arch. Forms: 1–5 wiht, 1, 3–5 wyht, (1 wuht), 3 (Orm.) wihht, (wipt, wid), 3–4 whit, wiȝt(e, 4 wyȝt, wyghte, whiȝt, whyȝte, whyt, (wiȝth, wijȝt, wieth, wihct, with, weiht, weith), 4–6 wyght, wighte, wite, Sc. wycht, (8 arch.) wicht, 5 whyȝt, whiht, whyht, wyt, (whith, wyth(e, wythte), 5–6 wyte, (5–7 weight, 6 white, Sc. weycht), 4– wight. [OE. wiht m., f., n. = OS. wiht m. thing, pl. demons (MLG. wicht m., n. thing, being, creature, demon, LG. wicht n. girl, MDu., Du. wicht little child), OHG., MHG. wiht m., n. creature, being, thing, esp. of elves and dwarfs, (G. wicht m. creature, being, infant), ON. vættr, véttr, vitr f. living creature, thing (also in idiomatic uses and phr. ekki vætta, vættki, vættr not a whit, naught, not, vettugi nothing, hvatvetna anything whatever), Goth. waiht n. (only in ni … waiht nothing), waihts f. εἶδος, πρᾶγμα (ni … waihtais or waihts nothing); ulterior connections uncertain. For compounds in English see AUGHT sb.2, NAUGHT, NOUGHT, UNWIGHT.]
† 1. A living being in general; a creature. Obs.
Beowulf, 120. Wiht unhælo, grim and grædiʓ.
c. 888. Ælfred, Boeth., xvi. § 2. Nanre wuhte lichoma ne beoð þonne tederra þonne þæs monnes.
c. 1000. Sax. Leechd., I. 224. Swa lange swa ðu hy mid þe byrst, nan wiht yfeles þe onʓean cymeð.
c. 1200. Ormin, Ded. 273. Þatt nan wihht, nan enngell. nan mann,… Ne mihhte þurrh himm sellfenn þa Seffne godnessess shæwenn O mannkinn.
c. 1200. Moral Ode, 78 (Trin. Coll. MS.). He wot hwat þencheð and hwat doð alle quike wihte.
c. 1205. Lay., 25869. Whæt ært þu fære whit? eært þu angel? eært cnih?
a. 1250. Owl & Night., 87. Snailes mus & fule wiȝte [v.r. wihte].
13[?]. Northern Passion (1913), I. 151. A neddir rampande, a lothely wyghte.
14[?]. Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903), 43/20. God saue þis place fro alle oþer wykked wytes Boþe be dayes & be nytes!
c. 1450. St. Cuthbert (Surtees), 2416. Bestes of þe se and othir wyght.
1559. W. Cunningham, Cosmogr. Glasse, 142. Vnto man, beast & euerye liuinge wite.
1586. B. Young, trans. Guazzo’s Civ. Conv., IV. 177. Man is the onelie white whereat infinit … infortunes doe ayme at.
1587. Golding, De Mornay, ii. 15. We reduce … All men vnder the terme of Wight; all wights vnder the terme of liuing things.
b. orig. and chiefly with (good or bad) epithet, applied to supernatural, preternatural or unearthly beings. Obs. or rare arch.
In the 17th c. esp. of the four beasts of the Apocalypse.
c. 950. Lindisf. Gosp., Mark vi. 49. Phantasma, yfel wiht.
971. Blickl. Hom., 31. Þæt manfulle wuht wolde þat he hine weorþode.
c. 1000. Prayer, iv. 57 (Gr.). Ʒeluʓon hy him æt þam ʓeleafan, forþon hy longe sculon Werʓe wihta wræce þrowian.
c. 1100. Gloss., in Wr.-Wülcker, 108/23. Satiri, uel fauni,… uel fauni ficarii, unfæle men, wudewasan, unfæle wihtu.
c. 1200. Moral Ode, 285 (Trin. Coll. MS.). Þat beð ateliche fiend and Eiseliche wihten Þo sulle þe wreche sowle isien þe sineȝeden þurh sihte.
1297. R. Glouc. (Rolls), 2750. Þer beþ in þe eyr an hey… As a maner gostes, wiȝtes as it be.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Miller’s T., 293. I crouche thee from Elues and fro wightes.
c. 1400. Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton, 1483), I. iii. 4. The angel vpon my right syde and the fowle wyght vppon the other syde.
1610. Holland, Camden’s Brit., I. 13. The gods above And heavenly wights.
a. 1638. Mede, Wks. (1672), 92. The Wights, the Elders, and every creature in Heaven.
1679. C. Nesse, Antichrist, 196. Those 4 living wights and 24 elders.
1826. E. Irving, Babylon, II. VI. 124. Those four wights upon the white, red, black, and pale horses.
1830. Scott, Demonol., v. 147. That these were the good wights (fairies) dwelling in the court of Elfland.
1894. Morris, Wood beyond World, xxx. 230. Dwell not our friends there, and our protection against uncouth wights, and mere evil things in guileful shapes?
c. A local name for the shrew-mouse.
