wit

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable, plural-normally, uncountable) Sanity.
2. (countable, obsolete, plural-normally, uncountable) The senses.
3. (countable, uncountable) Intellectual ability; faculty of thinking, reasoning.
4. (countable, uncountable) The ability to think quickly; mental cleverness, especially under short time constraints.
5. (countable, uncountable) Intelligence; common sense.
6. (countable, uncountable) Humour, especially when clever or quick.
7. (countable, uncountable) A person who tells funny anecdotes or jokes; someone witty.

Verb

To know, be aware of (constructed with of when used intransitively).

Prep

Pronunciation spelling of with.

Synonyms

intellect

intelligence

wisdom

mind

humour

wittiness

sense

sharpness

cleverness

sagacity

brain

🧠

brightness

wag

witticism

talent

humor

ability

brainpower

joke

🤣

knowledge

acumen

understanding

humorist

capacity of mind

know

genius

brains

witty person

esprit

comic fellow

joker

witty

learning ability

witster

tact

smartness

subtlety

shrewdness

skill

repartee

reason

resourceful

humourist

punster

resourcefulness

card

mentality

mental capacity

wisecracker

ghost

👻

Translations

arguzia

Witz

🤣

intelligence

inteligência

spirito

inteligencia

ingenio

Verstand

Witzbold

ingegno

boegspriet

νους

γνωρίζω

llestesa

Pronounced as (IPA)

/wɪt/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: wit

Inherited from Old English: witt

Cognate with Dutch: weet

Cognate with German: Witz

Cognate with Danish: vid

Cognate with Swedish: vett

Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål: vett

Cognate with Gothic: 𐌿𐌽𐍅𐌹𐍄𐌹

Cognate with Latin: vīdī

Cognate with Bulgarian: вям

Cognate with Russian: ве́дать

Cognate with Sanskrit: विद्या

Cognate with Icelandic: vita

Cognate with Dutch: weten

Cognate with German: wissen

Cognate with Danish: vide

Cognate with Swedish: veta

Cognate with Latin: videō

In summary

From Middle English wit, from Old English witt (“understanding, intellect, sense, knowledge, consciousness, conscience”), from Proto-West Germanic *witi, from Proto-Germanic *witją (“knowledge, reason”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“see, know”).
Cognate with Dutch wit (“knowledge”), German Witz (“joke; wit, humour”), Danish vid (“wit”), Norwegian Bokmål, Swedish vett (“wit”), Gothic 𐌿𐌽𐍅𐌹𐍄𐌹 (unwiti, “ignorance”), Latin vīdī (“see (pf.)”), Bulgarian вям (vjam, “to know”), Russian ве́дать (védatʹ, “to know”), Sanskrit विद्या (vidyā, “knowledge, wisdom”). Compare wise.