witan
Americannoun
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the members of the national council or witenagemot.
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(used with a singular verb) the witenagemot.
noun
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an assembly of higher ecclesiastics and important laymen, including king's thegns, that met to counsel the king on matters such as judicial problems
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the members of this assembly
Etymology
Origin of witan
1800–10; Modern English < Old English, plural of wita one who knows, councilor; akin to wit 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A "witan" in Anglo-Saxon times was the gathering of the king's advisers.
From BBC • Nov. 23, 2013
Weid, a word meaning to see, with later connotations of wisdom and wit, entered Germanic as witan, and Old English wis to “wisdom.”
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
Opposition melted before him and on Christmas day, 1066, the Norman duke, having already been regularly elected by the witan, was crowned at London by the archbishop of York.
From A Source Book of Medi?val History Documents Illustrative of European Life and Institutions from the German Invasions to the Renaissance by Ogg, Frederic Austin
The laws were not neglected, and the indefatigable king revised the code, striking out those which availed not for the time, and adding others; the whole approved by his witan.
From A Maid at King Alfred?s Court by Madison, Lucy Foster
William alleged that his cousin had promised to make him his heir, and to recommend him to the witan as king of England.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 5 English History by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