1795. Statist. Acc. Scot., XIV. 317. A small species of mice, commonly called here [sc. Orkney] wights.
2. A human being, man or woman, person. Now arch. or dial. (often implying some contempt or commiseration).
c. 1200. Ormin, 1761. Unnseȝȝenndlike mare inoh Þann aniȝ wihht maȝȝ þennkenn.
a. 1275. Prov. Ælfred, 633. Wel worþe þe wid, Þad þe first taite.
c. 1300. K. Horn, 397 (Laud). Of þat fayre wihcte Al þe halle gan licte.
13[?]. Gaw. & Gr. Knt., 1792. ‘Þat is a worde,’ quod þat wyȝt, ‘þat worst is of alle.’
1340–70. Alex. & Dind., 39. Neuere werrede we wiþ wiȝth up-on erþe.
1362. Langl., P. Pl., A. IX. 4. Ȝif any wiȝt wiste, where do-wel was at Inne.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Prol., 71. He neuere yet no vileynye ne sayde In al his lyf vn to no maner wight.
c. 1425. Cast. Persev., 978, in Macro Plays, 106. In wo & in wrake, wyckyd wytis schal wepe.
c. 1470. Henry, Wallace, XI. 395. Gret syn it war yon saikless wicht to sla.
1500–20. Dunbar, Poems, lxxv. 17. I nevir wowit weycht bot ȝow.
1550. Crowley, Last Trumpet, 614. Thou learned man, do not disdayne, To learne at me, a symple wyght.
1567. Turberv., Epit., etc., 34. Away shee went a wofull wretched Wight.
1579. Spenser, Sheph. Cal., April, 57. Of fayre Elisa be your siluer song, that blessed wight.
1604. Shaks., Oth., II. i. 159. She was a wight, (if euer such wightes were) … To suckle Fooles, and chronicle small Beere.
1609. Holland, Amm. Marcell., 361. The heavenly gift of God granted unto blessed and happie weights.
1667. Milton, P. L., II. 613. And of it self the water flies All taste of living wight, as once it fled The lip of Tantalus.
1724. Ramsay, Vision, ii. Boreas branglit … like a drunken wicht.
1735. Pope, Prol. Sat., 165. The Wight who reads not, and but scans and spells.
1805. Scott, Last Minstrel, I. i. No living wight, save the Ladye alone, Had dared to cross the threshold stone.
1867. Jean Ingelow, Dreams that came true, xxiv. She is a broken-down, poor, friendless wight.
1869. Tozer, Highl. Turkey, II. 308. The unlucky wight … is doomed to speedy death.
b. Applied to a thing personified. rare. arch.
c. 1399. Chaucer, Purse, 1. To yow, my purse, and to noon other wight Complayn I, for ye be my lady dere.
1579. Lyly, Euphues (Arb.), 77. Canst thou then be so vnwise to swallowe the bayte which will breede thy bane?… To desire the wight that will worke thy death?
1802. Wordsw., To the Daisy, I. ii. Autumn, melancholy Wight!
1859. Kingsley, Glaucus (ed. 4), 72. His [sc. the worm’s] place has been occupied by one Sipunculus Bernhardi; a wight of low degree.
† 3. In advb. phrases, qualified by no, any (OE. æniʓ wiht, nán wiht), a little, or the like: (A certain) amount; for (any, a little, etc.) time or distance. (See WHIT sb.1 1, 2.) Obs.
c. 888. Ælfred, Boeth., xxvii. § 3. Þær hi æniʓe wuht aʓnes oððe ʓecyndelices godes an heora anwealde hæfdon.
971. Blickl. Hom., 235. Andreas, ne ʓefyrenodest þu nan wuht.
c. 1220. Bestiary, 657. [The elephant] Fikeð and fondeð al his miȝt, ne mai he it forðen no wiȝt.
a. 1225. Ancr. R., 72. Hwon ȝe nede moten speken a lutewiht.
a. 1300. St. Gregory, 703, in Herrig’s Archiv, LVII. 66. A litel wiȝt after þe none. Ibid., 1152. Ich wene on lyue nys he no wiȝt.
a. 1300. K. Horn, 503 (Camb.). He smot him a litel wiȝt & bed him beon a god kniȝt.
c. 1320. Cast. Loue, 638. Þat monnes kuynde hedde al ariht, Þat hi neore to luite ne to muche wiht.
1340–70. Alex. & Dind., 354. Þat we do wante no wite of worldliche fode.
13[?]. Seuyn Sages (W.), 293. Yif thou me lovest ani wight, Let me or him han a sight!
c. 1374. Chaucer, Boeth., III. pr. i. (1868), 63. Whan they ben resseyuyd with-inne a whyht than ben they swete. Ibid. (c. 1386), Reeve’s T., 363. She was falle aslepe a lite wight.
c. 1420. Chron. Vilod., 4701. Þo he leyde hurre doune þere to slepe a litulle whyȝt.
a. 1450. Le Morte Arth., 472. Ector ne liked that no wight.
c. 1470. Henry, Wallace, IV. 154. Thai wyst no wyt quhar that thai suld him get.
† b. A little wight (adj. phr.): a small. Obs.
c. 1205. Lay., 21991. Þer þis water wendeð, is an lutel wiht mære.
