Languages & Linguistics

#7: Post edited by

PSTH‭ · 2022-06-20T14:13:10Z (almost 2 years ago)

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~~How did 'to wit' shift to denote 'that is to say'?~~

How did 'to wit' shift (from "to know") 🡺 to mean 'that is to say'?

~~Unquestionably, "knowing" isn't the same concept as "saying". Thus how did 'that is to wit' shift to denote ['that is to say; namely'](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/to_wit#Etymology)?~~
>### wit
>
>Both the noun _wit_ [OE] and the verb [OE] go
back ultimately to the Indo-European base
_*woid-, *weid-, *wid-_. This originally meant
‘see’, in which sense it has given English _visible_,
_vision_, etc, but it developed metaphorically to
‘know’, and it is this sense that lies behind
English _wit_. The noun to begin with denoted
‘mind, understanding, judgement, sense’ (a
meaning preserved in expressions such as ‘keep
one’s wits about one’ and ‘slow-witted’), and the
modern sense ‘clever humorousness’ did not
begin to emerge until the 16th century. The verb
has now virtually died out, except in the
expression _to wit_. _Witness_ is etymologically the
state of ‘knowing’. Other English words that
come from the same Indo-European base or its
Germanic descendant include _guide, history,
idea, story_, and _twit_.
John Ayto, *Word Origins* (2005 2e), p 549 Left column. Below I quote Etymonline on the verb ["wit"](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=wit):
> "to know" (archaic), Old English _witan_ (past tense wast, past participle witen) "to know, beware of or conscious of, understand, observe, ascertain, learn,"
from Proto-Germanic _\*witanan_ "to have seen," hence "to know" (source also of Old Saxon _witan_, Old Norse _vita_, Old Frisian _wita_, Middle Dutch, Dutch _weten_, Old High German _wizzan_, German _wissen_, Gothic _witan_ "to know"), from PIE root [\*weid-](https://www.etymonline.com/word/*weid-) "to see."
>
>The phrase _to wit_, almost the only surviving use of the verb, is first recorded 1570s, from earlier _that is to wit_ (mid-14c.), probably a loan-translation of Anglo-French _cestasavoir_, used to render Latin _videlicet_ (see [viz.](https://www.etymonline.com/word/wit)).

Unquestionably, "wit" or "knowing" are concepts distinguishable from "saying". Thus how did 'that is to wit' shift 🢂 to denote ['that is to say; namely'](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/to_wit#Etymology)?
>### wit
>
>Both the noun _wit_ [OE] and the verb [OE] go
back ultimately to the Indo-European base
_*woid-, *weid-, *wid-_. This originally meant
‘see’, in which sense it has given English _visible_,
_vision_, etc, but it developed metaphorically to
‘know’, and it is this sense that lies behind
English _wit_. The noun to begin with denoted
‘mind, understanding, judgement, sense’ (a
meaning preserved in expressions such as ‘keep
one’s wits about one’ and ‘slow-witted’), and the
modern sense ‘clever humorousness’ did not
begin to emerge until the 16th century. The verb
has now virtually died out, except in the
expression _to wit_. _Witness_ is etymologically the
state of ‘knowing’. Other English words that
come from the same Indo-European base or its
Germanic descendant include _guide, history,
idea, story_, and _twit_.
John Ayto, *Word Origins* (2005 2e), p 549 Left column. Below I quote Etymonline on the verb ["wit"](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=wit):
> "to know" (archaic), Old English _witan_ (past tense wast, past participle witen) "to know, beware of or conscious of, understand, observe, ascertain, learn,"
from Proto-Germanic _\*witanan_ "to have seen," hence "to know" (source also of Old Saxon _witan_, Old Norse _vita_, Old Frisian _wita_, Middle Dutch, Dutch _weten_, Old High German _wizzan_, German _wissen_, Gothic _witan_ "to know"), from PIE root [\*weid-](https://www.etymonline.com/word/*weid-) "to see."
>
>The phrase _to wit_, almost the only surviving use of the verb, is first recorded 1570s, from earlier _that is to wit_ (mid-14c.), probably a loan-translation of Anglo-French _cestasavoir_, used to render Latin _videlicet_ (see [viz.](https://www.etymonline.com/word/wit)).

