witty
/ˈwɪti/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.56 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Quick of mind; insightful; in possession of wits.
adj
Possessing a strong intellect or intellectual capacity; intelligent, skilful, ingenious.
Archaic
name
A surname.
Example Sentences
- "His speech was both witty and informative."
- "His frequent quips mark him as particularly witty."
- "She may have grown older, but she has grown no less witty."
- "It hath beene a witty invention[…]to establish and ordaine certaine vaine and worthles markes, therewith to honor and recompence vertue[…]."
Etymology
From Middle English witty, witti, from Old English wittiġ, witiġ, ġewittiġ (“clever, wise”), from Proto-West Germanic *witīg, *witag, from Proto-Germanic *witagaz, *wītagaz (“knowing, wise, clever”), equivalent to wit + -y. Cognate with Middle Low German wittich, gewittich (“knowing, clever, wise, understanding”), German witzig (“funny, witty”), Norwegian Bokmål vettig, Norwegian Nynorsk vittig (“witty”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *weyd-, witty, wittiġ, *witīg, *witagaz
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈwɪti/
- British English: /ˈwɪti/