- wit
- witwit1 [wit]n.[ME < OE, akin to Ger witz: for IE base see WISE1]1. Obs. the mind2. [pl.]a) powers of thinking and reasoning; intellectual and perceptive powersb) mental faculties with respect to their state of balance, esp. in their normal condition of sanity3. alert, practical intelligence; good sense4.a) the ability to make lively, clever remarks in a sharp, amusing wayb) the ability to perceive incongruous relationships and express them in a surprising or epigrammatic mannerc) a person characterized by witd) writing or speech expressing wit; esp., any clever disparagement or raillery5. Archaic intellect; reason——————at one's wits' endat a point where one's mental resources are exhausted; at a loss as to what to do——————keep one's wits about one or have one's wits about oneto remain mentally alert; function with undiminished acumen, as in an emergency——————live by one's witsto live by trickery or craftinessSYN.- WIT1 refers to the ability to perceive the incongruous and to express it in quick, sharp, spontaneous, often sarcastic remarks that delight or entertain; HUMOR is applied to the ability to perceive and express that which is comical, ludicrous, or ridiculous, but connotes kindliness, geniality, sometimes even pathos, in the expression and a reaction of sympathetic amusement from the audience; IRONY1 refers to the humor implicit in the contradiction between literal expression and intended meaning or in the discrepancy between appearance and reality in life; SATIRE applies to the use, especially in literature, of ridicule, sarcasm, irony, etc. in exposing and attacking vices or follies; REPARTEE refers to the ability to reply or retort with quick, skillful wit or humorwit2 [wit]vt., vi.wist, witting [ME witen < OE witan, to know: see WISE1]Archaic to know or learn: wit is conjugated in the present indicative: (I) wot, (thou) wost or wot ( t) est, (he, she, it) wot or wot ( t) eth, (we, ye, they) wite or witen——————to witthat is to say; namely
English World dictionary. V. Neufeldt. 2014.