#6: Post edited by

PSTH‭ · 2021-11-13T07:01:57Z (over 2 years ago)

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Unquestionably, "knowing" isn't the same concept as "saying". Thus how did 'that is to wit' shift to denote ['that is to say; namely'](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/to_wit#Etymology)?
>### wit
>Both the noun _wit_ [OE] and the verb [OE] go
back ultimately to the Indo-European base
_*woid-, *weid-, *wid-_. This originally meant
‘see’, in which sense it has given English _visible_,
_vision_, etc, but it developed metaphorically to
‘know’, and it is this sense that lies behind
English _wit_. The noun to begin with denoted
‘mind, understanding, judgement, sense’ (a
meaning preserved in expressions such as ‘keep
one’s wits about one’ and ‘slow-witted’), and the
modern sense ‘clever humorousness’ did not
begin to emerge until the 16th century. The verb
has now virtually died out, except in the
expression _to wit_. _Witness_ is etymologically the
state of ‘knowing’. Other English words that
come from the same Indo-European base or its
Germanic descendant include _guide, history,
idea, story_, and _twit_.
John Ayto, *Word Origins* (2005 2e), p 549 Left column. Below I quote Etymonline on the verb ["wit"](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=wit):
> "to know" (archaic), Old English _witan_ (past tense wast, past participle witen) "to know, beware of or conscious of, understand, observe, ascertain, learn,"
from Proto-Germanic _\*witanan_ "to have seen," hence "to know" (source also of Old Saxon _witan_, Old Norse _vita_, Old Frisian _wita_, Middle Dutch, Dutch _weten_, Old High German _wizzan_, German _wissen_, Gothic _witan_ "to know"), from PIE root [\*weid-](https://www.etymonline.com/word/*weid-) "to see."
>The phrase _to wit_, almost the only surviving use of the verb, is first recorded 1570s, from earlier _that is to wit_ (mid-14c.), probably a loan-translation of Anglo-French _cestasavoir_, used to render Latin _videlicet_ (see [viz.](https://www.etymonline.com/word/wit)).

Unquestionably, "knowing" isn't the same concept as "saying". Thus how did 'that is to wit' shift to denote ['that is to say; namely'](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/to_wit#Etymology)?
>### wit
>
>Both the noun _wit_ [OE] and the verb [OE] go
back ultimately to the Indo-European base
_*woid-, *weid-, *wid-_. This originally meant
‘see’, in which sense it has given English _visible_,
_vision_, etc, but it developed metaphorically to
‘know’, and it is this sense that lies behind
English _wit_. The noun to begin with denoted
‘mind, understanding, judgement, sense’ (a
meaning preserved in expressions such as ‘keep
one’s wits about one’ and ‘slow-witted’), and the
modern sense ‘clever humorousness’ did not
begin to emerge until the 16th century. The verb
has now virtually died out, except in the
expression _to wit_. _Witness_ is etymologically the
state of ‘knowing’. Other English words that
come from the same Indo-European base or its
Germanic descendant include _guide, history,
idea, story_, and _twit_.
John Ayto, *Word Origins* (2005 2e), p 549 Left column. Below I quote Etymonline on the verb ["wit"](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=wit):
> "to know" (archaic), Old English _witan_ (past tense wast, past participle witen) "to know, beware of or conscious of, understand, observe, ascertain, learn,"
from Proto-Germanic _\*witanan_ "to have seen," hence "to know" (source also of Old Saxon _witan_, Old Norse _vita_, Old Frisian _wita_, Middle Dutch, Dutch _weten_, Old High German _wizzan_, German _wissen_, Gothic _witan_ "to know"), from PIE root [\*weid-](https://www.etymonline.com/word/*weid-) "to see."
>
>The phrase _to wit_, almost the only surviving use of the verb, is first recorded 1570s, from earlier _that is to wit_ (mid-14c.), probably a loan-translation of Anglo-French _cestasavoir_, used to render Latin _videlicet_ (see [viz.](https://www.etymonline.com/word/wit)).

