underwit

English

Alternative forms

  • under-wit

Etymology

From under- +‎ wit.

Pronunciation

  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

underwit (plural underwits)

  1. An underwitted person; a nitwit.
    • c. 1699-1736, Jonathan Swift, Of the Education of Ladies
      That in the mean time, her household affairs, and the care of her children, will be wholly laid aside; her toilet will be crowded with all the under-wits, where the conversation will pass in criticising on the last play or poem that comes out […]
    • 1832, Mary Russell Mitford, Lights and shadows of American life:
      "Well," said the captain, "then we must come Yankee over them, and I've notions enough here to baffle a nation of such underwits."
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