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to wit

 - 4 dictionary results

wit

2  [wit]
Use to wit in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object), present singular 1st person wot, 2nd wost, 3rd wot, present plural wit or wite; past and past participle wist; present participle wit⋅ting.
1. Archaic. to know.
—Idiom
2. to wit, that is to say; namely: It was the time of the vernal equinox, to wit, the beginning of spring.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME witen, OE witan; c. D weten, G wissen, ON vita, Goth witan to know; akin to L vidēre, Gk ideîn to see, Skt vidati (he) knows. See wot
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To to wit
wit 2   (wĭt)   
v.   wist (wĭst), wit·ting (wĭt'ĭng), first and third person singular present tense wot (wŏt) Archaic

v.   tr.
To be or become aware of; learn.
v.   intr.
To know.

[Middle English, from Old English witan; see weid- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

wit  (v.)
"know," O.E. witan "to know," from P.Gmc. *witanan "to have seen," hence "to know" (cf. O.S. witan, O.N. vita, O.Fris. wita, M.Du., Du. weten, O.H.G. wizzan, Ger. wissen, Goth. witan "to know"); see wit (n.). The phrase to wit, almost the only surviving use of the verb, is first recorded 1577, from earlier that is to wit (1340), probably a loan-translation of Anglo-Fr. cestasavoir, used to render L. videlicet (see viz.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

to wit

That is to say, namely, as in There are three good reasons for not going, to wit, we don't want to, we don't have to, and we can't get a reservation. This expression comes from the now archaic verb to wit, meaning "know or be aware of," not heard except in this usage. [Late 1500s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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