#5: Post edited by

PSTH‭ · 2021-06-16T06:55:06Z (almost 3 years ago)

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Unquestionably, "knowing" isn't the same concept as "saying". Thus how did 'that is to wit' shift to denote ['that is to say; namely'](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/to_wit#Etymology)?
>### wit
>Both the noun _wit_ [OE] and the verb [OE] go
back ultimately to the Indo-European base
_*woid-, *weid-, *wid-_. This originally meant
‘see’, in which sense it has given English _visible_,
_vision_, etc, but it developed metaphorically to
‘know’, and it is this sense that lies behind
English _wit_. The noun to begin with denoted
‘mind, understanding, judgement, sense’ (a
meaning preserved in expressions such as ‘keep
one’s wits about one’ and ‘slow-witted’), and the
modern sense ‘clever humorousness’ did not
begin to emerge until the 16th century. The verb
has now virtually died out, except in the
expression _to wit_. _Witness_ is etymologically the
state of ‘knowing’. Other English words that
come from the same Indo-European base or its
Germanic descendant include _guide, history,
idea, story_, and _twit_.
John Ayto, *Word Origins* (2005 2e), p 549 Left column. Below I quote Etymonline on the verb ["wit"](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=wit):
> "to know" (archaic), Old English _witan_ (past tense wast, past participle witen) "to know, beware of or conscious of, understand, observe, ascertain, learn,"
from Proto-Germanic _\*witanan_ "to have seen," hence "to know" (source also of Old Saxon _witan_, Old Norse _vita_, Old Frisian _wita_, Middle Dutch, Dutch _weten_, Old High German _wizzan_, German _wissen_, Gothic _witan_ "to know"), from PIE root [\*weid-](https://www.etymonline.com/word/*weid-) "to see."
>The phrase _to wit_, almost the only surviving use of the verb, is first recorded 1570s, from earlier _that is to wit _(mid-14c.), probably a loan-translation of Anglo-French _cestasavoir_, used to render Latin _videlicet_ (see [viz.](https://www.etymonline.com/word/wit)).

Unquestionably, "knowing" isn't the same concept as "saying". Thus how did 'that is to wit' shift to denote ['that is to say; namely'](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/to_wit#Etymology)?
>### wit
>Both the noun _wit_ [OE] and the verb [OE] go
back ultimately to the Indo-European base
_*woid-, *weid-, *wid-_. This originally meant
‘see’, in which sense it has given English _visible_,
_vision_, etc, but it developed metaphorically to
‘know’, and it is this sense that lies behind
English _wit_. The noun to begin with denoted
‘mind, understanding, judgement, sense’ (a
meaning preserved in expressions such as ‘keep
one’s wits about one’ and ‘slow-witted’), and the
modern sense ‘clever humorousness’ did not
begin to emerge until the 16th century. The verb
has now virtually died out, except in the
expression _to wit_. _Witness_ is etymologically the
state of ‘knowing’. Other English words that
come from the same Indo-European base or its
Germanic descendant include _guide, history,
idea, story_, and _twit_.
John Ayto, *Word Origins* (2005 2e), p 549 Left column. Below I quote Etymonline on the verb ["wit"](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=wit):
> "to know" (archaic), Old English _witan_ (past tense wast, past participle witen) "to know, beware of or conscious of, understand, observe, ascertain, learn,"
from Proto-Germanic _\*witanan_ "to have seen," hence "to know" (source also of Old Saxon _witan_, Old Norse _vita_, Old Frisian _wita_, Middle Dutch, Dutch _weten_, Old High German _wizzan_, German _wissen_, Gothic _witan_ "to know"), from PIE root [\*weid-](https://www.etymonline.com/word/*weid-) "to see."
>The phrase _to wit_, almost the only surviving use of the verb, is first recorded 1570s, from earlier _that is to wit_ (mid-14c.), probably a loan-translation of Anglo-French _cestasavoir_, used to render Latin _videlicet_ (see [viz.](https://www.etymonline.com/word/wit)).

#4: Post edited by

PSTH‭ · 2021-05-27T07:02:54Z (almost 3 years ago)

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~~How did '[that is] to wit' shift to denote 'that is to say'?~~

How did 'to wit' shift to denote 'that is to say'?

