Wit (?), v. t. & i. [inf. (To) Wit; pres. sing.Wot; pl.Wite; imp.Wist(e); p. p.Wist; p. pr. & vb. n.Wit(t)ing. See the Note below.] [OE. witen, pres. ich wot, wat, I know (wot), imp. wiste, AS. witan, pres. wāt, imp. wiste, wisse; akin to OFries. wita, OS. witan, D. weten, G. wissen, OHG. wizzan, Icel. vita, Sw. veta, Dan. vide, Goth. witan to observe, wait I know, Russ. vidiete to see, L. videre, Gr. �, Skr. vid to know, learn; cf. Skr. vid to find. ����. Cf. History, Idea, Idol, -oid, Twit, Veda, Vision, Wise, a. & n., Wot.] To know; to learn. “I wot and wist alway.” Chaucer.
☞ The present tense was inflected as follows; sing. 1st pers. wot; 2d pers. wost, or wot(t)est; 3d pers. wot, or wot(t)eth; pl. witen, or wite. The following variant forms also occur; pres. sing. 1st & 3d pers. wat, woot; pres. pl. wyten, or wyte, weete, wote, wot; imp. wuste (Southern dialect); p. pr. wotting. Later, other variant or corrupt forms are found, as, in Shakespeare, 3d pers. sing. pres. wots.
Brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. 2 Cor. viii. 1.
Thou wost full little what thou meanest. Chaucer.
We witen not what thing we prayen here. Chaucer.
When that the sooth in wist. Chaucer.
☞ This verb is now used only in the infinitive, to wit, which is employed, especially in legal language, to call attention to a particular thing, or to a more particular specification of what has preceded, and is equivalent to namely, that is to say.