wit

W4I1T1
/wɪt/

noun

Sanity.

“Keep your wits about you.”

Similar
reparteehumorhumourwitticismwittinessbrainbrainpowerlearning ability
OriginMiddle English wit ← Old English witt ← Proto-West Germanic *witi →
CommonScrabble 6
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

wit1

nounwit (countable and uncountable, plural wits)

plural wits

  1. countableplural normallyuncountableSanity.

    He's gone completely out of his wits.

  2. countableplural normallyuncountableThe senses.

    Keep your wits about you.

  3. countableuncountableIntellectual ability; faculty of thinking, reasoning.

    Where she has gone to is beyond the wit of man to say.

  4. countableuncountableThe ability to think quickly; mental cleverness, especially under short time constraints.

    My father had a quick wit and a steady hand.

  5. countableuncountableIntelligence; common sense.

    The opportunity was right in front of you, and you didn't even have the wit to take it!

    3 more examples

    I gif the witt, I gif the strenght, / of all thou sees, of brede & lengthe; / thou shall be wonder wise. / Myrth and Ioy to haue at will, / All thi likyng to fulfill, / and dwell in paradise.

    I give thee consciousness, I give thee strength over all thou seest, over all its breadth and length thou shalt be wondrously wise. Mirth and joy [you shall] have at will to fulfil all thy liking and dwell in paradise.

    15th c., “[The Creation]”, in Wakefield Mystery Plays; Re-edited in George England, Alfred W. Pollard, editors, The Towneley Plays (Early English Text Society Extra Series; LXXI), London: […] Oxford University Press, 1897, →OCLC, page 6, lines 174–179

    Wel, wel (Meander) thou art deepely read: And hauing thee, I haue a iewell ſure: Go on my Lord, and giue your charge I ſay, Thy wit wil make vs Conquerors to day.

    c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene ii

    O, learn to read what silent love hath writ: To hear with eyes belongs to love's fine wit.

    1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 23”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC
  6. countableuncountableHumour, especially when clever or quick.

    The best man's speech was hilarious, full of wit and charm.

    4 more examples

    Wit is just as much put upon—blamed for a thousand impertinences over which it would not have held for a moment its glittering shield; it is like the radiant fairy doomed to wander over earth, concealed and transformed, and only allowed on rare occasions to shine forth in its true and sparkling form. It is well that wit is an impalpable and ethereal substance, or it must long since have evaporated in indignation at that peculiarly wretched and mistaken race, its imitators.

    1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVIII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 152

    The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again;[…]. Our table in the dining-room became again the abode of scintillating wit and caustic repartee, Farrar bracing up to his old standard, and the demand for seats in the vicinity rose to an animated competition.

    1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC

    Evelyn Peters: "Don't worry, Marge. Her idea of wit is nothing more than an incisive observation humorously phrased and delivered with impeccable timing".

    1996 February 4, Jennifer Crittenden, “Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield”, in The Simpsons, season 7, episode 14, production code 3F13

    […] the cemetery – which people of shattering wit like Sampson never tired of calling ‘the dead centre of town’ […]

    1991 September, Stephen Fry, chapter 1, in The Liar, London: Heinemann, →ISBN, section III, page 26
  7. countableuncountableA person who tells funny anecdotes or jokes; someone witty.

    Your friend is quite a wit, isn't he?

    3 more examples

    Tuc[ca]. […] Can thy Author doe it impudently enough? / Hiſt[rio]. O, I warrant you, Captaine: and ſpitefully inough too; he ha's one of the moſt ouerflowing villanous wits, in Rome. He will ſlander any man that breathes; If he diſguſt him. / Tucca. I'le know the poor, egregious, nitty Raſcall; and he haue ſuch commendable Qualities, I'le cheriſh him: […]

    1601, Ben Jonson, Poetaster or The Arraignment: […], London: […] [R. Bradock] for M[atthew] L[ownes] […], published 1602, →OCLC, Act III

    […] here were no Gibers, Cenſurers, Backbiters, Pick-pockets, Highwaymen, Houſebreakers, Attorneys, Bawds, Buffoons, Gameſters, Politicians, Wits, ſplenetick tedious Talkers, Controvertiſts, Raviſhers, Murderers, Robbers, Virtuoſo's; […]

    1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author’s Oeconomy and Happy Life among the Houyhnhnms. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume II, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part IV (A Voyage to the Houyhnhnms), page 301

    A group of young wits from the resort town of Pärnu sells cans of seawater as gag gifts; on the labels they list the high pollution levels and give medical instructions.

