Wit

I имя существительное 1) [преимущественно] wits разум, ум Например: to have quick (slow) wits — быть сообразительным (несообразительным) 2) остроумие Например: to display / show wit — продемонстрировать остроумие, сообразительность dry wit — сдержанный юмор keen / penetrating / rapier-like / sharp / sophisticated wit — едкий юмор, острая сатира Синоним(ы): sagacity 3) остряк Например: He sets up for a wit. — Он хочет казаться остроумным. II глагол; [прошедшее время, причастие прошедшего времени] wist; 1-ое, 3-ье лицо единственного числа настоящего времени wot; [устаревшее] ведать, знать Например: I'll find Romeo ... I wot well where he is. (W. Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet) — Я найду Ромео ... мне хорошо известно, где он находится. Например: to wit [юриспруденция] — то есть, а именно

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Wit

I. verb (wist; witting; present first and third singular wot) Etymology: Middle English witen (1st and 3d singular present wot, past wiste), from Old English witan (1st and 3d singular present wāt, past wisse, wiste); akin to Old High German wizzan to know, Latin vidēre to see, Greek eidenai to know, idein to see 1. archaic know 2. archaic to come to know; learn II. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German wizzi knowledge, Old English witan to know 1. a. mind, memory b. reasoning power; intelligence 2. a. sense 2a — usually used in plural Example: alone and warming his five wits, the white owl in the belfry sits — Alfred Tennyson b. (1) mental soundness; sanity — usually used in plural (2) mental capability and resourcefulness; ingenuity 3. a. astuteness of perception or judgment; acumen b. the ability to relate seemingly disparate things so as to illuminate or amuse c. (1) a talent for banter or persiflage (2) a witty utterance or exchange d. clever or apt humor 4. a. a person of superior intellect; thinker b. an imaginatively perceptive and articulate individual especially skilled in banter or persiflage Synonyms: wit, humor, irony, sarcasm, satire, repartee mean a mode of expression intended to arouse amusement. wit suggests the power to evoke laughter by remarks showing verbal felicity or ingenuity and swift perception especially of the incongruous Example: a playful wit. humor implies an ability to perceive the ludicrous, the comical, and the absurd in human life and to express these usually without bitterness Example: a sense of humor. irony applies to a manner of expression in which the intended meaning is the opposite of what is seemingly expressed Example: the irony of the title. sarcasm applies to expression frequently in the form of irony that is intended to cut or wound Example: given to heartless sarcasm. satire applies to writing that exposes or ridicules conduct, doctrines, or institutions either by direct criticism or more often through irony, parody, or caricature Example: a satire on the Congress. repartee implies the power of answering quickly, pointedly, or wittily Example: a dinner guest noted for repartee.

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary