wit

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Sanity.

   He's gone completely out of his wits.

2. 2
   noun

   Intellectual ability; faculty of thinking, reasoning.

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

3. 3
   noun

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

   My father had a quick wit and a steady hand.

4. 4
   noun

   Intelligence; common sense.

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

5. 5
   noun

   Humour, especially when clever or quick.

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

6. 6
   noun

   A person who tells funny anecdotes or jokes; someone witty.

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

7. 7
   verb

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

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

8. 8
   noun

   mental ability

Etymology

From Middle English witen, from Old English witan, from Proto-West Germanic *witan, from Proto-Germanic *witaną, from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“see, know”). 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, Low German weten (“to know”), German wissen (“to know”), Luxembourgish wëssen (“to know”), Yiddish וויסן (visn, “to know”), Danish vide (“to know”), Elfdalian witå (“to know”), Faroese, Icelandic vita (“to know”), Jutish veer (“to know”…