wiht

See also: Wiht

Middle High German

Etymology

Inherited from Old High German wiht.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (before 13^th CE) /ˈwixt/

Noun

wiht m or n

1. living being
   1. human, person
   2. animal
   3. goblin, kobold, demon
2. thing
   1. (especially) something small or insignificant
3. wick

Declension

Declension of wiht (strong masculine with umlaut)

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	dër	wiht	die	wihte
genitive	eines	dës	wihtes	dër	wihte
dative	eime	dëm	wihte	dën	wihten
accusative	einen	dën	wiht	die	wihte

Declension of wiht (strong neuter with plural in -er)

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	daȥ	wiht	diu	wihter
genitive	eines	dës	wihtes	dër	wihter
dative	eime	dëm	wihte	dën	wihtern
accusative	ein	daȥ	wiht	diu	wihter

Derived terms

• iht
• niht
• bœsewiht

Descendants

• German: Wicht

References

• “wiht” in Mittelhochdeutsches Handwörterbuch, Matthias von Lexer, 3 vols., Leipzig 1872–1878.
• Benecke, Georg Friedrich; Müller, Wilhelm; Zarncke, Friedrich (1863), “wiht”, in Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch: mit Benutzung des Nachlasses von Benecke, Stuttgart: S. Hirzel.
• Köbler, Gerhard (2014), “wiht (1)”, in Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch‎^[1] (in German), 3rd edition

Old English

Alternative forms

• wiaht — Kentish
• wyht, wuht, uht

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wixt/, [wiçt]
• Rhymes: -ixt

Etymology 1

From a fusion of Proto-Germanic *wihtiz (feminine) and *wihtą (neuter), both meaning "thing". These words became *wihti and *wiht in West Germanic and then merged in ante-historic Old English by regular sound change.

Cognate with Old Saxon wiht (Low German Wicht), Old Dutch wiht (Dutch wicht), Old High German wiht (German Wicht), Old Norse vætr (Swedish vätte), and Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍄𐍃 (waihts) and 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍄 (waiht).

Noun

wiht f or n

1. thing
   • c. 880–950 CE, Alfred the Great [attributed], edited and translated by Walter John Sedgefield, M.A. Melb., B.A. Cantab., King Alfred’s Version of the Consolations of Boethius, Oxford: Clarendon Press, published 1899, page 148:

     God ne ēht nānre wihte, for þȳ hine nān wiht ne mæġ flēon.

     God doesn't chase anything, because nothing can run from him.

2. being, creature
   • c. 1000, The Rune Poem:

     ᚢ byþ ānmōd and oferhyrned, felafrēcne dēor, feohteþ mid hornum, mǣre mōrstapa; þæt is mōdiġ wuht.

     An aurochs is steadfast and over-horned, well-wrathful beast, fights with horns, the well-known moor-stepper. That’s a headstrong being.

Declension

Feminine: Strong i-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	wiht	wihte, wihta
accusative	wiht, wihte	wihte, wihta
genitive	wihte	wihta
dative	wihte	wihtum

Neuter: Strong a-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	wiht	wihtu
accusative	wiht	wihtu
genitive	wihtes	wihta
dative	wihte	wihtum

Derived terms

• āwiht
• nānwiht
• sǣwiht (“sea creature”)

Descendants

• Middle English: wight, wiȝt
  • English: wight, whit
  • Scots: wicht, wycht

Etymology 2

From Proto-West Germanic *wihti.

Cognate with Middle Low German wicht, Dutch wicht, gewicht, Old Norse vætt (compare also Danish vægt, Norwegian vekt); Old High German giwihti (German Gewicht).

Noun

wiht f

2. weight

Synonyms

• ġewiht (much more common)

Related terms

• wegan

Descendants

• Middle English: weght, weghte, weighte, weihte, weit, wighte
  • English: weight
  • Scots: wecht, weicht
  • Yola: waaight

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *wihti.

Cognate with Old English wiht, Dutch wicht, Old High German wiht (German Wicht), Old Norse vættr (“exceptional creature”), vætr, véttr, or vétr (Danish vætte, Swedish vätte), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍄𐍃 (waihts).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wixt/

Noun

wiht n or f

1. creature, person, thing, being

Declension

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

• Middle Low German: wicht, wucht
  • German Low German: Wicht
  • Dutch Low Saxon: wicht
    • Westphalian:

      Ravensbergisch-Lippisch: Wicht

      Sauerländisch: Weyht

      Westmünsterländisch: Wicht