelingc1425
suffrage1531
counta1535
existimation1535
consent1599
vote1606
deem1609
repute1610
judicaturea1631
estimate1637
measure1650
sentiment1675
account1703
sensation1795
think1835
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > evaluation, estimation, appraisal > [noun]
weenc888
rightnessOE
steemc1330
sight1362
witc1374
emprisea1393
reputation?c1400
apprizingc1449
nick?a1450
vail1471
countc1475
opinionc1480
estimationc1522
meting1548
reckoning1548
valuation1548
computation1558
account1583
cess1588
esteem1598
appreciation1605
resentiment1606
repute1610
ratea1616
assessmenta1626
estimate1637
vote1639
supputation1643
compute1646
value1651
resentment1655
contemplation1673
critique1798
appraisement1808
appraisal1817
viewa1854
sizing up1967
chit1989
c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde iv. 1425 And verraylich hym semed þat he hadde The same wit.
c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 1649 Þan were þay alle in wittes tweyne.
c1386 G. Chaucer Squire's Tale 195 As many heddes, as manye wittes ther been.
c1400 Laud Troy Bk. 8135 What is ȝoure wit? how thenke ȝow?
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Franklin's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 167 It doth no good to my wit but anoyeth.
1558 T. Phaer tr. Virgil Seuen First Bks. Eneidos ii. sig. C.iv The comons into sondry wittes diuided wer and stood.
1581 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Foxe Against Jerome Osorius 282 The old Proverbe..: so many heades, so many wittes.
Compounds
C1.
a. General attributive.
wit-battle n.
ΚΠ
1693 J. Dryden Disc. conc. Satire in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires p. xliii The Wit-battel of the Two Buffoons.
wit-combat n.
ΚΠ
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Warw. 126 Many were the wit-combates betwixt him [sc. Shakespeare] and Ben Johnson.
wit-contest n.
ΚΠ
1892 F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads IV. viii. 439/1 Wit-contests in verse.
wit-pride n.
ΚΠ
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. ii. 69 All the golden Wit-pride of Humanitie, Where-with men burnish their Erronious vanitie.
wit-raving n.
ΚΠ
1549 T. Chaloner tr. Erasmus Praise of Folie sig. Tiij A certain passion muche lyke to madnesse or witrauyng.
wit-sally n.
ΚΠ
1907 W. Raleigh Shakespeare 174 The wit-sallies of Beatrice and Rosalind.
wit-shaft n.
ΚΠ
1881 A. C. Swinburne Mary Stuart i. iii. 64 Our keeper's wit-shaft is too keen for ours To match with pointless iron.
wit-sponge n.
ΚΠ
a1652 R. Brome Court Begger ii. i. sig. O6v, in Five New Playes (1653) This humorous wity Lady is a wit-sponge, that suckes up wit from some, and holds as her own.
wit-trap n.
ΚΠ
1750 H. Fielding Author's Farce (ed. 3) ii. vi. 17 Nor was it cram'd with a pack of Wit-traps, like Congreve, and Wycherly, where every one knows when the Joke was coming.
wit-work n.
ΚΠ
a1637 B. Jonson Magnetick Lady i. i. 41 in Wks. (1640) III You'are sure to have lesse-wit-worke, gentle brother.
b. Objective.
(a)
wit-carrier n.
ΚΠ
1702 Eng. Theophrastus 7 Wit-carriers, whose business is, to export the fine Things they hear.
wit-gathering n.
ΚΠ
1893 M. Pemberton Iron Pirate iii I sat up in bed, uncertain in the effort of wit~gathering if night had not given me a dream rather than an experience.
wit-stealer n.
ΚΠ
1886 J. S. Corbett Fall of Asgard xxxv Surely is ale a great wit-stealer.
(b)
wit-writing adj.
ΚΠ
1667 J. Dryden Let. to Sir R. Howard in Annus Mirabilis 1666 Pref. Wit in the Poet, or wit writing, (if you will give me leave to use a School distinction).
1947 C. Day Lewis Poetic Image ii. 50 The conceits of the Metaphysicals are in a way wit-writing too.
wit-assailing adj.
ΚΠ
1601 R. Chester Loves Martyr 106 The wit-assailing Frenzie.
wit-cherishing adj.
ΚΠ
1594 T. Nashe Vnfortunate Traveller sig. E4 That kinde wit-cherishing climate.
wit-gracing adj.
ΚΠ
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. iv. 116 Your wit-gracing Skill.
wit-infusing adj.
ΚΠ
1603 J. Davies Microcosmos 65 Wit-infusing Mercury.
wit-oppressing adj.
ΚΠ
1601 R. Chester Loves Martyr 102 Wit-oppressing Drunkennesse.
c. Instrumental.
wit-abused adj.
ΚΠ
1603 J. Davies Microcosmos 40 The will witt-abus'd.
wit-beaten adj.
ΚΠ
1599 H. Porter Pleasant Hist. Two Angrie Women of Abington sig. E3v Sheele persecute the poore wit-beaten man.
wit-drawn adj.
ΚΠ
1681 W. Robertson Phraseologia Generalis 386 Wit~drawn, wire-drawn curiosities.
wit-fraught adj. (also wit-fraughted)
ΚΠ
1603 N. Deeble in J. Davies Microcosmos sig. Oo2v His witt-fraughted workes.
1623 L. Digges in Shaks. 1st Folio Thy wit-fraught Booke.
wit-pointed adj.
ΚΠ
1869 Routledge's Every Boy's Ann. 546 The butt of their wit-pointed pencils.
d. Adverbial (= in, or with respect to, the wit or wits).
wit-foundered adj.
ΚΠ
1613 J. Boys Expos. Last Psalm (1615) 7 The wit-foundred drunkard.
wit-starved adj.
ΚΠ
1828–32 N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Wit-Starved, barren of wit; destitute of genius. Examiner.
wit-stung adj.
ΚΠ
1608 G. Markham & L. Machin Dumbe Knight iv. sig. H4v Fie I am mad, Sham'd and disgrac't, all wit-stung, wisdomlesse.
wit-wondrous adj.
ΚΠ
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. ii. ii. 430 Wit-wondrous Salomon.
wit-worn adj.
ΚΠ
1617 I. H. in Greenes Groatsworth of Witte (rev. ed.) To Wittie Poets sig. A2 So many witworn Ideots.
C2. Special combinations.† wit-lost adj. Obsolete having lost wit, senseless, foolish.† wit-rack n. Obsolete a faculty of eliciting speech by wit (as a rack elicits a confession).Apparently an isolated use.† wit-snapper n. Obsolete = wit-cracker n.† wit-stand n. Obsolete at a wit-stand (cf. stand n.1 3b), = at one's wit's end (see 2d).† wit-state n. Obsolete state of being in one's wits, condition of sanity.† wit-tooth n. Obsolete = wisdom tooth n.† wit-wanton v. (with it) obsolete exc. archaic (intransitive) to exercise the understanding wantonly; also, to indulge in wanton wit.† wit-worship n. Obsolete worship devised by human ‘wit’ or intellect without divine authority or sanction (cf. will-worship n.).† wit-would n. (also †wit-would-be) Obsolete a pretender to wit, a would-be wit.† wit-wright n. Obsolete a maker of wit, an author of witty sayings.
wit-crack n. the ‘cracking’ of a joke (cf. crack v. 5), a brisk witticism.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [noun] > jest or pleasantry > a jest or joke
gameOE
jape1377
bourda1387
mirthc1390
mowa1393
chapec1400
skauncec1440
sport?1449
popc1540
flirt1549
jest1551
merriment1576
shifta1577
facetiae1577
gig1590
pleasantry1594
lepidity1647
rallery1653
drollery1654
wit-crack1662
joco1663
pleasance1668
joke1670
jocunditya1734
quizzification1801
funniment1826
side-splitter1834
funniness1838
quizzery1841
jocularity1846
rib-tickler1855
jocosity1859
humorism1860
gag1863
gas1914
nifty1918
mirthquaker1921
rib1929
boffo1934
giggle1936
1662 W. Gurnall Christian in Armour: 3rd Pt. 256 Satan budges not for a thousand such Squibs and Wit-cracks.
wit-cracker n. one who makes witty or sarcastic remarks.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > derision, ridicule, or mockery > caustic or ironic ridicule > [noun] > one who uses
quipper1589
satire1596
wit-cracker1600
wit-snapper1600
ironista1631
Lucian1752
satirizer1789
quipster1790
Lucianist1940
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > wit, wittiness > wit with words > sarcasm > [noun] > one who uses
quipper1589
wit-cracker1600
wit-snapper1600
wisecracker1923
1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing v. iv. 99 A colledge of witte-crackers cannot flout me out of my humour, dost thou think I care for a Satyre or an Epigramme?
wit-craft n. †(a) the art of using one's ‘wit’ or intellect in reasoning, logic; (b) exercise of one's wits.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > inventive or creative faculty > [noun]
invention?a1505
imagination1509
wit-craft1573
inventa1605
contrivance1659
creativity1659
inventibility1662
inventiveness1668
originality1742
creativeness1805
constructiveness1815
construction1826
imagineering1942
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical disputation or dialectics > [noun]
