sight
Contents
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English siȝht, siȝt, siht, from Old English siht, sihþ (“something seen; vision”), from Proto-Germanic *sihtiz, equivalent to see + -th. Cognate with Scots sicht, Saterland Frisian Sicht, West Frisian sicht, Dutch zicht, German Low German Sicht, German Sicht, Danish sigte, Swedish sikte.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
sight (countable and uncountable, plural sights)
- (in the singular) The ability to see.
- The act of seeing; perception of objects by the eye; view.
- to gain sight of land
- Bible, Acts i. 9
- A cloud received him out of their sight.
- Something seen.
- Something worth seeing; a spectacle.
- You really look a sight in that silly costume!
- Bible, Exodus iii. 3
- Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
- Spenser
- They never saw a sight so fair.
- A device used in aiming a projectile, through which the person aiming looks at the intended target.
- A small aperture through which objects are to be seen, and by which their direction is settled or ascertained.
- the sight of a quadrant
- Shakespeare
- their eyes of fire sparking through sights of steel
- (now colloquial) a great deal, a lot; frequently used to intensify a comparative.
- a sight of money
- This is a darn sight better than what I'm used to at home!
- Gower
- a wonder sight of flowers
- 1913, D.H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, chapter 2
- "If your mother put you in the pit at twelve, it's no reason why I should do the same with my lad."
- "Twelve! It wor a sight afore that!"
- In a drawing, picture, etc., that part of the surface, as of paper or canvas, which is within the frame or the border or margin. In a frame, the open space, the opening.
- (obsolete) The instrument of seeing; the eye.
- Shakespeare
- Why cloud they not their sights?
- Shakespeare
- Mental view; opinion; judgment.
- In their sight it was harmless.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Wake to this entry?)
- Bible, Luke xvi. 15
- That which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
Synonyms[edit]
- (ability to see): sense of sight, vision
- (something seen): view
- (aiming device): scope, peep sight
Derived terms[edit]
Terms derived from sight
Related terms[edit]
Terms related to sight
Translations[edit]
eyesight — see eyesight
something seen
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something worth seeing
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device used in aiming a firearm
Verb[edit]
sight (third-person singular simple present sights, present participle sighting, simple past and past participle sighted)
- (transitive) To register visually.
- (transitive) To get sight of (something).
-
1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 4, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
- I was on my way to the door, but all at once, through the fog in my head, I began to sight one reef that I hadn't paid any attention to afore.
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to sight land from a ship
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- (transitive) To apply sights to; to adjust the sights of; also, to give the proper elevation and direction to by means of a sight.
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to sight a rifle or a cannon
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- (transitive) To take aim at.
Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
visually register
get sight of
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take aim at
See also[edit]
Anagrams[edit]
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English colloquialisms
- English terms with obsolete senses
- Requests for quotation/Wake
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- en:Vision