~~Unquestionably, "knowing" isn't the same concept as "saying". Thus how did 'to wit' shift to denote ['that is to say; namely'](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/to_wit#Etymology)?~~
>### wit
>Both the noun _wit_ [OE] and the verb [OE] go
back ultimately to the Indo-European base
_*woid-, *weid-, *wid-_. This originally meant
‘see’, in which sense it has given English _visible_,
_vision_, etc, but it developed metaphorically to
‘know’, and it is this sense that lies behind
English _wit_. The noun to begin with denoted
‘mind, understanding, judgement, sense’ (a
meaning preserved in expressions such as ‘keep
one’s wits about one’ and ‘slow-witted’), and the
modern sense ‘clever humorousness’ did not
begin to emerge until the 16th century. The verb
has now virtually died out, except in the
expression _to wit_. _Witness_ is etymologically the
state of ‘knowing’. Other English words that
come from the same Indo-European base or its
Germanic descendant include _guide, history,
idea, story_, and _twit_.
John Ayto, *Word Origins* (2005 2e), p 549 Left column. Below I quote Etymonline on the verb ["wit"](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=wit):
> "to know" (archaic), Old English _witan_ (past tense wast, past participle witen) "to know, beware of or conscious of, understand, observe, ascertain, learn,"
from Proto-Germanic _\*witanan_ "to have seen," hence "to know" (source also of Old Saxon _witan_, Old Norse _vita_, Old Frisian _wita_, Middle Dutch, Dutch _weten_, Old High German _wizzan_, German _wissen_, Gothic _witan_ "to know"), from PIE root [\*weid-](https://www.etymonline.com/word/*weid-) "to see."
>The phrase _to wit_, almost the only surviving use of the verb, is first recorded 1570s, from earlier _that is to wit _(mid-14c.), probably a loan-translation of Anglo-French _cestasavoir_, used to render Latin _videlicet_ (see [viz.](https://www.etymonline.com/word/wit)).

Unquestionably, "knowing" isn't the same concept as "saying". Thus how did 'that is to wit' shift to denote ['that is to say; namely'](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/to_wit#Etymology)?
>### wit
>Both the noun _wit_ [OE] and the verb [OE] go
back ultimately to the Indo-European base
_*woid-, *weid-, *wid-_. This originally meant
‘see’, in which sense it has given English _visible_,
_vision_, etc, but it developed metaphorically to
‘know’, and it is this sense that lies behind
English _wit_. The noun to begin with denoted
‘mind, understanding, judgement, sense’ (a
meaning preserved in expressions such as ‘keep
one’s wits about one’ and ‘slow-witted’), and the
modern sense ‘clever humorousness’ did not
begin to emerge until the 16th century. The verb
has now virtually died out, except in the
expression _to wit_. _Witness_ is etymologically the
state of ‘knowing’. Other English words that
come from the same Indo-European base or its
Germanic descendant include _guide, history,
idea, story_, and _twit_.
John Ayto, *Word Origins* (2005 2e), p 549 Left column. Below I quote Etymonline on the verb ["wit"](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=wit):
> "to know" (archaic), Old English _witan_ (past tense wast, past participle witen) "to know, beware of or conscious of, understand, observe, ascertain, learn,"
from Proto-Germanic _\*witanan_ "to have seen," hence "to know" (source also of Old Saxon _witan_, Old Norse _vita_, Old Frisian _wita_, Middle Dutch, Dutch _weten_, Old High German _wizzan_, German _wissen_, Gothic _witan_ "to know"), from PIE root [\*weid-](https://www.etymonline.com/word/*weid-) "to see."
>The phrase _to wit_, almost the only surviving use of the verb, is first recorded 1570s, from earlier _that is to wit _(mid-14c.), probably a loan-translation of Anglo-French _cestasavoir_, used to render Latin _videlicet_ (see [viz.](https://www.etymonline.com/word/wit)).

#3: Post edited by

PSTH‭ · 2021-05-27T07:01:48Z (almost 3 years ago)

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~~Unquestionably, "knowing" isn't the same concept as "saying". Thus how did 'to wit' shift to denote~~
>### wit
>Both the noun _wit_ [OE] and the verb [OE] go
back ultimately to the Indo-European base
_*woid-, *weid-, *wid-_. This originally meant
‘see’, in which sense it has given English _visible_,
_vision_, etc, but it developed metaphorically to
‘know’, and it is this sense that lies behind
English _wit_. The noun to begin with denoted
‘mind, understanding, judgement, sense’ (a
meaning preserved in expressions such as ‘keep
one’s wits about one’ and ‘slow-witted’), and the
modern sense ‘clever humorousness’ did not
begin to emerge until the 16th century. The verb
has now virtually died out, except in the
expression _to wit_. _Witness_ is etymologically the
state of ‘knowing’. Other English words that
come from the same Indo-European base or its
Germanic descendant include _guide, history,
idea, story_, and _twit_.
John Ayto, *Word Origins* (2005 2e), p 549 Left column. Below I quote Etymonline on the verb ["wit"](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=wit):
> "to know" (archaic), Old English _witan_ (past tense wast, past participle witen) "to know, beware of or conscious of, understand, observe, ascertain, learn,"
from Proto-Germanic _\*witanan_ "to have seen," hence "to know" (source also of Old Saxon _witan_, Old Norse _vita_, Old Frisian _wita_, Middle Dutch, Dutch _weten_, Old High German _wizzan_, German _wissen_, Gothic _witan_ "to know"), from PIE root [\*weid-](https://www.etymonline.com/word/*weid-) "to see."
>The phrase _to wit_, almost the only surviving use of the verb, is first recorded 1570s, from earlier _that is to wit _(mid-14c.), probably a loan-translation of Anglo-French _cestasavoir_, used to render Latin _videlicet_ (see [viz.](https://www.etymonline.com/word/wit)).

