wight

== English == === Pronunciation === enPR: wīt, IPA(key): /waɪt/ Rhymes: -aɪt Homophones: wite; white (wine–whine merger) === Etymology 1 === From Middle English wight, wiȝt, from Old English wiht (“thing, creature”), from Proto-West Germanic *wihti, from Proto-Germanic *wihtiz (“thing, creature”, literally “being”), from Proto-Indo-European *wekti- (“cause, sake, thing”), from *wekʷ- (“to say, tell”). Cognate with Scots wicht (“creature, being, human”), Dutch wicht (“child, baby, girl”), German Low German Wicht (“girl; wight”), German Wicht (“wretch, wight, little creature, scoundrel”), Danish vætte (“underground creature, gnome”), Norwegian Bokmål vette (“underground creature, gnome”), Swedish vätte (“underground creature, gnome”), Icelandic vættur (“imp, elf”). Doublet of whit. ==== Noun ==== wight (plural wights) (archaic) A living creature, especially a human being. c. 1872, a Knight's tour cryptotour poem, possibly by Howard Staunton, lines 1 and 2: "The man that hath no love of chess/Is truth to say a sorry wight." (Old Norse, Germanic paganism) A supernatural being, often used in compounds such as the land-vættr which guard the land, especially the four guardians of Iceland. (poetic) A ghost, deity or other supernatural entity. (fantasy) A wraith-like creature. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === From Middle English wight, from Old Norse vígt, neuter of vígr (“skilled in fighting, of age”), from Proto-Germanic *wīgaz (“fighting”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyk- (“to fight”). Cognate with Old English wīġ. ==== Adjective ==== wight (archaic, except in dialects) Brave, valorous, strong. (UK dialectal, obsolete) Strong; stout; active. === References === “wight” in Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary: Based on Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, 8th edition, Springfield, Mass.: G[eorge] & C[harles] Merriam, 1973 (1974 printing), →OCLC. == Middle English == === Etymology 1 === From Old English wiht. ==== Alternative forms ==== wighte, wyghȝt, wiȝt, wiȝte, whiȝt, whytt, whighte, wyght, whyȝt, wyt, wiht, wihht, whiȝt, weiȝtt, wyȝt, wyȝte, wyhte, wyte, wicht ==== Pronunciation ==== IPA(key): /wixt/, /hwixt/ Rhymes: -ixt ==== Noun ==== wight (plural wightes or wighten) A creature, a being. A person, a human being. 1368-1372, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Book of the Duchess, line 579: 1379-1380, Geoffrey Chaucer, The House of Fame, line 1830-1831: A demon, monster A small amount (of a quantity, length, distance or time); a whit. ===== Descendants ===== English: wight, whit Scots: wicht, wycht ===== References ===== “wight, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 4 April 2018. === Etymology 2 === From Old Norse vígt. See vígr (“ready to fight”). ==== Alternative forms ==== wihte, wict, wiȝht, wyȝte, wyght, whyȝt, wyȝt, white, vight, wiȝhte, weight, vit ==== Pronunciation ==== IPA(key): /wixt/, /wikt/ ==== Adjective ==== wight (comparative wighter, superlative wightest) brave, bold powerful, strong, vigorous quick, speedy ===== Descendants ===== English: wight (obsolete or dialectal) ===== References ===== “wight, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 4 April 2018. ==== Adverb ==== wight immediately vigorously ===== References ===== “wight, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 4 April 2018.