Wight Meaning

/waɪt/
B2

Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

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nounA living creature, especially a human being.

nounA supernatural being, often used in compounds such as the land-vættr which guard the land, especially the four guardians of Iceland.

The Isle of Wight is a small and peaceful island off the south coast.
In old stories, a wight is a strange and frightening living creature.
The Isle of Wight is located off the south coast.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
During the dark wizard's ritual, a ghostly ____ appeared from the underworld to serve him.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The Isle of ____ is a beautiful island off the south coast of England that is famous for its music festivals today.

From Middle English wight, wiȝt, from Old English wiht (“thing, creature”), from Proto-West Germanic *wihti, from Proto-Germanic *wihtiz (“thing, creature”, literally “being”), from Proto-Indo-European *wekti- (“cause, sake, thing”), from *wekʷ- (“to say, tell”). Cognate with Scots wicht (“creature, being, human”), Dutch wicht (“child, baby, girl”), German Low German Wicht (“girl; wight”), German Wicht (“wretch, wight, little creature, scoundrel”), Danish vætte (“underground creature, gnome”), Norwegian Bokmål vette (“underground creature, gnome”), Swedish vätte (“underground creature, gnome”), Icelandic vættur (“imp, elf”). Doublet of whit.

"O bace gongarian wight, wilt thou the ſpicket willd?" — c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, […] [T]he Merrie Wiues of Windsor. […] (First Quarto), London: […] T[homas] C[reede] for Arthur Ihonson, […], published 1602, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], signature B, verso:
"Oh ſay me true if thou wert mortal wight And why from us ſo quickly thou didſt take thy flight." — 1624 (date written), John Milton, “On the Death of a Fair Infant Dying of a Cough”, in Poems, &c. upon Several Occasions, London: […] Tho[mas] Dring […], published 1673, →OCLC, stanza VI, page 19:
"But woe betide the wandering wight, / That treads its circle in the night." — 1808 February 22, Walter Scott, “Canto Third. The Hostel, or Inn.”, in Marmion; a Tale of Flodden Field, Edinburgh: […] J[ames] Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Company, […]; London: William Miller, and John Murray, →OCLC, stanza XXV, page 157:
"In this by-place of nature there abode, in a remote period of American history, that is to say, some thirty years since, a worthy wight of the name of Ichabod Crane, who sojourned, or, as he expressed it, "tarried," in Sleepy Hollow, for the purpose of instructing the children of the vicinity." — 1820 March 5, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., number VI, New York, N.Y.: […] C[ornelius] S. Van Winkle, […], →OCLC, page 57:
"Some gamesome wights will tell you that they have to plant weeds there, they don’t grow naturally; [...]" — 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Nantucket”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 69:

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CEFR Practice Quiz
During the dark wizard's ritual, a ghostly ____ appeared from the underworld to serve him.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The Isle of ____ is a beautiful island off the south coast of England that is famous for its music festivals today.

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