Unquestionably, "knowing" isn't the same concept as "saying". Thus how did 'to wit' shift to denote ['that is to say; namely'](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/to_wit#Etymology)?
>### wit
>Both the noun _wit_ [OE] and the verb [OE] go
back ultimately to the Indo-European base
_*woid-, *weid-, *wid-_. This originally meant
‘see’, in which sense it has given English _visible_,
_vision_, etc, but it developed metaphorically to
‘know’, and it is this sense that lies behind
English _wit_. The noun to begin with denoted
‘mind, understanding, judgement, sense’ (a
meaning preserved in expressions such as ‘keep
one’s wits about one’ and ‘slow-witted’), and the
modern sense ‘clever humorousness’ did not
begin to emerge until the 16th century. The verb
has now virtually died out, except in the
expression _to wit_. _Witness_ is etymologically the
state of ‘knowing’. Other English words that
come from the same Indo-European base or its
Germanic descendant include _guide, history,
idea, story_, and _twit_.
John Ayto, *Word Origins* (2005 2e), p 549 Left column. Below I quote Etymonline on the verb ["wit"](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=wit):
> "to know" (archaic), Old English _witan_ (past tense wast, past participle witen) "to know, beware of or conscious of, understand, observe, ascertain, learn,"
from Proto-Germanic _\*witanan_ "to have seen," hence "to know" (source also of Old Saxon _witan_, Old Norse _vita_, Old Frisian _wita_, Middle Dutch, Dutch _weten_, Old High German _wizzan_, German _wissen_, Gothic _witan_ "to know"), from PIE root [\*weid-](https://www.etymonline.com/word/*weid-) "to see."
>The phrase _to wit_, almost the only surviving use of the verb, is first recorded 1570s, from earlier _that is to wit _(mid-14c.), probably a loan-translation of Anglo-French _cestasavoir_, used to render Latin _videlicet_ (see [viz.](https://www.etymonline.com/word/wit)).

#2: Post edited by

PSTH‭ · 2021-05-27T07:00:46Z (almost 3 years ago)

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Unquestionably, "knowing" isn't the same concept as "saying". Thus how did 'to wit' shift to denote
~~>###wit~~
>Both the noun _wit_ [OE] and the verb [OE] go
back ultimately to the Indo-European base
_*woid-, *weid-, *wid-_. This originally meant
‘see’, in which sense it has given English _visible_,
_vision_, etc, but it developed metaphorically to
‘know’, and it is this sense that lies behind
English _wit_. The noun to begin with denoted
‘mind, understanding, judgement, sense’ (a
meaning preserved in expressions such as ‘keep
one’s wits about one’ and ‘slow-witted’), and the
modern sense ‘clever humorousness’ did not
begin to emerge until the 16th century. The verb
has now virtually died out, except in the
expression _to wit_. _Witness_ is etymologically the
state of ‘knowing’. Other English words that
come from the same Indo-European base or its
Germanic descendant include _guide, history,
idea, story_, and _twit_.
~~John Ayto, *Word Origins* (2005 2e), p 549 Left column.~~
~~I quote Etymonline on the verb ["wit"](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=wit):~~
> "to know" (archaic), Old English _witan_ (past tense wast, past participle witen) "to know, beware of or conscious of, understand, observe, ascertain, learn,"
from Proto-Germanic _\*witanan_ "to have seen," hence "to know" (source also of Old Saxon _witan_, Old Norse _vita_, Old Frisian _wita_, Middle Dutch, Dutch _weten_, Old High German _wizzan_, German _wissen_, Gothic _witan_ "to know"), from PIE root [\*weid-](https://www.etymonline.com/word/*weid-) "to see."
>The phrase _to wit_, almost the only surviving use of the verb, is first recorded 1570s, from earlier _that is to wit _(mid-14c.), probably a loan-translation of Anglo-French _cestasavoir_, used to render Latin _videlicet_ (see [viz.](https://www.etymonline.com/word/wit)).