dialectica1382
dialectical1528
dialect?1545
wit-craft1573
logic1601
dialectics1641
logism1656
dialecticism1840
1573 R. Lever (title) The arte of reason, rightly termed, Witcraft.
1605 W. Camden Remaines i. 146 He was no body that coulde not hammer out of his name an invention by this wit-craft.
1910 T. Hardy Dynasts (rev. ed.) i. i. iii. 25 A witcraft marked by nothing more of weight Than ignorant irregularity!
wit-jar n. an imaginary vessel humorously feigned to contain the wits or senses (in allusion to Ariosto's Orlando Furioso xxxix. lvii).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > vessel > jar > [noun] > imaginary jar for wits
wit-jar1748
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VII. lxxxviii. 326 Dr. Hale..was my good Astolfo (You read Ariosto, Jack) and has brought me back my wit-jar.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupidity, dullness of intellect > [adjective]
sloweOE
stuntc960
dullOE
hardOE
stuntlyc1000
sotc1050
dillc1175
dulta1225
simplea1325
heavy1340
astonedc1374
sheepishc1380
dull-witteda1387
lourd1390
steerishc1411
ass-likea1425
brainless?a1439
deafc1440
sluggishc1450
short-witted1477
obtuse1509
peakish1519
wearish1519
deaf, or dumb as a beetle1520
doileda1522
gross1526
headlessa1530
stulty1532
ass-headed1533
pot-headed1533
stupid?1541
sheep's head1542
doltish1543
dumpish1545
assish1548
blockish1548
slow-witted1548
blockheaded1549
surd1551
dull-headed1552
hammer-headed1552
skit-brained?1553
buzzardly1561
witless1562
log-headeda1566
assy1566
sottish1566
dastardly1567
stupidious1567
beetle-headed1570
calvish1570
bluntish1578
cod's-headed1578
grout-headed1578
bedaft1579
dull-pated1580
blate1581
buzzard-like1581
long-eared1582
dullard1583
woodena1586
duncical1588
leaden-headed1589
buzzard1592
dorbellical1592
dunstical1592
heavy-headeda1593
shallow-brained1592
blunt-witted1594
mossy1597
Bœotian1598
clay-brained1598
fat1598
fat-witted1598
knotty-pated1598
stupidous1598
wit-lost1599
barren1600
duncifiedc1600
lourdish1600
stockish1600
thick1600
booby1603
leaden-pated1603
partless1603
thin-headed1603
leaden-skulledc1604
blockhead1606
frost-brained1606
ram-headed1608
beef-witted1609
insulse1609
leaden-spirited1609
asininec1610
clumse1611
blockheadly1612
wattle-headed1613
flata1616
logger-headeda1616
puppy-headeda1616
shallow-patedc1616
thick-brained1619
half-headed1621
buzzard-blinda1625
beef-brained1628
toom-headed1629
thick-witted1634
woollen-witted1635
squirrel-headed1637
clod-pated1639
lean-souled1639
muddy-headed1642
leaden-witteda1645
as sad as any mallet1645
under-headed1646
fat-headed1647
half-witted1647
insipid1651
insulsate1652
soft-headed1653
thick-skulleda1657
muddish1658
non-intelligent1659
whey-brained1660
sap-headed1665
timber-headed1666
leather-headeda1668
out of (one's) tree1669
boobily1673
thoughtless1673
lourdly1674
logger1675
unintelligenta1676
Bœotic1678
chicken-brained1678
under-witted1683
loggerhead1684
dunderheaded1692
unintelligible1694
buffle-headed1697
crassicc1700
numbskulled1707
crassous1708
doddy-polled1708
haggis-headed1715
niddy-noddy1722
muzzy1723
pudding-headed1726
sumphish1728
pitcher-souleda1739
duncey1743
hebete1743
chuckheaded1756
dumb1756
duncely1757
imbecile1766
mutton-headed1768
chuckle-headed1770
jobbernowl1770
dowfarta1774
boobyish1778
wittol1780
staumrel1787
opaquec1789
stoopid1791
mud-headed1793
borné1795
muzzy-headed1798
nog-headed1800
thick-headed1801
gypit1804
duncish1805
lightweight1809
numbskull1814
tup-headed1816
chuckle-pate1820
unintellectuala1821
dense1822
ninnyish1822
dunch1825
fozy1825
potato-headed1826
beef-headed1828
donkeyish1831
blockheadish1833
pinheaded1837
squirrel-minded1837
pumpkin-headed1838
tomfoolish1838
dundering1840
chicken-headed1842
like a bump on a log1842
ninny-minded1849
numbheadeda1852
nincompoopish1852
suet-brained1852
dolly1853
mullet-headed1853
sodden1853
fiddle-headed1854
numb1854
bovine1855
logy1859
crass1861
unsmart1861
off his chump1864
wooden-headed1865
stupe1866
lean-minded1867
duffing1869
cretinous1871
doddering1871
thick-head1873
doddling1874
stupido1879
boneheaded1883
woolly-headed1883
leaden-natured1889
suet-headed1890
sam-sodden1891
dopey1896
turnip-headed1898
bonehead1903
wool-witted1905
peanut-headed1906
peanut-brained1907
dilly1909
torpid-minded1909
retardate1912
nitwitted1917
meat-headed1918
mug1922
cloth-headed1925
loopy1925
nitwit1928
lame-brained1929
dead from the neck up1930
simpy1932
nail-headed1936
square-headed1936
dingbats1937
pinhead1939
dim-witted1940
pea-brained1942
clueless1943
lobotomized1943
retarded1949
pointy-headed1950
clottish1952
like a stunned mullet1953
silly (or crazy) as a two-bob watch1954
out to lunch1955
pin-brained1958
dozy1959
eejity1964
out of one's tiny mind1965
doofus1967
twitty1967
twittish1969
twatty1975
twattish1976
blur1977
dof1979
goofus1981
dickheaded1991
dickish1991
numpty1992
cockish1996
1599 H. Porter Pleasant Hist. Two Angrie Women of Abington sig. B3v Ill report doth like a Bailiffe stand, To pound the straying, and the wit-lost tongue.
wit-monger n. a ‘dealer’ in wit, an utterer of witty sayings (contemptuous).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > wit, wittiness > [noun] > witty person
whinyard1611
truewit1616
wit-monger1620
witship1636
bel-esprit1638
wit-wright1655
wit1692
1620 T. Shelton tr. M. de Cervantes 2nd Pt. Don Quixote xxxi. 203 The Prater and Wit-monger.
1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses II. 620 [He] was..cried up as the main witmonger surviving to the fanatical party.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > wit, wittiness > wit with words > [noun]
agnomination1574
paronymy1627
adnomination1628
wit-rack1642
repartee1668
snip-snap1727
persiflage1757
quippery1785
cross-talk1887
eutrapelia1956
1642 T. Fuller Holy State iv. vi. 269 He had a pretty wit-rack in himself..to draw speech out of the most sullen and silent guest.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > derision, ridicule, or mockery > caustic or ironic ridicule > [noun] > one who uses
quipper1589
satire1596
wit-cracker1600
wit-snapper1600
ironista1631
Lucian1752
satirizer1789
quipster1790
Lucianist1940
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > wit, wittiness > wit with words > sarcasm > [noun] > one who uses
quipper1589
wit-cracker1600
wit-snapper1600
wisecracker1923
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iii. v. 46 What a wit snapper are you. View more context for this quotation
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > perplexity, bewilderment > confused, at a loss [phrase]
at one's wit's end (occasionally ends)1377
seek1390
will of wane (also wone)a1400
will of redea1425
on wild1477
to be at a muse1548
at a loss1592
at a stopa1626
in a fog?c1640
in a wood1659
at a wit-standa1670
at sea1768
at fault1833
far to find, seek1879
a1670 J. Hacket Scrinia Reserata (1693) i. 188 They were at a wit-stand.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > mental health > [noun]
healthc1000
in witc1000
i-mindOE
mindc1380
reasonc1405
wit-state?c1450
common sense1536
sense1536
senses1540
soundness1548
sanitya1616
wisdoma1616
mental health?1650
saneness1727
mens sana1853
balance1856
lucidity1874
clear-headedness1882
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 7237 Sho lost hir witt state.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > digestive or excretive organs > digestive organs > mouth > types or spec. teeth > [noun] > wisdom
cassall?1541
wit-tooth1601
lag-tooth1611
wisdom tooth1848
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. xi. xxxvii. 338 The farthest cheek-teeth in a mans head, which be called Genuini, (i. the Wit~teeth).
wit-wanton adj. making a wanton use of the ‘wit’ or understanding; also as n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > [noun] > abuser of understanding
wit-wanton1612
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > [adjective] > abusing
wit-wanton1612
1612 J. Sylvester Lacrymæ Lacrymarum 99 Epicures, Wit~wantons, Atheists.
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. x. 62 How dangerous it is for wit-wanton Men, to dance with their nice Distinctions, on such Mysticall Precipices.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > fail to comprehend [verb (intransitive)] > exercise wantonly
wit-wanton1642
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > moral or spiritual impurity > indecency > be indecent [verb (intransitive)] > be lewd or obscene > in wit
wit-wanton1642
1642 T. Fuller Holy State iii. ii. 155 More dangerous it is to wit-wanton it with the Majestie of God.
1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc ix. 268 Wretched Maid!.. England's inhuman Chiefs Shall..black thy spotless fame, Wit-wanton it with lewd barbarity.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xiv. [Oxen of the Sun] 376 And Master Lynch bade him have a care to flout and witwanton.
1922 E. R. Eddison Worm Ouroboros xv. 209 I will not suffer mine indignation so to witwanton with fair justice as persuade me to put the wite on Witchland.
wit-worm n. now rare one who has developed into a wit (like a ‘worm’ or caterpillar emerging from the egg).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > wit, wittiness > [noun] > witty person > developed into
wit-worm1611
1611 B. Jonson Catiline ii. sig. D2 What hast thou done With thy poore innocent selfe?.. Thus to come forth, so sodainly, a wit-worme?
1647 C. Harvey Schola Cordis 194 That which worldly wit worms call nonsence.
1932 F. S. Fitzgerald Let. 2 Aug. (1964) 498 I did not destinate to signify that you were a wiseacre..but..that you were..a longhead,..as are so many epigrammatists, wit-worms, [etc.].
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > kinds of worship > [noun] > according to one's will
will-worship1549
will-worshipping1569
wit-worshipa1629
a1629 W. Hinde Faithfull Remonstr. (1641) xxx. 93 That such service unto Saints, is but witt-worship, will-worship, and Idol-service.
a1663 R. Sanderson Ad Clerum (1670) 13 God will not approve of, nor accept any Wit-worship, or Will-worship, forged or devised by man.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > wit, wittiness > [noun] > witty person > inferior
penny-wit1619
underwit1655
wit-would1678
witling1693
1678 H. More Let. 25 May 15 in J. Glanvill Saducismus Triumphatus (1681) Our professed Wit-would-be's of this present Age.
1700 W. Congreve Way of World Ded. sig. A4 This Play had been Acted two or three Days, before some of these hasty Judges cou'd find the leisure to distinguish betwixt the Character of a Witwoud and a Truewit.
a1763 W. Shenstone Ess. lxxxvi, in Wks. (1765) II. 225 A wit-would cannot afford to discard a frivolous conceit.
1771 Sheridan in Rival Beauties 16 Then grinning Witwould—tho' no Teague—Who more successful in intrigue?
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > wit, wittiness > [noun] > witty person
whinyard1611
truewit1616
wit-monger1620
witship1636
bel-esprit1638
wit-wright1655
wit1692
1655 W. Strode Floating Island Ded. sig. A 2v If..wit-wrights Poets be.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† witpron.
Obsolete.
First person dual pronoun: we two.
ΚΠ
OE Beowulf (2008) 535 Wit þæt gecwædon cnihtwesende.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xx. 22 Mage gyt drincan þone calic ðe ic to drincenne hæbbe? Þa cwædon hig, wyt magon.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 201 Witt sinndenn off swillc elde nu ðatt witt ne muȝhenn tæmenn.
a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 33 (MED) Gif..wit beon anes lauerdes men.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 13108 Fare wit [c1300 Otho we two] to uihte.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 11809 Þat scal beon tomarȝen, biforen unker monnen, þat fehten wit scullen unc seoluen.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 11804 Betere is þat wit tweie bitelen þas riche.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1775 Frend sule wit ben, And trewðe wligt [read pligt] nu unc bi-twen.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
witv.1
α. 1 Old English witan ( witenne, -an(n)e, -on(n)e), Middle English witen, wyten, wite, wytene, ( whyte, wiet), Middle English–1500s wyt(e, wytte, witte, Scottish vit, (Old English wiotan, wietan, Northumberland wuta, Middle English witene, Orm. witenn, Middle English witin, witten, wijt, wyete, Scottish vyt, -e, Middle English wiete, whitte), Middle English–1600s witt, Middle English–1500s wytt, Middle English– wit.c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. vii. §1 Gif þu þonne heora þeawas witan wilt.c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care Pref. 7 Ða ðe niedbeðearfosta sien eallum monnum to wiotonne.c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care xv. 92 Mare to wietenne ðonne eow ðearf sie.c1100 Anglo-Saxon Chron. ann. 1050 (MS. D) Hit is earfoð to witane þara biscopa þe þærtocomon.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 9 Ȝef..me hit mihte witen.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 13280 Heo wolden wite [c1300 Otho witen] þat soðe of Walwain.c1290 St. Clement 128 in S. Eng. Leg. 326 He wilnede muche to wyten of god.1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 3763 Na man..may wytte Whether [etc.].1340 Ayenbite (1866) 1 Þet is to wytene.13.. Cursor M. 23635 If þai oht mai witin [v.r. witten] þar.1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. ii. 27 Þat þou miht wyte..whuche þei ben.c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 1367 To whyte what hure wille were.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Coll. Phys.) l. 19779 Þat petir moȝte witte quat sco were.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 12204 Hu sal he witt quat tav mai be?a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 8301 Þou sal wijt on quatkin wise [etc.].?a1400 Morte Arth. 420 Late hyme wiet..I salle..take leue.c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 131 Vch wyȝe may wel wit.1426 J. Lydgate tr. G. de Guileville Pilgrimage Life Man 4492 To wyten whether..Myn hamer hem touchyd.?1475 in C. L. Kingsford Stonor Lett. & Papers (1919) I. 156 I lett you whitte I am grette with the Kyng.c1480 (a1400) St. Christopher 401 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 351 Gyf þu vit wil myn cunctre.a1500 (?c1450) Merlin v. 82 She wolde gladly witen what a-mendes the kynge wolde do.c1500 Three Kings' Sons (1895) 168 There be none..but wold be glad to wite me do wele.1526 Bible (Tyndale) Matt. xxiii. f. xxxijv One ys youre master, that is to wytt Christ. 1531[1580 Wytte] [see β. forms]. 1533 J. Gau tr. C. Pedersen Richt Vay sig. Hiiv Desir notht to vit.1577 W. Fulke Confut. Doctr. Purgatory 393 You must witte.a1665 K. Digby Jrnl. Voy. to Mediterranean (1868) 31 To witt. 1793Wit [see sense 3c].
