Where does “outwit” come from?
Outwit comes from English wit, which derives from Proto-Indo-European wī-, meaning to separate or divide, the same root underlying the verb to know.
outwit (English): To get the better of; to outsmart, to beat in a...
Definitions
- To get the better of; to outsmart, to beat in a...
Ancestry of “outwit”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Wit | Sanity |
| 2 | English | with | Against; In the company of; alongside, close to;... |
| 3 | Middle English | wiþ | with |
| 4 | Old English | wiþ | against, opposite; along, towards; with |
| 5 | Old English | wiþer | toward, against; again, against; against, in... |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | wiþr | toward, against |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | wiþrą | toward, against |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wī-tero- | further apart |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | wi | apart, asunder; away from, against |