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wit
wit1 / wit/ • n. 1. mental sharpness and inventiveness; keen intelligence: he does not lack perception or native wit. ∎ (wits) the intelligence required for normal activity; basic human intelligence: he needed all his wits to figure out the way back. 2. a natural aptitude for using words and ideas in a quick and inventive way to create humor: a player with a sharp tongue and a quick wit. ∎ a person who has such an aptitude: she is such a wit. PHRASES: be at one's wits' end be overwhelmed with difficulties and at a loss as to what to do next.be frightened (or scared) out of one's wits be extremely frightened; be immobilized by fear.gather (or collect) one's wits allow oneself to think calmly and clearly in a demanding situation.have (or keep) one's wits about one be constantly alert and vigilant.live by one's wits earn money by clever and sometimes dishonest means, having no regular employment.pit one's wits against compete with (someone or something).DERIVATIVES: wit·ted adj. [in comb.] slow-witted. wit2 • v. (wot / wät/ , wit·ting ; past and past part. wist / wist/ ) [intr.] 1. archaic have knowledge: I addressed a few words to the lady you wot of | [tr.] I wot that but too well. 2. (to wit) that is to say (used to make clearer or more specific something already said or referred to): the textbooks show an irritating parochialism, to wit an almost total exclusion of papers not in English. |
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"wit." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "wit." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-wit.html "wit." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-wit.html |
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Wit
Wit (1998), a play by Barbara Edson. [Union Square Theatre, 545 perf.; Pulitzer Prize.] Dr. Vivian Bearing ( Kathleen Chalfant), a recognized English literature scholar, narrates her own eight‐month chronicle of treating and succumbing to ovarian cancer, telling the tale with candor and wryness. Sometimes clinical, sometimes poetic (there is much talk about and quoting of John Donne), the drama was a tour de force for Chalfant, who was acclaimed for giving a “towering and heartbreaking performance.” Kathleen CHALFANT (b. 1945) was born in San Francisco and educated in the classics at Stanford University. She acted with distinguished regional theatres, then began appearing Off Broadway in 1972. Despite many superb performances over the years, Chalfant did not find success until 1993, when she played the sour Mormon Hannah Pitt and other characters in Angels in America.
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Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Wit." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Wit." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-Wit.html Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Wit." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-Wit.html |
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wit
wit2 know; surviving in phr. to wit that is to say, namely, viz., short for that is to wit. OE. preterite-present vb. witan = OS. witan (Du. weten), OHG. wizzan (G. wissen), ON. vita, Goth. witan, f. Gmc. *wait- *wīt :- IE. *woid- *weid- *wid-, whence Skr. véda knows, Gr. oîda, L. vidēre see, OSl. vidĕti see, vĕdĕti know.
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "wit." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "wit." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-wit1.html T. F. HOAD. "wit." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-wit1.html |
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wit
wit1
A. †mind, understanding, sense OE.; B. right mind, good judgement, (pl.) senses XII; C. (power of) giving pleasure by combining or contrasting ideas XVI. D. †wise man XVI; witty man XVII. OE. (ġe)wit(t), corr. to OS. wit (Du. weet), OHG. wizzi (G. witz), ON. vit, Goth. unwiti ignorance, f. *wit- (see next). |
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "wit." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "wit." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-wit.html T. F. HOAD. "wit." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-wit.html |
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wit
wit the five wits the five (bodily) senses of hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch; the term is recorded from Middle English.
See also when the wine is in, the wit is out. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "wit." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "wit." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-wit.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "wit." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-wit.html |
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wit
wit
•acquit, admit, backlit, bedsit, befit, bit, Brit, Britt, chit, commit, demit, dit, emit, fit, flit, frit, git, grit, hit, intermit, it, kit, knit, legit, lickety-split, lit, manumit, mishit, mitt, nit, omit, outsit, outwit, permit, pit, Pitt, pretermit, quit, remit, retrofit, shit, sit, skit, slit, snit, spit, split, sprit, squit, submit, tit, transmit, twit, whit, wit, writ, zit
•albeit, howbeit
•poet
•bluet, cruet, intuit, suet, Yuit
•Inuit • floruit • Jesuit
•Babbitt, cohabit, habit, rabbet, rabbit
•ambit, gambit
•jackrabbit • barbet • Nesbit • rarebit
•adhibit, exhibit, gibbet, inhibit, prohibit
•titbit (US tidbit) • flibbertigibbet
•Cobbett, gobbet, hobbit, obit, probit
•orbit • Tobit
•cubit, two-bit
•hatchet, latchet, ratchet
•Pritchett
•crotchet, rochet
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"wit." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "wit." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-wit.html "wit." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-wit.html |
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