α. 2 Middle English–1500s wet, wette, (Middle English Scottish vet), Middle English wetten.a1400 Cursor M. (Edinb.) 22556 Quen nan sal wet quar þam to nest.?a1400 Morte Arth. 948 To wette of the warlawe, whare that he lengez.c1480 (a1400) St. Mary of Egypt 404 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 307 God has send me..þi lyfe, þi stat, al hal to vet.1520 Sir R. Gresham in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. I. 234 Yt may pleasse your Grace to wette I have [etc.].?a1525 (?a1475) Play Sacrament l. 268 in N. Davis Non-Cycle Plays & Fragm. (1970) 66 Off yower welfare fayn wet wold we.
β. Middle English wetyn, Middle English–1500s weit(e, Middle English–1600s wete, Middle English weten(e, Middle English–1600s weete, ( 1700s–1800s archaic) weet, (1500s archaic weeten). (See also weet v.1, wot pron.)13.. Northern Passion (MS. I) 648 a Wele maye we alle wetyn and se Þat it myghte neuyr so be.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 1875 How sal we o þis waters weit [Fairf. wete] Quedir þai be fulli fallen yeit?c1400 Anturs Arth. (Douce) 237 Yit wetene I wolde What wrathede god moste.c1400 Melayne 120 He dose þe wele to weite.c1425 Noah's Ark in N. Davis Non-Cycle Plays & Fragm. (1970) 22 How Thou shalt weet all his will.c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 531/1 Wytyn', or wetyn', or knowyn'.1475 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 485 It pleasyd yow to weete off myn heele.1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour i. ix. sig. Dv Lettinge you weete [1580 wytte], that we haue a sonne borne. 1596Weeten [see sense 10c(b)]. 1600Weete [see sense 9b]. 1610 in J. A. Picton City of Liverpool: Select. Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 121 You shall..do the Maior..to wete thereof. 1748 [see sense 10c(a)]. 1819 [see sense 10c(a)].
2. Indicative Present. a. 1st and 3rd person singularα. Old English–1500s ( 1700s–1800s Scottish) wat, Old English, Middle English–1500s watt, (Old English uat, Old English, Middle English wæt, Middle English what, waht, Middle English northern waite, wayte, quat, -e, Scottish vat), Middle English watte, Middle English–1600s (1700s Scottish) wate, Middle English–1800s Scottish and northern dialect wait (1500s vait).c950 Lindisf. Gosp. John viii. 55 Ic..conn vel wat [c975 Rushw. Gosp. watt] hine.c1200 Vices & Virtues 21 He hit wat ðe wat alle þing.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 14019 Ich what [c1300 Otho wot]..agan is al mi blisse.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 3620 Wel ich hit wæt [c1300 Otho wot] what Bruttis wæs.13.. Northern Passion (Camb. Gg. 5. 31) 356 I hafe done I ne wate what.13.. Northern Passion (Camb. Gg. 5. 31) 1654 Onone pilate a lettyr he wrate, So says saynt Iohne þat wele wayte.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 12219 Fire i quat him mai noght brin.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 5060 Mi fader..fars well, i watte.a1550 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Wemyss) cxviii. l. 1987 Quheþer it sa were..I wait nocht.?a1600 ( R. Sempill Legend Bischop St. Androis in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xlv. 358 I watt now what the propheit menis.1615 R. Brathwait Strappado 129 Wele I wate.1724 A. Ramsay Tea-table Misc. (1733) I. 25 And that's an unco faut I wate.1786 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. xii I wat she made nae jaukin.1825 J. T. Brockett Gloss. North Country Words Wait, wot. Negative: Old English–early Middle English nat, 1500s (= ne nat) ninnat, nynnat; Scottishpre-1700 nat.eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) v. 26 Ic nat ful geare ymb hwæt þu giet tweost.OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) xii. 35 He nat hwyder he gæð.a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 31 Ȝif he nat to soðe þet heo beoð liues.c1225 (?c1200) Hali Meiðhad (Bodl.) (1940) 98 Nat þah na mon bute ham seolfen hwet ham sticheð ofte.?1553 Respublica (1952) v. x. 63 Marye but I ninnat.?1553 Respublica (1952) v. vii. 55 Masse but I nynnat.
β. Middle English–1800s wot, (Middle English wod, woth), Middle English woot, ( whot, Middle English whotte, wout), Middle English–1500s, 1700s wote, Middle English–1500s woote, wotte, Middle English–1600s wott. Also in 1st person combined with prefixed pronoun ( ichot, chote): see β. forms at I pron. and n.2 and γ. forms at I pron. and n.2c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 31 Þeo..wat [a1250 Nero wot] betere þen ich.a1250 Owl & Nightingale 1190 Ich..wod al þat to kumen is.c1330 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) l. 590 Ichot for soþe he wil me sle.c1380 J. Wyclif Wks. (1880) 77 No prelat whot where he schal be dampnyd.c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Dido. 1359 Wel I woot hit is al in vayne.a1400 Cursor M. (Gött.) 2378 His catel wele i woth [Trin. I woot].a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 8298 Wil i wote al þi yerning. ▸ c1426 J. Audelay Poems (1931) 14 He whot neuer hou sone God wyl here his bone.1526 Bible (Tyndale) Luke xvi. f. ciij I woote what to do.c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 11359 I wotte hit full wele.1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. i. i Neither wote I well, nor if I wist, dare I advouch.1775 J. Tait Land of Liberty i. xlv. 23 Here oft, I wote, dame Ignorance was seen.1862 H. A. Kennedy Waifs & Strays 137 I well wot. Negative: Middle English–1500s note, noot, Middle English–1600s not, 1500s nolte; Scottishpre-1700 not, nott.a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Nero) (1952) 79 Þis is ðe ancre ðet not nout hwat is fondunge.c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) 1621 Ich not neauer to hwan þu miȝt.a1300 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 2 Mi brune her is hwit bicume, ich not hwucche leihe.c1300 St. Thomas Apostle (Harl.) 72 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 574 So queynte bold nas neuere non to no prince iwroȝt..ynot no such iwis.c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 5628 Þere he liþ ȝut to þis day ac ynot to wuche dome Þe toun suþþe of pokel chirche fram glastingbury come.c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 92 In to þis londes ende Y not non better kniȝt.?c1335 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 155 Soch an oþir an erþe inote. ▸ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1871) III. 55 I noot ȝif þat was i-doo by his broþer wil. ▸ a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 56 He not, til that the chance falle, Wher he schal lese.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) 5265 What clooþ was hit..Þat blody was & I noot how.c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) 1070 He noot nouȝth of þis bridale, Ne noman telleþ hym þere-of tale.c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 404 A dronke man woot wel he hath an hous But he noot which the righte wey is thider.1413 Pilgr. Sowle (1859) i. xv. 13 I not to whome I shal my seluen dresse!a1425 Adam & Eve (Wheatley) in M. Day Wheatley MS (1921) 92 I noot what sorowe is, þerfore sey þou what it is, and hyle it not.c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. 4311 Allas, I not how þei ȝou cherische or trete, My faire Eleyne, þat wer to me so mete!a1450 Seven Sages (Cambr. Dd.1.17) (1845) 126 Thay hym nome I note how mykil out of Rome.c1480 in Paston Lett. (1875) III. 302 For the peyne I not me wher to hold.a1500 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Oriel) (1869) B. xi. 207 Noot no man how neighe it is.a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. clviii. f. lxxxviv To brynge hir malycious purpose aboute, I note by what Sorcery.a1542 T. Wyatt Psalm li. Prol. 426 in Coll. Poems (1969) This song that I not wyther he crys or singes.1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour l. 19 in Wks. (1931) I I nott quhome to thy Simpylnes to sende.1576 G. Gascoigne Compl. Phylomene 90 As yet I not, what proper hew it bare.1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. xii. sig. M I note, whether [to] praise, or pitty more.1600 E. Fairfax tr. T. Tasso Godfrey of Bulloigne xviii. l. 325 But loe (from whence I nolte) a falcon came.1614 J. Davies Commend. Poems in Wks. (1878) II. 21/2 I not how I shall thriue therein.
b. 2nd person singularα. Old English–Middle English wast, (Old English wæst, uast, Middle English Orm. wasst), Middle English wost, woost, woste. Also combined with foll. pronoun: Old English wastu, Middle English wostu, wostow(e.OE Andreas (1932) 1186 Wæst þe bæles cwealm, hatne in helle, ond þu here fysest, feðan to gefeohte.c975 Rushw. Gosp. John iii. 8 Ne wastu hwona cymeð & hwider gað.c1000 West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) xiii. 7 Þu nast nu þæt ic do, ac þu wast syððan.a1250 Owl & Nightingale 716 Wostu to wan man was ibore?c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 7903 Nu þu hit wost [c1300 Otho iwost].a1300 Cursor Mundi 25477 Vnworthi am i, wel þou wast.c1380 Eng. Wycliffite Serm. in Sel. Wks. II. 79 Þou woost wel þat Fariseis..ben sclaundrid.c1400 Rom. Rose 6075 I bidde thee teche hem, wostowe howe.1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 124/2 Thou woste not what thou sayest.
β. See wot v.
γ. Middle English Scottish vittis.c1480 (a1400) St. Andrew 508 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 78 Bot-gyf þu will hertly trow, þu vittis nocht þu speris now [L. nunquam tu ad imaginem hujus veritatis attinges]. Negative: Middle English nost, noost.c1300 St. Dunstan (Laud) 81 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 21 Þou spext folliche, iwis, Þou nost non more þane þi fot.c1325 in T. Wright Specimens Lyric Poetry (1842) 102 When thou shalt deȝe, ner thou nost.1388 Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) Ecclus. xxxiii. 33 Thou noost whom thou schalt seke. ▸ a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. 1780 Thou nost what chance schal betyde.c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame 2047 Nost not thou That is betyd late or now?c1460 Tree & 12 Frutes (McClean) (1960) 105 Yit þou nost neuer how sone perauenture he or sche repentid hem of þat seying, purposing him euer after to be ware of such speking.
c. plural.α. 1 Old English witon, weotan, uutu(n, -on, wut(t)on, Middle English witan, witen (Middle English Orm. -enn, wuten), Middle English wyten (Middle English wuyten, whiten, wittin); Middle English wite, witte, wyte, wytte; Middle English weten, -in, wet, weet, wete.c900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. ii. v We weotan þæt we þæs þearfe nabbað.c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xx. 22 Ne uutuge huæt ge giwas.c1000 West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) xvi. 30 Nu we witon þæt þu wast ealle ðing.1154 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) We witan oþer egland.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 19 Nusten heo nawiht swa muchel of him swa we witen.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 7932 Þatt witenn menn inoȝhe.c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 161 Hie wuten..wuderward hie sullen weie holden.c1275 Passion our Lord 261 in Old Eng. Misc. 44 Hwat ich to heom seyde, wel wyten heo.c1290 Beket 1025 in S. Eng. Leg. 136 Ȝe wuyten wel.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 390 Adam and eue it wite ful gare.c1380 J. Wyclif Wks. (1880) 77 Siþ prelatis witte not where here preiere be acceptable.c1400 26 Pol. Poems iii. 101 Lordis wet neuere what comouns greues.1402 Jack Upland in Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 17 These wretches weet never where to been.1426 J. Lydgate tr. G. de Guileville Pilgrimage Life Man 5528 Ye wyte wel.a1450 (?c1350) Pride of Life 483 in N. Davis Non-Cycle Plays & Fragm. (1970) 104 Ȝe wittin wel þat he is king.1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer i. f. cccxxxiiii Ye weten wel..that..I defouled neuer my conscyence.
