English word origin

Etymology of wot

From Middle English woten, from Old English weotan. An extension of the present-tense form of wit (verb) to apply to all forms.

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

verb

To know (a fact).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English woten, from Old English weotan. An extension of the present-tense form of wit (verb) to apply to all forms.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionwotenenm
Inherited-form mentionwitanang

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "woten"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English woten"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "witan",
        "4": "weotan"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English weotan"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "woten",
      "woten#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "weotan",
      "witan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "wit",
      "wit#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To know (a fact)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic"
      ],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

verb

first-person singular present indicative of wit · third-person singular simple present indicative of wit

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From wit, in return from Old English witan.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Derivation mentionwitanang

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "witan"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English witan"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "wit",
      "wit#English"
    ],
    [
      "witan",
      "witan#Old_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "first-person singular present indicative of wit",
        "third-person singular simple present indicative of wit"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "first-person",
        "form-of",
        "indicative",
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
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}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

pron

Eye dialect spelling of what.

intj

Eye dialect spelling of what.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Representing pronunciation.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [],
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  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "pron",
      "glosses": [
        "Eye dialect spelling of what."
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        "Eye dialect spelling of what."
      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for wot →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-d290