wight

Meanings

1. A living creature, especially a human being.
2. A supernatural being, often used in compounds such as the land-vættr which guard the land, especially the four guardians of Iceland.
3. A ghost, deity or other supernatural entity.
4. A wraith-like creature.

1. Brave, valorous, strong.
2. Strong; stout; active.

1. The Isle of Wight.
2. A sea area comprising part of the English Channel, from the southern English coast down to Normandy.

1. A surname.

Etymology

From Middle English wight, wiȝt, from Old English wiht (“thing, creature”), from Proto-West Germanic *wihti, from Proto-Germanic *wihtiz (“thing, creature”, literally “being”), from Proto-Indo-European *wekti- (“cause, sake, thing”), from *wekʷ- (“to say, tell”). Cognate with Scots wicht (“creature, being, human”), Dutch wicht (“child, baby, girl”), German Low German Wicht (“girl; wight”), German Wicht (“wretch, wight, little creature, scoundrel”), Danish vætte (“underground creature, gnome”), Norwegian Bokmål vette (“underground creature, gnome”), Swedish vätte (“underground creature, gnome”), Icelandic vættur (“imp, elf”). Doublet of whit.