α. 2 Old English wutaþ, witaþ, witteð, wutas, Middle English wutez, wuteþ, witeþ (Middle English -yþ, wyteþ, wteþ, wites, whiteþ, wittis; Middle English weteþ, -iþ, -yþ).c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Mark ii. 10 Þætte..wutað [Rushw. witaþ] gie ðætte he mæht hæfeð sunu monnes.c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Mark x. 41 Scitis, wutasgie [c1000 Ags. Gosp. wite ge].c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke xxi. 30 Witteð [Rushw. wutað] gie þætte neh is ðe summer.c975 Rushw. Gosp. John iv. 22 We worðigað þætte we wutun.?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 185 To wel we witen.c1290 Beket 1005 in S. Eng. Leg. 135 Wel we wutez.a1300 Leg. Rood 18 As ȝe witeþ wel.a1340 R. Rolle Psalter iv. 4 Ȝe seke vanytes: and wites that it is vayne that ȝe luf.c1380 J. Wyclif Wks. (1880) 89 Men wityþ neuere what it meneþ.a1400–40 R. Glouc. Chron. (Rolls) 122 Ȝe wyteþ [v.rr. weteþ, wetyth, whiteþ].1409 in J. Stuart & G. Burnett Exchequer Rolls Scotl. (1880) IV. Pref. 209 Gif ony of the foresaide lordis wittis..ony maner of grefe..apperand til other.
β. See wot v.; Negative: Old English niton, Middle English niten, Middle English nuten, nuteth.c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xiv. §3 Þæt is þara monna unþeaw þæt hi niton hwæt hie sen.c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxi. 27 [Hia] geondueardon ðæm hælende [and] cuedon, ‘nutu we’ [c1000 we nyton, Hatton nyten].c975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xxi. 27 Þa onswarade to þæm hælende & cwædun, niton we.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 75 Alle ȝe kunnen..ower credo, þeh ȝe nuten nawiht alle hwat hit seið.a1225 Moral Ode (Trin. Coll. MS.) 240 Nabbeð hie none lisse; Niten hweðer hem doð wers.?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 146 Þoþre þach we habben ham ofte nute we hit naut.a1250 Owl & Nightingale 1010 Hi drinkeþ milc and wei þar to Hi nute elles wat hi do.c1300 St. Brandan 286 This bred that we eteth nou we Nuteth whanne hit is.
3. subjunctive present. Old English–Middle English wite (plural witen), (Old English wiete, Northumberland witto, -e, -u, Middle English wute, wijt, witte, vit), Middle English wyt, Middle English–1500s wit, wyte, wete, Middle English weete.c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care xxviii. 191 Sua sua hie selfe wieten..ðæt hi hit for Gode don.c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke i. 18 Unde hoc sciam, huona ðis witto?c1000 Rule St. Benet (1888) 16 He wite þæt he..iarcie hine to gescead ageldenne.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 5710 Þatt tu ne wite nan.?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 184 God hit wite & he hit wat.13.. in Sir W. Pole Old Evid. (?1840) 1 Vit alle men þat þis skrite heris and ses.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 5 Þis boc is ywrite uor englisse men, þet hi wyte hou hi ssolle ham-zelue ssriue.c1380 J. Wyclif Wks. (1880) 372 Wete lordis well þat [etc.].a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 14348 I wol þat alle witen.c1400 Gamelyn 644 It is good that we witen what men they be.1447 O. Bokenham Lyvys Seyntys (1835) 33 I wil ye wete Two precyous relykys I her have wyth me.1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur vi. viii. 195 I wyl that thou wete and knowe that I am Launcelot du lake.1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus ii. f. 29v Awaye or a man wite.1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1895) II. 104 To defend him selfe, that..tha steil him nocht doune or he wit. Negative nete.c1160 Hatton Gosp. Matt. vi. 3 Nete þin wynstre hwæt do þin swiðre. 4. a. past tense (indicative and subjunctive)α. Old English wisse, Old English–1500s wiste, (Old English, Middle English Orm. wisste), Middle English–1500s wyste, wyst, (Middle English wijst, Scottish viste, Middle English–1500s Scottish vist, vyst, Middle English wysste), Middle English– wist. Also in 3rd person plural combined with foll. pronoun Middle English wistey, wystey.c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxvii. 18 He wisse forðon þæt ðerh æfist saldon hine.OE Beowulf 181 Ne wiston hie Drihten God.OE Beowulf 246 Ne ge leafnesword guðfremmendra gearwe ne wisson.OE Beowulf 2519 Gif ic wiste.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 19 Heo wisten..þet he wes hali.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 521 Illc an..Wisste full wel.c1275 Passion our Lord 160 in Old Eng. Misc. 42 He wyste þat þe Gywes hyne þouhte spille.c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 5068 Bettere wistey nought what for to do.c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 8021 wystey.a1352 L. Minot Poems (1887) iii. 52 Men..Þat wist both of wele and wo.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 16054 Sir pilate..Wist þam was leif to lei.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 15953 Þan wijst he cummen his maister word.c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 461 Neuermore þen þay wyste fram queþen he watȝ wonnen.c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 152 He ne wyst on worde what he warp schulde.c1480 (a1400) St. Mary of Egypt 1327 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 334 He..vyst it was scho.1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) iv. 771 Quhethir scho..Wenit, or vist it vitterly.a1500 (?c1450) Merlin ii. 25 When these..men wisten that Vortiger sholde be kynge.1537 Queen Margaret in State Papers Henry VIII (1836) V. 120 And..thys Raulme vyst that Ze vold be dysplesyd.c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 13839 All wiston tho wise..He shuld duly be ded.1556 tr. J. de Flores Histoire de Aurelio & Isabelle sig. C2 She showed..all that she wiste.1576 R. Peterson tr. G. della Casa Galateo 12 The Count..neuer wyst of his fault.1865 A. C. Swinburne Chastelard i. ii. 200 And that, God wot, I wist not.
β. Old English plural westan, Middle English–1500s west (Middle English weste), 1500s Scottish weist.OE Judith 207 Wistan begen þæt him ða þeodguman þohton tilian fylle on fægum.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 72 Þet hi westen be hare wylle.1539 in State Papers Henry VIII (1849) VIII. 172 He west not, whether [etc.].1597 A. Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae (ed. 2) 164 I..weist [ed. 1 wist] not what it meind.
γ. Old English wyste, Middle English wuste, (Middle English wste), Middle English–1500s wust.c1000 Ags. Ps. cvi. 29 Swa he hira willan wyste fyrmest.a1250 Owl & Nightingale 10 Eiþer seide of oþeres custe Þat alere worste þat hi wuste.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 585 His sæ-monnen. þe..þa lawen wusten [c1300 Otho wiste].c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 264 He..wuste [c1300 Otho wiste]. þat þe king..forð sculde iwenden.1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 2025 Þo he wste wat he was.1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. iii. 52 Wust I þat,..þer nis nouþur Wyndou ne Auter, Þat I ne schulde maken oþur mende.c1400 St. Alexius (Vernon) 326 He wuste he scholde heþen wende.1558 T. Phaer tr. Virgil Seuen First Bks. Eneidos ii. sig. D.iijv Nor what to do I wust.
δ. Middle English wost(e.1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Rolls) VII. 55 Me wost not where me myȝte mete hem.a1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 6 Whanne her fader wost she was with childe.1492 in Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes (1839) I. 274/2 Robert..maid faith he wost nocht quhare It wes.
ε. Middle English Scottish wyttyt.1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) xii. 156 He wyttyt [1487 St. John's Cambr. askit] at thaim of thair far. Negative: Old English, Middle English nyste, Old English–Middle English, neste, Middle English nist, niste, nuste, nyst, plural Old English nyston ( -ðon), Middle English nesten, nisten, nusten, nysten.c825 Vesp. Psalter lxxii. 22 Ic to nowihte gebeged eam & ic hit nyste.c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xxxviii. §1 Hi nyston nænne oðerne god on þæne timan.971 Blickl. Hom. 79 Næs þæt na þæt he nyste hwæt se blinda wolde.a1225 Moral Ode (Trin. Coll. MS.) 229 Ic wille seggen hit þo þe hit hem self nesten.c1225 Hali Meid. 59 Ha nuste hwuch wei ha come þeneward.c1300 K. Horn 276 Þe stuard..nuste what to do.c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 246 He nist it whom to wite.a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 313 Thei nysten what fortune abide.c1400 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xiii. 25 There I say a maistre; what man he was I neste.1447 O. Bokenham Lyvys Seyntys (1835) 52 She astoyned..Was that she nyst what she myght seye.
b. 2nd person singular Old English, Middle English, 1500s wistest (Old English wistes, subjunctive wisse, wiste), Middle English wystest, ( vistes), wiste, wyste, wist, 1500s wyst.c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. v. §3 Ic wolde þæt þu me sædest hwæþer ðu wisse hwæt þu self wære.c950 Lindisf. Gosp. John i. 48 Huona..mec wistes ðu?c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxv. 26 Ðu wistest þæt ic rype þær ic ne sawe.a1400 K. Horn (Harl.) 240 Tech him alle þe listes þat þou euer wystest [Laud MS. vistes].1423 Kingis Quair xiv Wist thou thy payne to cum..wele myght thou wepe.c1430 Chev. Assigne 186 If þou here dome wyste.c1500 Melusine (1895) 24 Yf thou wyst and knew the grette meruaylles.1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer i. f. cccxxxiiiv In as ferre as thou hem wystyst false.1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. ii. 24 If thou wistest how to vse them. 5. imperative. Stem as in Forms 1; endings: singular Old English–1500s -e; occasionally combined with foll. pronoun Middle English witow; plural Old English -aþ, Old English–Middle English -e (in wite ȝe), Old English, Middle English -eþ, Middle English -eth, -iþ, -yþ; northernOld English -as, Middle English -s, -is, -ys; also singular and ( Middle English–) plural without ending.c900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. iv. viii Witað ge þæt hit swa nis.971 Blickl. Hom. 183 Wit þu þonne þæt ic eom dry.OE Cynewulf Elene 945 Wite ðu þe gearwor þæt ðu unsnyttrum anforlete leohta beorhtast ond lufan dryhtnes.c1000 Ags. Ps. (1835) iv. 4 [3] Wite ge [scitote] þæt God gemyclade his ðone gehalgodan.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 9 Wite ȝe hwet wes sinagoge on þam alde laȝe.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 205 Witt tu þatt icc amm gabriæl. c12751Wite þu [see sense 5]. 13.. Bonaventura's Medit. 254 Weteþ þat he me hated ar ȝow.c1325 Spec. Gy Warw. 312 Wete þu wel.a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 68 A gladere wommon..no miȝt go on erþe..witow for soþe.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 20275 Has na dred, bot wijts it wele.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 4727 Wijt [Gött. wit] yee wel.c1400 Mandeville Voiage & Travaile (1919) I. vi. [v.] 23 And wyte ȝee wel þat [etc.].1441 in Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 1450 69/2 Wittis me to hafe gevin [etc.].1450–80 tr. Secr. Secr. Prol. 3 Witith welle that Aristotille made..many wondres.1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) xvii. 396 Syr, wyte that charlemagne is come wyth his oost.1508 W. Dunbar Goldyn Targe (Chepman & Myllar) in Poems (1998) I. 189 Wit ye, thay did thair baner hye display.c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 2775 Wetys hit all wele..Þat þe dayens you derit. 6. present participle. Old English, Middle English witende, (Old English wittende, weotende), Middle English northern dialect witand, wetand (Scottish vittand), Middle English–1500s Scottish wittand; Middle English–1500s witing, wyt-, etc., Middle English–1500s weting, -yng(e, 1500s– witting.c900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Schipper) i. xxvii. 95/1 No witende [L. nesciens].c900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (1890) iv. iii. 270 Ne weoten~dum [L. nescientibus].c950 Lindisf. Gosp. John, Introd. 2 Scienti, uitend.a1340 R. Rolle Psalter x. 4 Witand his priuytes.1412–20 J. Lydgate tr. Hist. Troy i. 2714 Noon..wetyng what sche ment.c1480 (a1400) St. John Evangelist 86 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 111 Wittand na wa.1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Pref. 8 Well wetyng that [etc.].1867 P. J. Bailey Universal Hymn 8 Witting nought. Negative netinde.a1333 Shoreham i. 1839 Wanne þou weneþ þe oþer be hol, And weddeþ þane syke Netinde. 7. Past participleα. Old English–Middle English witen, (Middle English wy-, -in), Middle English witten, wytene, wetyn, -un, -en(e, ScottishMiddle English witting, Middle English–1500s -in, witne, 1500s Scottish wyttin, 1700s (?) wit.c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xii. 2 Nis nan þing..behydd þæt ne sy witen [Hatton Gosp. gewyten].a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 6996 In his time war þe fabus written, þat yeit er thoru þe bokes witten [Gött. witin, Trin. Cambr. witen].a1400 Morte Arth. 869 Hade I wytene of this.c1400 Ywaine & Gaw. 1810 Sho lete als sho him noght had sene, Ne wetyn that he thar had bene.c1425 Wyntoun Cron. cxxxviii. 435 Gif þai had witting, herd, or sene.c1470 J. Hardyng Chron. lxxvi. v To be written..euer to be knowen and weten.1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) 32 I wald þat it wer wittin.1572 (a1500) Taill of Rauf Coilȝear (1882) 606 And I had wittin.1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1895) II. 444 Gif the peple had witne.17.. Jamie Douglas ii, in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1890) IV. vii. 98 An I had wit what I wit now.