    1989 May, Priit J. Vesilind, “The Baltic: Arena of Power”, in National Geographic, volume 175, number 5, page 632

wit2

verb

first person present singular wot · first person past singular wist · present second person singular wost · present second person singular wottest · past second person singular wistest · present singular third person wot · past singular third person wist · past plural wist · participle present witting · participle past wist

  1. ambitransitiveobsolete except in to witTo know, be aware of (constructed with of when used intransitively).

    They are meddling in matters that men should not wit of.

    4 more examples

    You committed terrible actions — to wit, murder and theft — and should be punished accordingly.

    Truly, said fair Elaine, I shall do all that I may do, for as fain would I know and wit where he is become as you or any of his kin, or queen Guenever, and cause great enough have I thereto as well as any other. And wit ye well, said fair Elaine to Sir Bors, I would lose my life for him rather than he should be hurt.

    1483, Thomas Malory, Le morte d'Arthur

    And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 2:3–4

    but soon having wist How sky-breadth and field-silence and this day Are symbols also in some deeper way, She looked through these to God and was God’s priest.

    1849, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, St. Luke the Painter, lines 5–8

wit3

preposition
  1. Southern USpronunciation spellingPronunciation spelling of with.

WIT4

nounWIT (plural WITs)

plural WITs

  1. AustraliaabbreviationinitialismhobbiesInitialism of waterfowl identification test.

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
repartee

nouna message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter

Similar
humorhumourwitticismwittiness
Broader
messagecontentsubject matter

nounmental ability

Similar
brainbrainpowerlearning abilitymental capacitymentality
Broader
intelligence

nouna witty amusing person who makes jokes

Similar
wagcard
Broader
humoristhumourist
Also see
brainbrainpowercardcomedianhumourintellectintelligencejokermentalitymindwagwisdomwitticismwitticistwittiness

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

wit · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*weyd-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*wóyde
  3. Proto-Germanic*witaną
  4. Proto-Germanic*witją
  5. Proto-West Germanic*witi
  6. Old Englishwitt
  7. Middle Englishwit
  8. Englishwit

From Middle English wit, witt, wyt, from Old English witt (“mind, sanity, sense, understanding”), from Proto-West Germanic *witi, from Proto-Germanic *witją (“knowledge; reason; wit”), from Proto-Germanic *witaną (“to know”), from Proto-Indo-European *wóyde (“to know”), from *weyd- (“to see”). Cognates Cognate with Dutch wit (“knowledge”), German and Luxembourgish Witz (“joke; humour, wit”), Low German Weet (“knowledge; idea; inkling”), Yiddish וויץ (vits, “joke”), Danish vid (“wit”), Faroese and Icelandic vit (“intelligence, wits; reason, sense; knowledge; awareness, sentience”), Norwegian Bokmål and Swedish vett (“intelligence, sense, wit”), Norwegian Nynorsk vett, vit (“sense, wits”), Gothic 𐌿𐌽𐍅𐌹𐍄𐌹 (unwiti, “folly, ignorance”); also Breton gouzout (“to know”), Cornish godhvos, goffos (“to know”), Irish feadair (“to know”), Welsh gwybod (“to know”), Latin videō (“to see”), Ancient Greek οἶδ’ (oîd’), οἶδα (oîda, “to know”), Albanian vizë (“line, stripe, track; dash”), Latvian veids (“form, kind, mode, type”), Lithuanian veidas (“face; front; appearance, aspect, look”), Belarusian ве́даць (vjédacʹ, “to know”), Bulgarian вям (vjam, “to know”), Czech vědět (“to know”), Polish wiedzieć (“to know”), Russian ве́дать (védatʹ, “to know”), Serbo-Croatian vedeti, viedieti (“to know”), Slovak vedieť (“to know”), Slovene vedeti (“to know”), Ukrainian ві́дати (vídaty, “to know; to deal, manage”), Armenian գիտեմ (gitem, “I know”), գիտենալ (gitenal), գիտնալ (gitnal, “to know”), Avestan 𐬬𐬀𐬉𐬛 (vaēd, “find”), 𐬬𐬌𐬛 (vid, “know, understand”), Persian نوید (navid / nawīd, nuwēd, “invitation; annunciation; good news”), Tocharian A ime (“awareness, consciousness, memory, thought”), Tocharian B īme (“awareness, consciousness, memory, thought”), ūwe (“educated, knowledgeable, learned”), Sanskrit विद् (vid, “to know; to find; to consider as”). Compare wise.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

