English
light-witted
Light-witted comes from Middle English light-witted.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500light-witted
- Englishearliest quotation 1569same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500light-witted
- Englishearliest quotation 1569same form
Earliest quotation: 1569, Richard Grafton, Henrye the Sixt: “When the Maior of the Citie, the two Dukes,…”
A compound of light ‘the radiation which allows for vision by…’ + witted ‘having intelligence or understanding’
Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘light’
Proto-Indo-European *lewktom
Proto-Germanic *leuhtą ‘light’
Proto-West Germanic *leuht ‘light’
Old English lēoht ‘light, daylight’
Middle English light ‘the radiation which allows for vision by brightening objects and colours’
Every English word from Middle English light-witted
Today it means
adj Having a feeble or weak intellect.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English light-witted / light-witted