wit
$ \mathrm{wit}^1 |wit|
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noun
1. mental sharpness and inventiveness; keen intelligence:
〖具体例では可算〗機知, ウイット, とんち
e.g. he does not lack perception or native wit.
(wits) the intelligence required for normal activity; basic human intelligence:
〖～s〗 賢明さ, 知恵, 思考力, 聡明さ(連語quick, sharp, dry, ready)
e.g. he needed all his wits to figure out the way back.
2. a natural aptitude for using words and ideas in a quick and inventive way to create humor:
e.g. a player with a sharp tongue and a quick wit.
a person who has an aptitude for using words and ideas in a quick and inventive way:
機知に富んだ人, ウイットのある人; 才人, 才子.
e.g. she is such a wit.
PHRASES
be at one's wits' end
be overwhelmed with difficulties and at a loss as to what to do next.
be frightened out of one's wits (or be scared out of one's wits)
be extremely frightened; be immobilized by fear.
gather one's wits (or collect one's wits)
allow oneself to think calmly and clearly in a demanding situation.
have one's wits about one (or keep one's wits about one)
be constantly alert and vigilant.
live by one's wits
earn money by clever and sometimes dishonest means, having no regular employment.
pit one's wits against
compete with (someone or something).
DERIVATIVES
witted adjective
in combination : slow-witted
ORIGIN
Old English wit(t), gewit(t), denoting the mind as the seat of consciousness, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch weet and German Witz, also to wit2.
$ \mathrm{wit}^2 |wit|
verb (wot |wät| , witting; past and past participle wist |wist| ) no object
1. archaic have knowledge:
e.g. I addressed a few words to the lady you wot of
e.g. with object : I wot that but too well.
2. (to wit) that is to say (used to make clearer or more specific something already said or referred to):
｟やや古/かたく｠ すなわち.
e.g. the textbooks show an irritating parochialism, to wit an almost total exclusion of papers not in English.
ORIGIN
Old English witan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch weten and German wissen, from an Indo-European root shared by Sanskrit veda ‘knowledge’ and Latin videre ‘see’.