β. Middle English, west, weste, Middle English–1500s wyst, Middle English wyste, wiste, Middle English– wist.c1300 Harrow. Hell (Digby MS.) 33 Suþþen haui þoled and west [Harl. MS. wyst] Boþe chele, hounger and þurst.a1320 K. Horn. (Harl.) 1484 Knyhtes of þe beste Þat he euer hede of weste.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 18130 Als he had wist it noght. ▸ c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 67 Y haue wiste suche men..haue gete to hem losse of sufficient..leernyng.?1482 in H. E. Malden Cely Papers (1900) 131 And y had west that ȝe would a taked so sor.1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. Qvii To eschewe..all slouthfulnesse, all neglygence, all rasshnesse..all had I wyst, all dulnesse of parceyuing our dueties.1796 A. Wilson Watty & Meg 6 Meg..Sic a change had never wist.1844 E. B. Browning Brown Rosary i. iv The grey border-stone that is wist To dilate and assume a wild shape in the mist.
archaic except in legal use: see 10c(b).
I. Simple uses.† 3. Passing into the sense: To become aware of, gain knowledge of, get or come to know; to find out, ascertain, discover; to be informed of, learn, ‘hear’ (at or of a person), esp. in answer to inquiry; hence sometimes virtually equivalent to ‘inquire, ask’. Cf. know v. 14, to know of —— 2 at Phrasal verbs (obsolete uses). Obsolete.Often not distinguishable from the simple sense ‘know’ (1 or 2), esp. with will or would (= wish, would like), or with ere, or (= before).† 4. † 5. In imperative = ‘be assured’, ‘you may be certain’, and later in monitory formulæ and polite phrases (e.g. ye shall wit, please it you to wit) = ‘you must know’, ‘let me tell you’, ‘allow me to inform you’. Obsolete.† 6. with to and infinitive: To be certain or confident, feel sure, expect confidently. (Cf. know v. 11.) Obsolete.† 7. To experience: = know v. 9. Obsolete. rare.
1. transitive. To have cognizance or knowledge of; to be aware of; to know (as a fact or an existing thing).
a. with simple object: = know v. 14.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > know, be aware of [verb (intransitive)]
wit971
knowlOE
to be aware (of, that)a1250
wota1300
be (well) warec1325
to know of ——c1390
not to seek1569
to know for ——1576
to know on ——1608
to have cognizance of1635
reck1764
to be (or get) wise to1896
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > knowledge, what is known > have knowledge, know [verb (transitive)]
i-witec900
wit971
yknowOE
canOE
i-kenc1000
seeOE
yknowOE
understanda1131
knowlOE
can (or could) skillc1340
cona1387
havec1405
kyd1530
weeta1547
digest1549
wist1580
wis1606
savvy1686
sabe1850
971 Blickl. Hom. 117 Frunan maran þinges þonne ænges mannes gemet wære her on eorðan, þæt hit witan mihte.
c1000 West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) iv. 10 Gif þu wistest godes gyfe, & hwæt se is þe cwið to þe, syle me drincan.
c1175 Lamb. Hom. 35 Nis nan sunne þet he [sc. the priest] ne con; oðer he heo wat ðurh, þet he heo dude him seolf.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 11259 Þiss wast tu wel to soþe.
a1200 Moral Ode 112 in Old Eng. Hom. I. 167 Þe ðe lest wat biseið ofte mest, þe hit al wat is stille.
c1250 Hymn to God 12 in Trin. Coll. Hom. App. 258 Þu þe wost al ure þoucht, louerd drauȝ us neor þe.
c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 638 A bettere kniȝt wot y non.
c1400 (?c1380) Patience l. 129 Þe welder of wyt, þat wot alle þynges.
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 391 For aught I woot he was of Dertemouthe.
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 597 Wel wiste he by the droghte and by the reyn The yeldynge of his seed, and of his greyn.
c1420 Sir Amadace (Camden) xxix The trauthe fulle litulle thay wote.
c1460 Play Sacram. 679 The best Counsayle that I now wott.
a1500 Lancelot of Laik (1870) 225 None wist his nome.
1530 Bible (Tyndale) Lev. v. f. viiiv Though he wist it not, he hath yet offended.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 105 If ye had wist the cause of our comming.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. i. sig. A4v The perill of this place I better wot then you.
1642 H. More Ψυχωδια Platonica sig. C5v You are heavens privie counsellour I understand, Which I wist not before.
1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison IV. xvii. 133 Wot ye not the indelicacy of an early present, which you are not obliged to make?
1821 W. Scott Kenilworth III. iv. 46 I wot that but too well.
b. with noun clause as object (sometimes anticipated by a pronoun (it, this), which in the passive construction becomes the subject): = know v. 11a.
ΚΠ
971 Blickl. Hom. 121 Hie wiston þæt heora eþel..sceolde..geseted weorþan mid halgum sawlum.
OE Beowulf 821 Grendel..wiste þe geornor, þæt his aldres wæs ende gegongen.
c1000 Ælfric Genesis xv. 8 Hu mæg ic witan þæt ic hyt agan sceal?
c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxv. 24 Ic wat þæt ðu eart heard mann.
c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 147 He wiste siker þat hit wurðen solde.
a1250 Owl & Nightingale 61 Ich wot þat þu art vnMilde Wiþ heom þat ne Muwe from þe schilde.
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 1345 I wot, he wilen þe nouth werne.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3054 Nu ic wot we haue mis-don.
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 5151 Hit haþ ofte be wyst & sen, Þat wraþe bytwyxte kynde haþ ben.
a1400 Hymns Virg. (1867) 87 Þou woost not to-day þat þou schalt lyue to~morowe.
1426 J. Lydgate tr. G. de Guileville Pilgrimage Life Man 8776 I wot my sylff yt ys nat so.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 21 Efter leoune was chosin a womman pape, nocht wittand yat scho was a womman.
1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. 509 I will blythly apon me ta The state, for I wate that I have rycht.
1530 Bible (Tyndale) Gen. xx. f. xxvv I wot it well that thou dydest it in the purenesse of thi herte.
a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 37/1 Whose death kyng Edwarde..when he wist it was done, pitiously bewailed.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) ii. v. 16 As witting I no other comfort haue. View more context for this quotation
1724 A. Ramsay Tea-table Misc. (1733) I. 8 I wat on him she did na gloom.
1816 W. Scott Old Mortality v, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. II. 91 Well wot I thou hast not heard the call of a true preacher.
1899 Cent. Mag. Dec. 300/2 They..witting little that the tide has long since turned.
c. with indirect question (also elliptical): = know v. 11b. See also what pron., adj.1, and adv. 8b (quots. OE, c1560, 1569, 1570, 1603 at what pron., adj.1, and adv. 8b) and watna what at what pron., adj.1, and adv. 8b.
ΚΠ
c950 Lindisf. Gosp. John viii. 14 Ic uat huona ic cuom & huidder ic geonge.
OE Beowulf 2519 Nolde ic sweord beran..gif ic wiste hu wið ðam aglæcean elles meahte gylpe wiðgripan.
c1175 Lamb. Hom. 45 Wel ic wat hwer ic sceal milcien.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 76 Ne schalt þu neauer eft witen hu me stonde.
a1250 Owl & Nightingale 1201 Ich wot ȝef treon schule blowe; Ich wat ȝef cornes schule growe.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 64 Wydur to wende ne wat he noght.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 9 To yelde þet he heþ of oþre manne kueadliche, yef he wot to huam.
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. Prol. 12 Þat I was in A Wildernesse, wuste I neuer where.
c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 452 It is reservyd to God, to wete wiche [sin] is dedly and which is venyal.
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 6646 At Rypoun hostelere he was, I ne wate how many ȝere.
1544 in State Papers Henry VIII (1849) X. 138 Forbicause..that two of his servauntes wer sick, he wist not wherof [etc.].
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy II. xiii. 278 Whether they speak Gaelic or no, I wot na.
1842 T. B. Macaulay Battle Lake Regillus xix And none wist where he lay.
d. with object and complement, or accusative and infinitive: = know v. 11e(a).
ΚΠ
c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xxvii. §1 Forðæm he hine wiste swiðe ungesceadwisne.
OE Beowulf 1309 Syðþan he aldorþegn unlyfigendne, þone deorestan deadne wisse.
a1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 90/2 We witan þe bilewitne wesan.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 7514 Anan swa heo me þer witen [c1300 Otho witeþ] awæi heo wulleð wenden.
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 1905 Maxencius þo he wste him come he adde of him gret doute.
a1400 K. Horn (Harl.) 1372 Of ioie hue ne miste, O lyue ȝef hue þe wiste.
1447 J. Douebiggyng in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 269 In fayth, my lorde dyde quyte hym als curageousely as euer I wist man do.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 629 I wot me vnworthy þis wirdis to ffall.
1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour l. 2698 in Wks. (1931) I I haue wyttin gud wemen passe fra hame.
1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) xxii. 10 It dois ȝow ay delyt To wit me in distress.
c1571 E. Campion Two Bks. Hist. Ireland (1963) i. vi. 21 He never wist the matter so heynous.
1614 J. Sylvester Bethulia's Rescue vi. 276 Judith..Whom now the Murdress of his Lord hee wist.
1844 E. B. Browning Brown Rosary i. iv The grey border-stone that is wist To dilate and assume a wild shape in the mist.
e. † (b) in subjunctive in God or Crist wite.Cf. Middle High German wiȥȥe Crist, etc.
(a) absol., or in parenthetic phrases (see also 11): = know v. 11g(a). (See also had-I-wist n.)I wot (occasionally I wit), dialect awat (awyte), is often equivalent virtually to I wis (see wis v.2).
ΚΠ
c1000 Ags. Ps. (1835) lxxxi[i]. 5 Ne ongeatan hi, ne geara wistan.
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 2708 Þou wost ful wel, yif þu wilt wite, Þat aþelwold þe dide site On knes.
c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 867 Þou lext, ich vnder stand And wot!
c1386 G. Chaucer Summoner's Tale 182 Elye, wel ye witen In mount Oreb..He fasted longe.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 13607 ‘Hu es it sua þat he seis nu?’ ‘We ne wat, bot ask him-seluen hu.’
