wont
/wʌnt/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.09 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Accustomed or used (to or with a thing), accustomed or apt (to do something).
verb
To be accustomed (to something), to be in the habit (of doing something).
Archaic; Intransitive verb
Example Sentences
- "He awoke at the crack of dawn, as was his wont."
- "[T]hey [Spartan youth] are by a ſudden alarum or watch-word, to be called out to their military motions, under ſky or covert, according to the ſeaſon, as was the Roman wont; […]"
- "[…]when Sindbad the Seaman had related the history of what befel him in his sixth voyage, and all the company had dispersed, Sindbad the Landsman went home and slept as of wont."
- "Such conditions, having been the common practice for years, and, existing in a less degree in some localities to the present time, afford a tangible reason for a form of correlation that is more universal than it is the wont of the profession to admit; namely, that with the laity, dentistry and "the pulling of teeth," and the dentist and "the tooth puller," are very closely related subjects […]"
- "As was also the wont of international conferences, a delegate from Pennsylvania, in this instance James Wilson, proposed the appointment of a secretary and nominated William Temple Franklin, whose selection would have been agreeable to the authorities of Pennsylvania, inasmuch as he was the grandson of its venerable chief executive."
- "With a simple-minded desire, and to rid my mind of this irrepressible urge, I retired to a corner of the room, as was my wont, but after a while I realized I couldn't jack off—proof well enough that I'd fallen in love again after twelve years!"
Etymology
From Middle English wont, from Old English ġewunod, past participle of ġewunian (“to be accustomed to, dwell”), the noun sense possibly arising via conflation of wone (“custom, habit, practice”) and the adjective wont. Compare German Low German Gewohnte (“custom, habit”), Dutch gewoonte, Swedish van. Likely related to wone, wonder, wean, and win.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *wenh₁-, wont, ġewunod, wonten
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /wʌnt/
- British English: /wʌnt/