wit · verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*weyd-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*wóyde
  3. Proto-Germanic*witaną
  4. Proto-West Germanic*witan
  5. Old Englishwitan
  6. Middle Englishwiten
  7. Englishwit

From Middle English witen, woten, from Old English weotan, witan, from Proto-West Germanic *witan, from Proto-Germanic *witaną (“to know”), from Proto-Indo-European *wóyde (“to know”), from *weyd- (“to see”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian waase, wed, weet (“to know”), Saterland Frisian wíete (“to know”), West Frisian wite, witte (“to know”), Alemannic German wüsse (“to know”), Cimbrian bizzan (“to know”), Dutch and Low German weten (“to know”), German wissen (“to know”), Limburgish wéïte (“to know; to remember”), Luxembourgish wëssen (“to know”), Vilamovian wysa, wyssa (“to know”), Yiddish וויסן (visn, “to know”), Danish vide (“to know”), Elfdalian witå (“to know”), Faroese and Icelandic vita (“to know”), Jutish veer (“to know”), Norwegian Bokmål vide, vite (“to know”), Norwegian Nynorsk veta, vita, våtå (“to know”), Scanian veda (“to know”), Swedish veta (“to know”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (witan, “to know”); also Breton gouzout (“to know”), Cornish godhvos, goffos (“to know”), Irish feadair (“to know”), Welsh gwybod (“to know”), Latin videō (“to see”), Ancient Greek οἶδ’ (oîd’), οἶδα (oîda, “to know”), Albanian vizë (“line, stripe, track; dash”), Latvian veids (“form, kind, mode, type”), Lithuanian veidas (“face; front; appearance, aspect, look”), Belarusian ве́даць (vjédacʹ, “to know”), Bulgarian вям (vjam, “to know”), Czech vědět (“to know”), Polish wiedzieć (“to know”), Russian ве́дать (védatʹ, “to know”), Serbo-Croatian vedeti, viedieti (“to know”), Slovak vedieť (“to know”), Slovene vedeti (“to know”), Ukrainian ві́дати (vídaty, “to know; to deal, manage”), Armenian գիտեմ (gitem, “I know”), գիտենալ (gitenal), գիտնալ (gitnal, “to know”), Avestan 𐬬𐬀𐬉𐬛 (vaēd, “find”), 𐬬𐬌𐬛 (vid, “know, understand”), Persian نوید (navid / nawīd, nuwēd, “invitation; annunciation; good news”), Tocharian A ime (“awareness, consciousness, memory, thought”), Tocharian B īme (“awareness, consciousness, memory, thought”), ūwe (“educated, knowledgeable, learned”), Sanskrit विद् (vid, “to know; to find; to consider as”). Compare guide.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

