English
witty
Witty comes from Old English wittiġ ‘clever, wise’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *weyd- ‘to see’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyd-‘to see’root as named
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*witagazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*witīg‘having knowledge, clever, wise’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wittiġ‘clever, wise’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500witty
- Englishearliest quotation 1603same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyd-‘to see’root as named
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*witagazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*witīg‘having knowledge, clever, wise’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wittiġ‘clever, wise’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500witty
- Englishearliest quotation 1603same form
Earliest quotation: 1603, Michel de Montaigne, The Essayes […]: “It hath beene a witty invention[…]to establish and ordaine…”
Formed from wit + -y
Proto-Indo-European *weyd- ‘to see’
…
Proto-Germanic *witją ‘knowledge’
Proto-West Germanic *witi ‘knowledge’
Old English witt ‘mind, sanity, sense, understanding’
Middle English wit ‘mind, sanity’
English wit
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *weyd- ‘to see’
story, video, guy, idea, provide, evidence, review, advice, interview, guide, visit, vision, historic, wise, visa, advise, invisible, witness, wisdom, evident, idol, historian, vista, wizard, revise, guise, visibility, prudent, steroid, tabloid, envious, wit, jurisprudence, prudence, revue, improvise, druid, vide, avis, purview, 120 more
Today it means
adj Clever; amusingly ingenious.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *weyd- / witty