Etymograph

English

bewit

Bewit comes from Old English bewitan ‘to look over, watch over, take charge of, have…’, and goes back to witan.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150witan1
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150bewitan2‘to look over, watch over, take charge of, have charge or direction of, superintend’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500biwitten2
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1527bewit2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old English bewitan
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English bewit
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1527, James Raine, John William Clay: “Al my other goodes afore not bewitted, my dettes…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150witanWiktionary, Old English bewitan
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150bewitanWiktionary, English bewit‘to look over, watch over, take charge of, have charge or direction of, superintend’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500biwittenWiktionary, English bewit
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1527bewitWiktionary, English bewit. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1527, James Raine, John William Clay: “Al my other goodes afore not bewitted, my dettes…”

Linked words

through Old English witan

wit, wot, weet, twit, 5 more

Today it means

verb To bequeath.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bewit”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old English bewitan. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Old English witan / bewit

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