Etymograph

English

wit

Wit comes from Middle English wit ‘mind, sanity’, from Proto-West Germanic *witi ‘knowledge’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- ‘to see’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyd-1‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wóyde1‘to know’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*witaną1‘to know’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*witją1‘knowledge’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*witi1‘knowledge’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150witt1‘mind, sanity, sense, understanding’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wit1‘mind, sanity’
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588wit1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English wit
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “Wel, wel (Meander) thou art deepely read: And hauing…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyd-Wiktionary, English wit‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wóydeWiktionary, English wit‘to know’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*witanąWiktionary, English wit‘to know’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*witjąWiktionary, English wit‘knowledge’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*witiWiktionary, English wit‘knowledge’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150wittWiktionary, English wit‘mind, sanity, sense, understanding’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500witWiktionary, English wit‘mind, sanity’
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588witWiktionary, English wit. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “Wel, wel (Meander) thou art deepely read: And hauing…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *weyd- ‘to see’

story, video, guy, idea, provide, evidence, review, advice, interview, guide, visit, vision, historic, visa, advise, invisible, wise, evident, wisdom, idol, witness, historian, vista, wizard, visibility, revise, guise, prudent, steroid, tabloid, envious, jurisprudence, prudence, revue, improvise, druid, vide, avis, purview, witty, 118 more

through Proto-Germanic *witaną ‘to know’

weet, 3 more

Another origin of wit

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyd-‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wóyde‘to know’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*witaną‘to know’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*witan‘to know’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150witan‘to know, be aware of’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500witen‘to know’
  7. Englishtodaywit

Today it means

noun Sanity.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “wit”. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *weyd- / wit

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