witty

The story

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*witagaz
2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*witīg
3. Old English · inherited fromwittiġ
4. Middle English · inherited fromwitty
5. English todaywitty

From Middle English witty, witti, from Old English wittiġ, witiġ, ġewittiġ (“clever, wise”), from Proto-West Germanic *witīg, *witag, from Proto-Germanic *witagaz, *wītagaz (“knowing, wise, clever”), equivalent to wit + -y. Cognate with Middle Low German wittich, gewittich (“knowing, clever, wise, understanding”), German witzig (“funny, witty”), Norwegian Bokmål vettig, Norwegian Nynorsk vittig (“witty”).