wite

¹

Or wyte

[wahyt]

noun

1. (in Anglo-Saxon law)

   1. a fine imposed by a king or lord on a subject who committed a serious crime.

   2. a fee demanded for granting a special privilege.

2. Chiefly Scot.,  responsibility for a crime, fault, or misfortune; blame.

verb (used with object)

wited, witing 

1. Chiefly Scot.,  to blame for; declare guilty of.

wite

²

[wahyt]

verb

1. a present plural of wit.

Word History and Origins

Origin of wite¹

before 900; (noun) Middle English, Old English wīte penalty; cognate with Old High German wīzi, Old Norse vīti; (v.) Middle English witen, Old English wītan to blame

Example Sentences

Such naturalistic imagery is of a piece with the Middle English poetry this work invokes, as in the opening lines of its first poem, which finds the speaker browsing clothes at a shopping mall and navigating its women’s bathroom: “thees wite skirtes / & orang sweters / i wont / inn the feedynge marte / wile mye vegetable partes bloome / inn the commen waye / a grackel inn the guarden rooste / the tall wymon wasching handes.”

From New York Times

“And even if I could wite, I couldn’t wead them later!”

From New York Times

“When I was 5, I couldn’t wead, I couldn’t wite,” Nate said, mimicking his own early rhotacism.

From New York Times

Washington Post journalist Dan Zak also shared a video of a peaceful park, captioning it "Washington, D.C., is simply out of control," just days after the violent protests that harassed Republican National Convention attendees outside the Wite House.

From Fox News

Someone also spray-painted “wite pride” on the side of Hubert Roberts’ Chevy Silverado in Vienna Township.

From Seattle Times