wit Hear it!

wit1 definition

wit (wit)

noun

  1. Obsolete the mind
    1. powers of thinking and reasoning; intellectual and perceptive powers
    2. mental faculties with respect to their state of balance, esp. in their normal condition of sanity
  3. alert, practical intelligence; good sense
    1. the ability to make lively, clever remarks in a sharp, amusing way
    2. the ability to perceive incongruous relationships and express them in a surprising or epigrammatic manner
    3. a person characterized by wit
    4. writing or speech expressing wit; esp., any clever disparagement or raillery
  5. Archaic intellect; reason

Etymology: ME < OE, akin to Ger witz: for IE base see wise

wit Idioms

at one's wits' end

at a point where one's mental resources are exhausted; at a loss as to what to do

keep one's wits about one

or have one's wits about one
to remain mentally alert; function with undiminished acumen, as in an emergency

live by one's wits

to live by trickery or craftiness
wit2 definition

wit (wit)

transitive verb, intransitive verb wist, witting wit′·ting

Archaic to know or learn: wit is conjugated in the present indicative: (I) wot, (thou) wost or wot(t)est, (he, she, it) wot or wot(t)eth, (we, ye, they) wite or witen

Etymology: ME witen < OE witan, to know: see wise

wit Idioms

to wit

that is to say; namely

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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