wit · preposition

From with.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ἀστεϊσμός
  • ἀστεϊσμός (asteïsmós)Spoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
Arabic وعي, إدراك
  • وعيintellectual ability
  • إدراكintellectual ability
Bulgarian разум, ум
  • разум (razum)mind; sanity
  • ум (um)intellectual ability
  • съобразителност (săobrazitelnost)Ability to think quickly
  • остроу́мие (ostroúmie)Spoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
Catalan ment, enteniment
  • mentmind; sanity
  • entenimentmind; sanity
  • divertitA person who tells funny anecdotes or jokes
Czech rozum, vtip
  • rozummind; sanity
  • vtipAbility to think quickly
  • důvtipAbility to think quickly
  • vtipSpoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
  • humorSpoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
Danish vid, vid
  • vidmind; sanity
  • vidintellectual ability
  • vidSpoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
Esperanto sprito, spritulo
  • spritoAbility to think quickly
  • sprituloA person who tells funny anecdotes or jokes
  • humuroSpoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
Finnish sukkeluus, nokkeluus
  • sukkeluusAbility to think quickly
  • nokkeluusAbility to think quickly
  • sutkausAbility to think quickly
French petit malin, mot d'esprit
  • petit malinA person who tells funny anecdotes or jokes
  • mot d'espritSpoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
German von Sinnen, bei Sinnen
  • von Sinnenmind; sanity
  • bei Sinnenmind; sanity
  • Verstandintellectual ability
  • Intellektintellectual ability
  • AuffassungsgabeAbility to think quickly
  • WitzboldA person who tells funny anecdotes or jokes
  • WitzSpoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
Italian senno, arguzia
  • sennomind; sanity
  • arguziaintellectual ability
  • arguziaAbility to think quickly
  • genioAbility to think quickly
  • acutezzaAbility to think quickly
  • ilareA person who tells funny anecdotes or jokes
  • battutaA person who tells funny anecdotes or jokes
  • faceziaA person who tells funny anecdotes or jokes
  • spiritosaggineA person who tells funny anecdotes or jokes
  • fredduraA person who tells funny anecdotes or jokes
  • senso umoristicoSpoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
  • motto di spiritoSpoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
Korean 눈치
  • 눈치 (nunchi)Ability to think quickly
Latin ingenium, scurra
  • ingeniumintellectual ability
  • scurraA person who tells funny anecdotes or jokes
  • argūtiaSpoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
  • facetiaeSpoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
Latvian prāts, saprāts
  • prātsmind; sanity
  • saprātsmind; sanity
  • atjautībaAbility to think quickly
  • asprātisA person who tells funny anecdotes or jokes
  • asprātībaSpoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
Māori naho, ngutu atamai
  • nahoA person who tells funny anecdotes or jokes
  • ngutu atamaiSpoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
Norwegian vett, forstand
  • vettmind; sanity
  • forstandintellectual ability
  • intellektintellectual ability
  • viddSpoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
Portuguese mentalidade, sanidade
  • mentalidademind; sanity
  • sanidademind; sanity
  • intelectualintellectual ability
  • intelectointellectual ability
  • agudezaAbility to think quickly
  • agudezAbility to think quickly
  • espertezaAbility to think quickly
  • humorísticoSpoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
  • humorSpoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
  • engraçadoSpoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
Romanian schepsis
  • schepsisAbility to think quickly
Russian ра́зум, ум
  • ра́зум (rázum)mind; sanity
  • ум (um)intellectual ability
  • ум (um)Ability to think quickly
  • остря́к (ostrják)A person who tells funny anecdotes or jokes
  • остроу́мие (ostroúmije)Spoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
Spanish cordura, listeza
  • corduramind; sanity
  • listezaAbility to think quickly
  • imaginativoA person who tells funny anecdotes or jokes
  • divertidoA person who tells funny anecdotes or jokes
  • chiste espontáneoSpoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
  • gracejoSpoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
  • donaireSpoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
  • donosuraSpoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
  • neguillasSpoken humour, particularly that thought of quickly
Turkish nükte
  • nükteAbility to think quickly
Ukrainian розум
  • розум (rozum)mind; sanity

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with wit

getsubmitbitkithitfitpermitchocolatesplitsitcommitquitadmitpitlitmagnettransmitknitSchmidtPittbritspitwritchit
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

whit (wine–whine merger)with (US, th-stopping)whit (wine–whine merger)with (US, th-stopping)whit (wine–whine merger)with (US, th-stopping)

Anagrams

Twi
Cite this entry
APA

wit. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wit

MLA

“wit.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wit. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wit,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wit.

Source: wit on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.