I. ˈwīt, usu -īd.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English wight, wiht creature, thing, from Old English wiht; akin to Old High German wiht creature, thing, Old Norse vættr creature, being, Gothic waihts thing, Old Slavic ves̆tĭ
1. : a living being : creature , man
no patriarch he … but a withered, anxious, crabbed wight — Compton Mackenzie
yonder a maid and her wight — Thomas Hardy
one of those benighted wights — Normal Cousins
any luckless wight … who gets his wife in bad with her boss — G.W.Johnson
2. archaic : a preternatural being (as a fairy or witch)
protection against uncouth wights — William Morris
II. adjective
Etymology: Middle English wight, wiht, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse vīgr skilled in fighting, in fighting condition (neuter vīgt ), vīg fight — more at victor
1. archaic : valiant , stalwart
2. dialect
a. : strong
b. : swift
III. adverb
or wight·ly
Etymology: wight from Middle English, from wight, wiht strong, swift; wightly from Middle English, from wight, wiht strong, swift + -ly
dialect
1. : strongly
2. : swiftly