Wit Definition

wĭt
wist, wits, witting, wot
noun
wits
The natural ability to perceive and understand; intelligence.
American Heritage
The mind.
Webster's New World
Powers of thinking and reasoning; intellectual and perceptive powers.
Webster's New World
Mental faculties with respect to their state of balance, esp. in their normal condition of sanity.
Webster's New World
Alert, practical intelligence; good sense.
Webster's New World
Antonyms:
verb
wits, wot
To be or become aware of; learn.
American Heritage
To know or learn.
Webster's New World

(intransitive, chiefly archaic) Know, be aware of (construed with of when used intransitively).

You committed terrible actions "” to wit, murder and theft "” and should be punished accordingly.
They are meddling in matters that men should not wit of.
Wiktionary
Synonyms:
preposition

(Southern American English) Alternative spelling of with.

Wiktionary
abbreviation
(hunting, Australia) Waterfowl identification test.
Wiktionary
Wiktionary
idiom
at (one's) wits' end
  • At the limit of one's mental resources; utterly at a loss.
American Heritage
have
  • To remain alert or calm, especially in a crisis.
American Heritage
to wit
  • That is to say; namely.
American Heritage
at one's wits' end
  • at a point where one's mental resources are exhausted; at a loss as to what to do
Webster's New World
keep one's wits about one
  • to remain mentally alert; function with undiminished acumen, as in an emergency
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Wit

Noun

Singular:
wit
Plural:
wits

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Wit

  • at (one's) wits' end
  • have
  • to wit
  • at one's wits' end
  • keep one's wits about one
  • live by one's wits
  • to wit

Origin of Wit

  • From Middle English, from Old English witt (“understanding, intellect, sense, knowledge, consciousness, conscience"), from Proto-Germanic *witjÄ… (“knowledge, reason"), from Proto-Indo-European *weyd-, *wid- (“see, know"). Cognate with Dutch weet, German Witz, Danish vid, Swedish vett, Gothic 𐌿𐌽𐍅𐌹𐍄𐌹 (unwiti, “ignorance"), Latin videō (“see"). Compare wise.

    From Wiktionary

  • From Old English witan, from Proto-Germanic *witanÄ…, from Proto-Indo-European *weyd-, *wid- (“see, know"). Cognate with Dutch weten, German wissen, Swedish veta, and Latin videō (“I see"). Compare guide.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English from Old English witan weid- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English from Old English weid- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From English with.

    From Wiktionary

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