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 5060 Mi fader..fars well, i watte.
c1460 (?c1400) Tale of Beryn Prol. l. 509 What dogg is þat?..wost þou ere?
a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 429 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 108 I wryt as I wait.
1572 (a1500) Taill of Rauf Coilȝear (1882) 264 Als far as I wait, the nicht is furth gane.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. viii. sig. H4 Them to renew, I wote, breeds no delight.
1596 W. Warner Albions Eng. (rev. ed.) xi. lxiv. 277 But, well I wot, Loue is a Lordly Feast.
1724 A. Ramsay Tea-table Misc. (1733) I. 25 And that's an unco faut I wate.
1748 J. Thomson Castle of Indolence i. lxxiv He led, I wot, the softest way to death.
1773 R. Fergusson Poems 118 I wyt they are as protty hose As come frae weyr or leem.
1775 J. Tait Land of Liberty i. xlv. 23 Here oft, I wote, dame Ignorance was seen.
1830 Ld. Tennyson 2nd Song to Owl Thy tuwhits are lull'd, I wot.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > that which is unknown > [phrase] > expressing lack of knowledge
God wotOE
God or Crist witec1175
Lord knows1614
Heaven knowsa1628
the stars know what (also how, etc.)1760
c1175 Lamb. Hom. 29 Eft, wite crist, heo is ful biter to betene.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 184 God hit wite & he hit wat [etc.].
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 517 God it wite, he shal ben ded.
2. † b. To have experience of: cf. to know of —— 1 at know v. Phrasal verbs.
a. intransitive with of: To be aware of (as existing, or as happening or having happened); to know of (to know of —— 2 at know v. Phrasal verbs). With negative, (a) to have no idea of, not to suspect; (b) to be unaware or unconscious of.In later use chiefly in the phrase that I, you (etc.) wot of.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > absence of perception > be unaware of [verb (intransitive)]
wit?c1225
bedrug1874
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 70 Ȝeare is þet ich wiste þrof.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 8572 Ich what [c1300 Otho wot] a wærc mid wundere bi-stonde.
c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women 7 Non..may of it non othere weyis wytyn But as he hath herd seyd or founde it wrytyn.
c1450 (c1400) Emaré (1908) 579 He..wyste of no treson.
1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur i. x. 49 I wold I had wyst of hem, they shold not haue escaped so.
c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 40 He þat presumiþ and weniþ to wete verily of a þing.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1895) II. 286 Our folk..met with thame..be chance the ane not witting of the vther.
1607 T. Rogers Faith, Doctr., & Relig. Pref. sig. ¶¶1 We not weeting, nor so much as dreaming of any such matter.
1801 W. Wordsworth Prioress' Tale xxvi Those bad Jews..That of this murder wist.
1866 W. R. Alger Solitudes Nature & Man ii. 58 Inspired by a splendid hope,..he wist not of hunger or of sneers.
1876 A. D. Whitney Sights & Insights II. iii. 363 We wit well of many things that we would never prove.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > knowledge, what is known > experience > have experience of [verb (intransitive)]
wita1400
to pass through ——c1400
to live and learnc1620
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 20508 I sal fare þat i sal neuer witt of care.
1423 Kingis Quair xliv A..prisoner..That..wote of noght bot wo.
c1426 J. Audelay Poems (1931) 1 His soul neuer schal ponyschyd be, Ne neuer wyt of wo.
c1450 (c1400) Sowdon of Babylon (1881) l. 3270 Gode lete hem never wete of woo!
a. transitive with simple object, or in passive.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > action of informing > give (information) [verb (transitive)] > be informed of
hearc950
witc1000
haveOE
learnc1175
undergoc1290
takea1333
receivec1400
aherec1450
partakea1593
get1608
intelligence1637
to get wind of1809
to take away1839
c1000 [see α. forms].
a1225 Leg. Kath. 562 Ȝef ha þe ȝet wule, þen ha wat hire woh, wiðstonden aȝein us.
a1300 K. Horn (Cambr.) 288 To speke wiþ Rymenhild..& witen hure wille.
1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 4 To oridrace..alixandre wendus, Þere wilde contre was wist & wondurful peple.
c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde i. 615 Harmes myghte folwen..If it were wyst.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 427 Nero..wolde wite..þe nombre of Iewes þat were at Ierusalem.
1449 M. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 228 Þey..sent in to me to weten if þei mytȝ speken wyth me.
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 197 b/1 Anone as she wyste the comyng of the holy virgyne she wente to hir.
1535 D. Lindsay Satyre 291 Of my name wald ȝe wit the veritie, Forsuith, thay call me Sensualitie.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 13486 Þai..Made hym wise of þe werke, þat þai wiste hade.
1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) iii. 19 Lat non knaw ȝor intentis; Be verry war or that thay wit ȝor myndis.
b. with noun clause or indirect question as object or object and complement (as in 1b, 1c).
ΚΠ
1132 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) Þa wiste þe king ðat he feorde mid suicdom.
c1175 Lamb. Hom. 41 Ȝif hwa wule witen hwa erest bi-won reste þam wrecche saule..ic eow segge.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 138 Witen [c1300 Otho wite] he wolde þurh þa wiþer-craftes. wat þing hit were.
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 1185 Þe pikes smite hom þoru out ar hii wuste wat hit were.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 145 Whanne þis witty werwolf wiste him so schaped.
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. vi. 213 Now wolde I witen of þe what were þe best.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 13082 Iohn bigan at þam to wijt Quer iesus crist..yeitt Bigan wit werckes him to kiþe?
c1430 Chev. Assigne 35 Whenne he wysste her with chylde.
?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) I. lf. 67v He began to caste his eyen vpon his peple..for to wete how they were of nombre.
c1480 (a1400) SS. Simon & Jude 366 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 218 & bad þe duk þat þai suld vyte quhat he wes þat [þat] had done.
1530 Bible (Tyndale) Gen. ix. f. xij As soone as Noe was awaked..and wyst what his yongest sonne had done.
?1530 St. German's Dyaloge Doctoure & Student xvi. f. xxxv I wolde wyt whether the partie shalbe dischargyd in the common lawe.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Exod. ii. 4 His sister stode a farre of, to wete what wolde come of him.
c1616 R. C. Times' Whistle (1871) v. 2094 Diligent enquirie made, they wist At length what was become of him.
1690 W. Walker Idiomatologia Anglo-Lat. 524 He stood to wit what would be done.
c. absol. or intransitive with of.
ΚΠ
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 689 Alle þre he broȝte Þe doȝtren bi vore him to witen of hor þoȝte.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 20194 Quat es ti name..? Gladli þar-of wijt wald i.
a1400–50 Wars Alex. 509 Þis egg, or þe kyng wyst, to þe erth fallis.
c1400 26 Pol. Poems i. 49 And ȝe wole wyte, thus mowe ȝe lere.
a1450 How Merchande dyd Wyfe Betray 103 in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. (1864) I. 201 Yf he wylle algatys wytt, Say in my chaumbyr y lye sore syke.
1489 [see ε. forms]. c1520 J. Skelton Magnyfycence 22 Where wonnys Welthe, and a man wolde wyt?
a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Eiiiv I speke the softlyer because he sholde not wete.
1570 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. x. 279 He come hame agane or euer thay wist.
1629 tr. Herodian Hist. (1635) 52 On a sudden (ere any wist) there rusht among the people the Emperors armed Horsemen.
1793 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) II. 766 O Lassie, art thou sleeping yet, Or art thou wakin, I would wit.
a. transitive. To have practical knowledge of; to be conversant with or versed in: = know v. 10. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > be skilled or versed in [verb (transitive)]
witOE
knowOE
underfoa1300
practa1513
skill?1529
to be au fait in or ata1743
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > knowledge, what is known > familiarity > know, be conversant with [verb (transitive)]
witc888
yknoweOE
witOE
canOE
knowOE
kenc1330
acquainta1393
quaint1509
understand1541
to summer and winter1602
possess1607
OE Genesis 445 Wiste him spræca fela.
a1250 Owl & Nightingale 195 He wot insiȝt in eche songe Wo singet wel, wo singet wronge.
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 7166 Tak & lef as þou sest skyle,..Bettere þan y þou wost þe dede.
1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 516 Swiche maner lorus, Þat þou miht..þe beste lawe kenne. Whan þou hit wisliche wost, wilne hit in herte.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 18938 For wel þai all langage wist.
b. with to and infinitive: To know how, be able: = know v. 15a.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > knowledge, what is known > familiarity > be or become conversant [verb (intransitive)] > know how to
understanda1300
wit1340
to know of ——c1350
kenc1400
skilla1586
1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 99 Sin we wetin hur wil to worchen..We mowe be soþliche isaid hur seruauntus.
c1440 Generydes 53 He wyste not them to fynde.
1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) I. 18/2 He eyther wist not, or lyste not to shew his cunning therin.
1594 R. Carew tr. J. Huarte Exam. Mens Wits v. 58 No Philosopher as yet wist to giue to euery difference of wit determinatly that which was his.
1893 F. Thompson Hound of Heaven 24 Fear wist not to evade, as Love wist to pursue.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > assurance, confirmation, or guarantee > [phrase]
witc900
hightOE
to stand for it?a1500
take my word for it1576
I protest1587
I warrant me1825
c900 [see ]. 971 [see ]. OE [see ]. c1000 [see ].
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 7529 Wite þu..þat dead is Vortimer.
c1275 Passion our Lord 356 in Old Eng. Misc. 47 Yf Mi kyneriche were ine worlde þisse, Mine men wolde wyþstonde, wite þu myd iwisse.
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. ii. 60 Hit witen and witnessen þat woneþ vppon eorþe, Þat I, Fauuel [etc.].
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 10185 Was neuer nan for-soth wijt yee Men of sua mikel cherite.
c1400 Rom. Rose 4782 Wite thou this, If thou fle it, it shal flee thee.
c1400 Mandeville Voiage & Travaile (1919) I. vi. [v.] 26 Wyteth wel þat the rewme of Arabye is a full gret contree.
1417 King Henry V in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. I. 61 We grete yow wel, and wol ye wite that thambassiatours..have been here.
1425 W. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 4 Preyeng yow to wite þat I haue resceyued yowr goodly lettres.
1476 in C. L. Kingsford Stonor Lett. & Papers (1919) II. 2 Ples it you to wete, this same day I depart to Cales wardes.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 8 Ȝe sall witt, yat the sevyn angelis signifyis the sevin partis of the tyme.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin i. 13 Wite well that god shall helpe yow.
1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. aii*v Thow sall rew in thi ruse wit thow but wene.
1539 T. Cromwell in R. B. Merriman Life & Lett. T. Cromwell (1902) II. 196 Please it your excellente Maiestie to witte that [etc.].
1570 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. x. 57 First thow sall wit, he was sone natural To James the Fyft.
1609 W. Shakespeare Pericles xviii. 31 Please you wit: The Epitaph is for Marina writ. View more context for this quotation
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > absence of doubt, confidence > feel or be confident [verb (intransitive)]
wit1297
to know one's own mind1658
to feel one's feet (also legs, wings)1889
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 2057 He was glad, uor he wuste wel to winne al is wille.
c1400 26 Pol. Poems vii. 41 Ȝif he wiste to heuene to go.
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 224 He was an esy man to yeue penaunce Ther as he wiste to haue a good pitaunce.
c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 177 My conscyens telde me þat ȝif I had wyst to haue lyued, I wolde noȝt have sorwyd for my synnes.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > knowledge, what is known > experience > [verb (transitive)]
haveeOE
cuneOE
supOE
yfeeleOE
afondOE
canOE
seeOE
knowc1175
provea1200
feelc1225
passa1325
fraistc1330
wielda1375
wita1450
experiment1484
approve1578
experiencea1586
resent1595
fand-
a1450 Le Morte Arth. 8 Oure eldris..That mykell wiste of wo and wele.
a1510 G. Douglas King Hart i. 86 This cumlie court..No wandreth wait, ay wenis welth endure.
