Isle of Wight

noun

Wight

[wahyt]

noun

Isle of, an island off the S coast of England, forming an administrative division of Hampshire. 147 sq. mi. (381 sq. km). County seat: Newport.

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British Dictionary definitions for isle of wight

Isle of Wight

noun

See (Isle of) Wight

wight

noun

archaic a human being

Word Origin for wight

Old English wiht; related to Old Frisian āwet something, Old Norse vǣttr being, Gothic waihts thing, German Wicht small person

wight

adjective

archaic strong and brave; valiant

Word Origin for wight

C13: from Old Norse vigt; related to Old English wīg battle, Latin vincere to conquer

Wight

noun

Isle of Wight an island and county of S England in the English Channel. Administrative centre: Newport. Pop: 136 300 (2003 est). Area: 380 sq km (147 sq miles)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for isle of wight

wight

Old English wiht "living being, creature," from Proto-Germanic *wekhtiz (cf. Old Saxon wiht "thing, demon," Dutch wicht "a little child," Old High German wiht "thing, creature, demon," German Wicht "creature, infant," Old Norse vettr "thing, creature," Swedish vätte "spirit of the earth, gnome," Gothic waihts "something"). The only apparent cognate outside Germanic is Old Church Slavonic vešti "a thing." Not related to the Isle of Wight, which is from Latin Vectis (c.150), originally Celtic, possibly meaning "place of the division."