witan

English

Etymology

From Old English witan, plural of wita (“wise man”), or more literally "men of wit", "wits".

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈwɪtən/

Noun

witan (plural witans)

1. The Anglo-Saxon national council or witenagemot.

   1833, But in estimating the powers of the witan, we must not lose sight of the fact, that the king sometimes assumes a tone of superiority scarcely consistent with its independence. — SA Dunham, Europe in the Middle Ages (Green & Longman, p.48)

2. The members of such an assembly.

Anagrams

• twain

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Gothic

Romanization

witan

1. See 𐍅𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽

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Old Dutch

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *witaną, whence also Old English and Old Saxon witan, Old High German wizzan, Old Norse vita. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *woidh₂e, originally a perfect form of *weyd- (“see”).

Verb

witan

1. to know

Descendants

• Middle Dutch: weten
  • Dutch: weten

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Old English

Etymology 1

Inflected forms.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈwitɑn/

Noun

witan

1. nominative plural of wist

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *witaną, from Proto-Indo-European *woidh₂e, originally a perfect form of *weyd- (“see”). Cognate with Old Frisian wita, Old Saxon witan/wēt (Dutch weten), Old High German wizzan/weiz (German wissen), Old Norse vita/veit (Swedish veta), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (witan)/𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍄 (wait). The Indo-European root is also the source of Latin videō, Proto-Baltic *waid- (Lithuanian vadinti), Proto-Slavic *vēde- (Old Church Slavonic вѣдѣти (věděti), Russian ведать (vedat’)).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈwitɑn/

Verb

witan (preterite-present)

1. to know, be aware
2. to be wise
3. to be conscious of, to know or feel (an emotion etc.)

Conjugation

Conjugation of witan (preterite-present)

indicative	present	preterite
1st-person singular	wāt	wiste
2nd-person singular	wāst	wistest
3rd-person singular	wāt	wiste
plural	witon	wiston
subjunctive	present	preterite
singular	wite	wiste
plural	witen	wisten
imperative
singular	wite
plural	witaþ
participle	present	past
	witende	(ġe)witen

Descendants

• Middle English: witen
• English: wit, wot

Etymology 3

From Proto-Germanic *wītaną. Cognate with Old Norse víta.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /wiːtɑn/

Verb

wītan (strong class I)

1. to blame, accuse, reproach

Conjugation

Conjugation of witan (strong class I)

indicative	present	preterite
1st-person singular	wīte	wāt
2nd-person singular	wītest	wite
3rd-person singular	wīteþ	wāt
plural	wītaþ	witon
subjunctive	present	preterite
singular	wīte	wite
plural	wīten	witen
imperative
singular	wīt
plural	wītaþ
participle	present	past
	wītende	(ġe)witen

Descendants

• English: wite

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Old Saxon

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *witaną, whence also Old English and Old Dutch witan, Old Frisian wita, Old High German wizzan, Old Norse vita, Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (witan). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *woidh₂e, originally a perfect form of *weyd- (“see”).

Verb

witan

1. to know

Conjugation

Conjugation of witan

indicative	present	preterite
1st person singular	wēt	wissa
2nd person singular	wēst	wisses
3rd person singular	wēt	wissa
plural	witun	wissun
subjunctive	present	past
1st person singular	witi	wissi
2nd person singular	witis	wissis
3rd person singular	witi	wissi
plural	witin	wissin
imperative	present	—
singular	—
plural	—
participle	present	past
	witandi	(gi)witan

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *wītaną.

Verb

wītan

1. to reproach, to blame

Conjugation

Conjugation of wītan

indicative	present	preterite
1st person singular	wītu	wēt
2nd person singular	wītis	witi
3rd person singular	wītid	wēt
plural	wītad	witun
subjunctive	present	past
1st person singular	wīte	witi
2nd person singular	wītes	witis
3rd person singular	wīte	witi
plural	wīten	witin
imperative	present	—
singular	wīt
plural	wītad
participle	present	past
	wītandi	(gi)witan