1796 A. Wilson Watty & Meg 6 Meg..Sic a change had never wist.
8. To recognize; to distinguish, discern, detect: = know v. 1a, 1b, 5. Obsolete or rare archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > find out, discover [verb (transitive)] > by perception or observation
seeOE
wita1300
descrivec1300
descrya1450
spyc1515
to see into ——1565
scerne1590
guard1636
discreevec1650
spot1848
embrace1852
sniff1864
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > discernment, discrimination > discern [verb (transitive)]
wita1300
discerna1400
to have eyes to seea1425
decern1559
discover1581
dignoscea1639
dignote1657
tell1657
diagnose1861
a1300 Cursor Mundi 781 O wityng bath god and ill Ȝee suld be lauerds at ȝour will.
1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 1002 Men han wit for to wite þe wikke & þe gode.
a1352 L. Minot Poems (1887) iv. 44 In þat morning fell a myst, And when oure Ingliss men it wist, It changed all þaire chere.
1558 T. Phaer tr. Virgil Seuen First Bks. Eneidos i. sig. B.ij Whan he his mother wist, He folowed fast and cald (alas) what mean you, thus to list In fayned shapps..to apeare?
1842 E. B. Browning Greek Christian Poets & Eng. Poets (1863) 98 If by chance an Attic voice be wist.
II. Phrases.† 12. to wit (a person) to say: to inform or instruct him. Obsolete.? A misuse due to confusion with witere, witter v.1 (cf. the reading of later text in quot. c12752 at sense 9a s.v.).
9. † a. do to wit: also without to (do v. 29b(b)): to cause (a person) to know, make known to, inform. Also (rarely) give to wit (give v. 29c). Const. as in . Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > action of informing > give (information) [verb (transitive)] > inform (a person)
to teach a person a thingc888
meanOE
wiseOE
sayOE
wittera1225
tellc1225
do to witc1275
let witc1275
let seec1330
inform1384
form1399
lerea1400
to wit (a person) to saya1400
learn1425
advertise1431
givec1449
insense?c1450
instruct1489
ascertain1490
let1490
alighta1500
advert1511
signify1523
reform1535
advise1562
partake1565
resolve1568
to do to ware1594
to let into one's knowledge1596
intellect1599
possess1600
acquainta1616
alighten1615
recommenda1616
intelligence1637
apprise1694
appraise1706
introduce1741
avail1785
prime1791
document1807
to put up1811
to put a person au fait of1828
post1847
to keep (someone) straight1862
monish1866
to put next to1896
to put (one) wise (to)1896
voice1898
in the picture1900
to give (someone) a line on1903
to wise up1905
drum1908
hip1932
to fill (someone) in on1945
clue1948
background1961
to mark a person's card1961
to loop in1994
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 13552 Arður hafde his hauwares..and sone duden him to witen whuder he wolde wenden.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1580 Ich do þe wel to witene [c1300 Otho wite]...þat mi drihliche lond atwa ich habbe ideled.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1302 He sagt ðe stede Ðe god him witen in herte dede.
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 14782 Seint Bede doþ vs to wyten Whilk were gode, whilke were elles.
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. viii. 13 I..preyed hem..If þei knewe any contre..Where þat dowel dwelleth, doth me to wytene.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) iii. 8 I do ȝow to wit þat Constantinople es riȝt a faire citee.
1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur vii. xxvi. 253 Ye myght haue done me to wete of his comynge.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) 1 Cor. xv. 2 I do you to witt [1611 I declare vnto you] after what maner I preached vnto you.
1599 in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (new ed.) II. i. 77 Wee giue you to weet, that we haue receiued your letters.
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxix. 728 He did them to weete and understand, that hee intended..to conduct his armada to Lilybæum.
a1604 M. Hanmer Chron. Ireland 193 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) We doe you wit, that such a Law and Custome is in England.
1674 N. Fairfax Treat. Bulk & Selvedge 22 We are done to wit, that 'tis an infinite not infinite.
b. let wit: rarely †let to wit (let v.1 12, 13): to let (a person) know (a thing): (a) to inform (one), or to make (something) known (= 9a); (b) to allow (one) to know, or (something) to be known, to disclose, reveal; †(c) occasionally to show, exhibit. Const. as in 9a. Obsolete exc. dialect.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > manifestation > [verb (transitive)]
uppec897
atewOE
sutelec1000
openOE
awnc1175
kithec1175
forthteec1200
tawnec1220
let witc1275
forthshowa1300
to pilt out?a1300
showa1300
barea1325
mythc1330
unfoldc1374
to open outc1390
assign1398
mustera1400
reyve?a1400
vouchc1400
manifest?a1425
outshowc1425
ostendc1429
explayc1443
objecta1500
reveala1500
patefy?1509
decipher1529
relieve1533
to set outa1540
utter1542
report1548
unbuckle1548
to set forth1551
demonstrate1553
to hold forth1560
testify1560
explicate1565
forthsetc1565
to give show of1567
denudec1572
exhibit1573
apparent1577
display?1578
carry1580
cipher1583
laya1586
foreshow1590
uncloud?1594
vision1594
explain1597
proclaim1597
unroll1598
discloud1600
remonstrate1601
resent1602
to bring out1608
palesate1613
pronounce1615
to speak out1623
elicit1641
confess1646
bear1657
breathe1667
outplay1702
to throw out1741
evolve1744
announce1781
develop1806
exfoliate1808
evince1829
exposit1882
pack1925
society > communication > manifestation > disclosure or revelation > disclose or reveal [verb (transitive)]
unwryc825
unhelec1000
to draw forthc1175
unhillc1200
to bring forth?c1225
unsteekc1250
let witc1275
uncovera1300
wraya1300
knowc1300
barea1325
shrivec1374
unwrapc1374
again-covera1382
nakena1382
outc1390
tellc1390
disclosea1393
cough1393
unhidea1400
unclosec1400
unhaspc1400
bewrayc1405
reveal1409
accusea1413
reveil1424
unlocka1425
unrekec1425
disclude?1440
uncurec1440
utter1444
detect1447
break1463
expose1483
divinec1500
revelate1514
to bring (also put) to light1526
decipher1529
rake1547
rip1549
unshadow1550
to lay to sight1563
uppen1565
unlace1567
unvisor?1571
resign1572
uncloak1574
disshroud1577
spill1577
reap1578
unrip1579
scour1585
unharboura1586
unmask1586
uncase1587
descrya1591
unclasp?1592
unrive1592
discover1594
unburden1594
untomb1594
unhusk1596
dismask1598
to open upc1600
untruss1600
divulge1602
unshale1606
unbrace1607
unveil1609
rave1610
disveil1611
unface1611
unsecret1612
unvizard1620
to open up1624
uncurtain1628
unscreen1628
unbare1630
disenvelop1632
unclothe1632
to lay forth1633
unshroud1633
unmuffle1637
midwife1638
dissecret1640
unseal1640
unmantle1643
to fetch out1644
undisguise1655
disvelop1658
decorticate1660
clash1667
exert1692
disinter1711
to up with1715
unbundlea1739
develop1741
disembosom1745
to open out1814
to let out1833
unsack1846
uncrown1849
to bring (out) in (also into) the open1861
unfrock1866
disbosom1868
to blow the lid off1928
flush1950
surface1955
to take or pull the wraps off1964
society > communication > information > action of informing > give (information) [verb (transitive)] > inform (a person)
to teach a person a thingc888
meanOE
wiseOE
sayOE
wittera1225
tellc1225
do to witc1275
let witc1275
let seec1330
inform1384
form1399
lerea1400
to wit (a person) to saya1400
learn1425
advertise1431
givec1449
insense?c1450
instruct1489
ascertain1490
let1490
alighta1500
advert1511
signify1523
reform1535
advise1562
partake1565
resolve1568
to do to ware1594
to let into one's knowledge1596
intellect1599
possess1600
acquainta1616
alighten1615
recommenda1616
intelligence1637
apprise1694
appraise1706
introduce1741
avail1785
prime1791
document1807
to put up1811
to put a person au fait of1828
post1847
to keep (someone) straight1862
monish1866
to put next to1896
to put (one) wise (to)1896
voice1898
in the picture1900
to give (someone) a line on1903
to wise up1905
drum1908
hip1932
to fill (someone) in on1945
clue1948
background1961
to mark a person's card1961
to loop in1994
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 295 He hine leatte wel witen.
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 9788 Þe point of is suerd..at canterbury þe monekes lateþ wite, Vor honour of þe holi man.
c1340 R. Rolle Prose Treat. 4 He lett me wyete..þat he ne is fundene in þe lande of softly lyfande.
c1400 Rom. Rose 3145 Thou art wel worthy to haue maugree To late hym of the Roser wite.
c1440 Generydes 4153 If ye knowe wher that I may hym fynde, Now lete me wete, I prae yow.
a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1546) sig. C I lette the to witte, that the Rodyan people are curteis.
1557 Earl of Surrey et al. Songes & Sonettes sig. Cc.iiii I let the wete thou shalt not play with me.
1592 T. Kyd Spanish Trag. iv. sig. K3v Solyman saluteth thee, And lets thee wit by me his highnes will.
1600 E. Fairfax tr. T. Tasso Godfrey of Bulloigne v. lxxxvi. 92 From Egypt come they all, this lets thee weete [rhyme fleete].
1794 R. Burns O saw ye my Dear She lets thee to wit that she has thee forgot.
1825 J. T. Brockett Gloss. North Country Words (at cited word) ‘I'll ne'er let wit’, I'll not inform, or I'll keep it secret.
1890 H. Caine Bondman ii. i [He] never let wit of his intention.
10. to wit:† a. it is to wit (also it is to witting): it is to be observed, noted, or ascertained; so it were to wit, it needs investigation, one ought to know. Obsolete.† b. that is to wit (also that is to witting) = Anglo-Norman cestasavoir literally ‘that is to know’: that is to say, that is, namely: = Latin scilicet, videlicet (viz.); occasionally = id est phr. (i.e.). Obsolete replaced by the simple to wit at sense 10c.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > it needs investigation [phrase]
it were to witc1320
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > notice, observation > listen attentively [phrase] > it is to be noted
it is to wittingc1320
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > absence of doubt, confidence > assured fact, certainty > making certain, assurance > of course, certainly [phrase]
to iwissea1000
mid iwissea1000
in wisc1000
to wis(se)c1000
without(en (any) weenc1175
sans fail1297
thereof no strife1297
but werea1300
forouten werea1300
out of werea1300
without werea1300
without deceit1303
for certainc1320
it is to wittingc1320
withouten carec1320
without nayc1330
without noc1330
without (but out of) dread1340
no doubtc1380
without distancec1390
no fresea1400
out of doubta1400
without doubta1400
for, (in, at obs.), of, to (a) certaintyc1400
withouten stance14..
hazel woods shakea1413
of, on, in warrantisec1440
sure enough?1440
without question?1440
wythout diswerec1440
without any dispayrec1470
for (also of) a surety?a1475
in (also for) surenessa1475
of certainc1485
without any (also all) naya1500
out of question?1526
past question?1526
for sure1534
what else1540
beyond (also out of, past, without) (all) peradventure1542
to be a bidden by1549
out of (also without) all cry1565
with a witness1579
upon my word1591
no question1594
out of all suspicion1600
for a certain1608
without scruple1612
to be sure1615
that's pos1710
in course1722
beyond (all) question1817
(and) no mistake1818
no two ways about it (also that)1818
of course1823
bien entendu1844
yessiree1846
you bet you1857
make no mistake1876
acourse1883
sans doute1890
how are you?1918
you bet your bippy1968
c1320 Cast. Love 783 Of þe middel heuȝ is to wite Þe swetnesse and þe feirschipe.
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 431 Hit were to witen Whi þe bataille of Troye was smiten.
c1380 Eng. Wycliffite Serm. in Sel. Wks. I. 114 It were to wite þe moral sense of þese wordis.
c1380 J. Wyclif Wks. (1880) 328 It were to wite..wheþer priue confession made to prestis be nedeful.