Unquestionably, "knowing" isn't the same concept as "saying". Thus how did 'to wit' shift to denote
>### wit
>Both the noun _wit_ [OE] and the verb [OE] go
back ultimately to the Indo-European base
_*woid-, *weid-, *wid-_. This originally meant
‘see’, in which sense it has given English _visible_,
_vision_, etc, but it developed metaphorically to
‘know’, and it is this sense that lies behind
English _wit_. The noun to begin with denoted
‘mind, understanding, judgement, sense’ (a
meaning preserved in expressions such as ‘keep
one’s wits about one’ and ‘slow-witted’), and the
modern sense ‘clever humorousness’ did not
begin to emerge until the 16th century. The verb
has now virtually died out, except in the
expression _to wit_. _Witness_ is etymologically the
state of ‘knowing’. Other English words that
come from the same Indo-European base or its
Germanic descendant include _guide, history,
idea, story_, and _twit_.
John Ayto, *Word Origins* (2005 2e), p 549 Left column. Below I quote Etymonline on the verb ["wit"](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=wit):
> "to know" (archaic), Old English _witan_ (past tense wast, past participle witen) "to know, beware of or conscious of, understand, observe, ascertain, learn,"
from Proto-Germanic _\*witanan_ "to have seen," hence "to know" (source also of Old Saxon _witan_, Old Norse _vita_, Old Frisian _wita_, Middle Dutch, Dutch _weten_, Old High German _wizzan_, German _wissen_, Gothic _witan_ "to know"), from PIE root [\*weid-](https://www.etymonline.com/word/*weid-) "to see."
>The phrase _to wit_, almost the only surviving use of the verb, is first recorded 1570s, from earlier _that is to wit _(mid-14c.), probably a loan-translation of Anglo-French _cestasavoir_, used to render Latin _videlicet_ (see [viz.](https://www.etymonline.com/word/wit)).

#1: Initial revision by

PSTH‭ · 2021-05-27T06:58:58Z (almost 3 years ago)

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How did '[that is] to wit' shift to denote 'that is to say'?

Unquestionably, "knowing" isn't the same concept as "saying". Thus how did 'to wit' shift to denote 

>###wit 

>Both the noun _wit_ [OE] and the verb [OE] go
back ultimately to the Indo-European base
_*woid-, *weid-, *wid-_. This originally meant
‘see’, in which sense it has given English _visible_,
_vision_, etc, but it developed metaphorically to
‘know’, and it is this sense that lies behind
English _wit_. The noun to begin with denoted
‘mind, understanding, judgement, sense’ (a
meaning preserved in expressions such as ‘keep
one’s wits about one’ and ‘slow-witted’), and the
modern sense ‘clever humorousness’ did not
begin to emerge until the 16th century. The verb
has now virtually died out, except in the
expression _to wit_. _Witness_ is etymologically the
state of ‘knowing’. Other English words that
come from the same Indo-European base or its
Germanic descendant include _guide, history,
idea, story_, and _twit_.

John Ayto, *Word Origins* (2005 2e), p 549 Left column.


I quote Etymonline on the verb ["wit"](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=wit):

> "to know" (archaic), Old English _witan_ (past tense wast, past participle witen) "to know, beware of or conscious of, understand, observe, ascertain, learn,"       
from Proto-Germanic _\*witanan_ "to have seen," hence "to know" (source also of Old Saxon _witan_, Old Norse _vita_, Old Frisian _wita_, Middle Dutch, Dutch _weten_, Old High German _wizzan_, German _wissen_, Gothic _witan_ "to know"), from PIE root [\*weid-](https://www.etymonline.com/word/*weid-) "to see." 

>The phrase _to wit_, almost the only surviving use of the verb, is first recorded 1570s, from earlier _that is to wit _(mid-14c.), probably a loan-translation of Anglo-French _cestasavoir_, used to render Latin _videlicet_ (see [viz.](https://www.etymonline.com/word/wit)).

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