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Tollem. MS) iii. ii Firste it is to wetynge what þinge the soule is.
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Add. MS 27944) xvii. ii It is to wytynge [1495 wyte] þat a graffe..chaungeþ þe..qualite of þe stok in to his owne..qualite.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 223 For the more cleering of this present answere, it is to wite that a thing is holi in three maners.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 231 Bot quhethir his awin legis ar behaldyn to kepe his assuraunce, jn that poynt jt is to wit.
1511 Pylgrymage Richarde Guylforde (Pynson) f. xxxiiij It is to wyt that the holy Londe..in parte..was called ye kyngdome of Iude.
1628 E. Coke 1st Pt. Inst. Lawes Eng. 16 And it is to wit, that this word (inheritance) is not only intended where a man hath Lands or Tenements by discent of inheritage. [Comm.] Et est ascauoire. This kinde of speech is vsed..oftentimes by our Authour..and euer teacheth vs some rule of Law, or generall or sure leading point.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > the quality of being specific > specifically [phrase] > namely or that is to say
id esteOE
that is to sayc1175
that is to wit1340
that is to witting1340
to say1547
to wit1577
to understand1579
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 1 Tuaye lettres of þe abece, þet is to wytene A. and b.
a1400 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 349 Þese ben þe olde vsages of þe Cite of Wynchestre..Þat is to wetynge, þat [etc.].
1440 in 3rd Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1872) App. 360 in Parl. Papers (C. 673) XXXIII. 337 Ȝeldynge there of by the ȝere to the forseyde Johan, that ys to wetynge, the furste ȝere vi s. and viii d., and every ȝere after xiii s. and iiii d.
c1480 (a1400) St. Peter 403 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 19 Twa substance, þat is to wyt, of devel and man, to-gyddir knete.
1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope v The whiche parte was iumelle that is to wete double.
1496 Treat. Fysshynge wyth Angle in Bk. St. Albans (rev. ed.) sig. hj Your harnays, That is to wyte your rodde: your lynes.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Matt. xxiii. f. xxxijv For one ys youre master, that is to wytt Christ.
1562 W. Turner 2nd Pt. Herball f. 75 Where of we haue hearde a grete wonder, that is to wete, that that same kynde dieth & lyueth agayn.
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 8 Vpon conditions agreed betweene them: that is to wit, that the Athenians shoulde furnishe them with a shippe.
c. to wit:
(a) ‘To be sure’, as one may know, truly, indeed. Obsolete or rare (archaic).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > [adverb] > assuredly, indeed
soothlyc825
forsoothc888
wiselyc888
sooth to sayOE
i-wislichec1000
to (‥) soothOE
iwis?c1160
certesa1250
without missa1275
i-witterlic1275
trulyc1275
aplight1297
certc1300
in (good) fayc1300
verily1303
certain1330
in truthc1330
to tell (also speak, say) the truthc1330
certainlya1375
faithlya1375
in faitha1375
surelya1375
in sooth1390
in trothc1390
in good faitha1393
to witc1400
faithfullyc1405
soothly to sayc1405
all righta1413
sad?a1425
in certc1440
wella1470
truec1480
to say (the) truth1484
of a truth1494
of (a) trotha1500
for a truth?1532
in (of) verity1533
of verityc1550
really1561
for, in, or into very?1565
indeed1583
really and truly1600
indeed and indeed1673
right enough1761
deed1816
just1838
of a verity1850
sho1893
though1905
verdad1928
sholy1929
ja-nee1937
only1975
deffo1996
c1400 Song of Roland 850 Ther fell..A straung wedur. A gret derk myst in the myd-day-tym,..the erthe dynnyd doillfully to wet.
c1400 Melayne 222 Þay..bade hym come owte with þam to fyghte, To witt with owtten wene.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 14002 The worthiest to wete, þat in wer deghit.
1581 A. Hall tr. Homer 10 Bks. Iliades ix. 166 No fault so great to wit, Which at the prayer of faultie folkes the Gods do not remit.
1748 J. Thomson Castle of Indolence i. xxv He was, to weet, a little roguish Page.
1819 J. Keats On C. A. Brown i He is to weet a melancholy carle.
(b) That is, namely, scilicet.In former law practice used to indicate (and placed after the name of) the venue of a trial.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > the quality of being specific > specifically [phrase] > namely or that is to say
id esteOE
that is to sayc1175
that is to wit1340
that is to witting1340
to say1547
to wit1577
to understand1579
1577 E. Woolton Castell of Christians sig. Bviijv That common saying.., that the beginning of vertue is of Nature, to wyt of Perfect Nature.
1579 in W. Wilkinson Confut. Familye of Loue sig. B j The same testimonye that ye alledge, to weete, that they had Moses and the Prophets.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. x. sig. V4 Some Clarkes doe doubt..Whether this heauenly thing, whereof I treat, To weeten Mercie be of Iustice part. View more context for this quotation
1608 Bp. J. King Serm. St. Maries Oxf. 12 He..reigned long, to weete, fourty years.
1621 T. Granger Familiar Expos. Eccles. vi. 3. 137 An abortiue child, to wit, one that is borne before his time, and dyeth in his birth.
1657 W. Style Regestum Practicale 351 Incertain words in the Count or Declaration, may be made good..by a plea in Bar. Hill 22 Car. B. r. To wit, by the Defendants taking notice of the meaning of them in his plea.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 43. ⁋9 Accounting for what we frequently see, to wit, that dull Fellows prove very good Men of Business.
1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters i. 39 In certain degrees of heat, to wit, in thirty three of Fahrenheit's thermometer, and upwards, water is always fluid.
1765 G. Wilson Raymond's Entries III. 168 Allen against Harris...Kent, (to wit).
1823 Broadsheet (Bodl. G. A. Oxon. b. 112, lf. 80) Oxfordshire to Wit. Sentences of the Prisoners, Who were tried at the Summer Assizes at Oxford.
1832 P. Bingham Rep. Court Common Pleas 8 235 At Martinmas 1830, to wit, on the 23d of November 1830.
1852 Oxford Chron. 3 July 1/5 advt. Oxfordshire Election. Proclamation for a Special County Court. Oxfordshire to wit.
1875 H. J. S. Maine Lect. Early Hist. Inst. iv. 114 Thrice nine ridges.., to wit, nine of bog, nine of smooth and nine of wood.
11. God wot (also †God it wot, †Godwot, God ote, goddot int.): God knows.† b. With dependent interrogative or absol., implying that the thing spoken of is utterly unknown.
a. Used to emphasize the truth of a statement. archaic. So †wot Christ.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > assertion or affirmation > [phrase] > with reference to God
God wot?c1225
wot Christ?c1225
God is my witness1297
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 245 Wat crist god richt is þet us scheome bifore mon.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 44 God wat..mare wunder ilomp.
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 2527 For he it made, god it woth!
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 2527 Þer-of held he wel his oth, For he it [a priory] made, god it woth.
c1400 Anturs Arth. (Taylor) 547 ‘Greselle’, quod Gauan, ‘gone is, God ote!’
1865 [see α. forms]. 1883 R. Broughton Belinda III. iii. ix. 83 She has good reasons enough, God wot!
1893 T. E. Brown Old John & Other Poems 177 A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!
ΚΠ
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 3 What schal befalle hierafterward God wot.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xii. 53 I wate noȝt; God wate.
c1460 (?c1400) Tale of Beryn l. 1201 I am I-weddit! ȝe, God woot beste, in what maner & howe!
a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) f. 69/1 Theyr bodies cast god wote where.
1570 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xiii. 134 God wait gif ȝe be Jaips to hald in stoir.
a1586 Peblis to Play in W. A. Craigie Maitland Folio MS (1919) I. 176 God wait þai wald þai do þat stound.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > action of informing > give (information) [verb (transitive)] > inform (a person)
to teach a person a thingc888
meanOE
wiseOE
sayOE
wittera1225
tellc1225
do to witc1275
let witc1275
let seec1330
inform1384
form1399
lerea1400
to wit (a person) to saya1400
learn1425
advertise1431
givec1449
insense?c1450
instruct1489
ascertain1490
let1490
alighta1500
advert1511
signify1523
reform1535
advise1562
partake1565
resolve1568
to do to ware1594
to let into one's knowledge1596
intellect1599
possess1600
acquainta1616
alighten1615
recommenda1616
intelligence1637
apprise1694
appraise1706
introduce1741
avail1785
prime1791
document1807
to put up1811
to put a person au fait of1828
post1847
to keep (someone) straight1862
monish1866
to put next to1896
to put (one) wise (to)1896
voice1898
in the picture1900
to give (someone) a line on1903
to wise up1905
drum1908
hip1932
to fill (someone) in on1945
clue1948
background1961
to mark a person's card1961
to loop in1994
a1400–50 Wars Alex. 241 Þat semely qwene Ai of Egipt erd enquirid if he were,..scho wetis if he wald wete hire to say.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 11467 He shuld..spir at hom specially of hor spede fer; If þai hade wille to þe werke, wete hom to say,..glose hit not lengur.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 13580 He fraynet at þe freke.., Wat whe þat he was, wete hym to say.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online March 2020).
† witv.2
Obsolete.
transitive. To bequeath.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > transfer of property > testamentary disposition > bequeath by will [verb (transitive)]
leaveOE
bequeath1066
queatha1325
let1340
dowc1374
bequest1394
wit1394
devise1395
give1420
willc1460
test1491
legacy1546
legate1546
league1623
legatee1797
1394 in J. Raine Testamenta Eboracensia (1836) I. 184 I wyte and I commend my saule to all myghty God & to our lady synte Mary.
1406 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 12 Y wyt to the person of my paryssh vj s. viij d.
c1420 Lay Folks Mass Bk. 86 He wytte his saul to his fadyr.
c1450 Lay Folks Mass Bk. 71 All..þat..in testment wytes any gode in mayntenyng of þis kirk.
1483 Cath. Angl. 421/1 To Wytt gude, legare.
1504 in J. T. Fowler Acts Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1875) 295 The residue of my gude nott witte.
1547 in J. W. Clay Testamenta Eboracensia (1902) VI. 257 I give and wit my soule unto Almighty God.
Derivatives
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
witv.3
/wɪt/, U.S. /wɪt/ nonce-uses.
1. intransitive with it: To play the wit; to make witty remarks.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > wit, wittiness > be witty [verb (intransitive)]
repartee1640
wit1654
sparkle1698
witticize1773
scintillate1828
1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot iii. v. 92 They beginne to be wanton, and to wit it one upon another.
a1662 P. Heylyn Cyprianus Anglicus (1668) 260 Others..impute the Republishing of this Declaration to the new Archbishop,..after he took possession of his Graceship, as Burton doth pretend to wit it in his Pulpit Libell.
2. transitive. As a meaningless repetition of the word just used, by way of a vague threat.
ΚΠ
1679 T. Shadwell True Widow ii. 30 Sel... I think they are all out of their wits... Prig. Prithee Stanmore be my Second, I'll wit him with a Pox to him.
3. transitive. To call (a person) a wit, attribute wit to.
ΚΠ
1778 F. Burney Let. 26 Sept. in Early Jrnls. & Lett. (1994) III. 168 Dr. Johnson. ‘Why did Dr. Jebb forbid her Wine?’ F. B. ‘Yes, sir.’ Dr. Johnson. ‘Well, —he was in the right; —he knows how apt Wits are to transgress that way.’ In this sort of ridiculous manner he Wits me eternally.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
n.a1000
pron.OEv.1c888v.21394
v.31654- quit rate
- quit shilling
- quit stalling
- quit the cost
- quit the scene
- quit while one is ahead
- quit you
- quit-form
- quit-rent
- quitch
- quitch grass
- quitch hay
- quitched
- quitches
- quitching
- quitclaim
- quitclaim agreement
- quitclaim deed
- quitclaimance
- quitclaimed
- quitclaiming
- quitclaims
- quite
- quite a bit
- quite a few