mother witn.

Brit.

/ˈmʌðə ˌwɪt/, U.S.

/ˈməðər ˈwɪt/

Forms: see mother n.¹ and wit n.

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: mother n.¹, wit n.

Etymology: < mother n.¹ + wit n. Probably originally a genitive compound with unmarked first element. Compare slightly earlier mother's wit n. (see quot. c1475¹ at sense 1).

1. A person's native or natural wit; common sense. Formerly also: †shrewd mind or intelligence (obsolete).For the proverb an ounce of mother wit is worth a pound of clergy: see ounce n.¹ 1c.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > understanding > reason, faculty of reasoning > common sense > [noun]

witc1175

sensea1382

conscience1449

mother witc1475

common wit1517

common sense1536

philosophy1557

good sense?1562

sconce1567

mother-sense1603

ingenuity1651

bonsense1681

rumgumption1686

nous1706

gumption?1719

rummlegumption1751

savvy1785

horse sense1832

kokum1848

sabe1872

common1899

marbles1902

gump1920

loaf1925

c1475 J. Capgrave Life St. Katherine (Rawl.) (1893) v. 1710 W^t sorcery & myschauns þ^u hast turned hem Þei coude neuyr resort on-to her modyr wytte.

c1475 (c1450) P. Idley Instr. to his Son (Cambr.) (1935) ii. B. 1336 (MED) If he..vse subtilitees to begile, whiche true men lothis; All this, they sey, cometh of a verri modir wytt.

1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes i, in Wks. (1557) 153/2 One speciall thynge, without which all lernynge is halfe lame. What is that quod he. Mary quod I, a good mother wyt.

1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. x. sig. K For all that nature by her mother wit Could frame in earth,..Was there.

1640 R. Brathwait Ar't Asleepe Husband? 305 Likewise their pregnancy of conceipt, an infallible argument of a Mother-wit.

1697 J. Sergeant Solid Philos. 428 Such Forms of Reasoning were, certainly, never intended..for Men of good Mother-Wits.

a1713 A. Pitcairne Assembly (1722) iv. iii. 74 He has just as much Mother wit as fits him to be a Provost of a Town.

1760 C. Johnstone Chrysal I. ii. xiv. 238 Well supplied with what is called mother-wit.

1860 R. W. Emerson Worship in Conduct of Life (London ed.) 189 The cure for false theology is motherwit.

1885 J. Martineau Types Ethical Theory I. 49 The domain of accidental judgment and mother-wit.

1912 Internat. Jrnl. Ethics 22 242 The mother-wit of the people knows that prices are not cheap which produce ten-ply millionaires.

1931 Jrnl. Philos. 28 172 These facts would in time be analyzed satisfactorily by pure mother wit, even without the help of the new logic he had hoped to provide.

1954 L. Armstrong Satchmo x. 159 But with my good sense and mother-wit..that's all I've needed through life.

1978 J. Updike Coup (1979) v. 191 This woman has spit upon you, and you don't have the mother wit to wipe your fucking face.

1996 Daily Tel. 2 Oct. 21/6 Though he claimed never to have read a book, he was highly intelligent and full of mother wit.

†2. Perhaps: a person who possesses mother wit. Obsolete. rare.

ΚΠ

1590 C. Marlowe Tamburlaine: 1st Pt. Prol. sig. A3 From iygging vaines of riming mother wits.

Derivatives

ˈmother-witted adj. having or displaying mother wit (rare).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > understanding > reason, faculty of reasoning > common sense > [adjective]

wittyc1380

perceivedc1425

sensible?a1439

sober-minded1534

staida1555

sonsy1568

mother-witted1593

unfoolish1603

capable1609

sober1619

hard-headed1779

commonsensical1792

sensical1795

sober-minded1811

common-sensible1813

savvy1826

common sensed1834

level1869

level-headed1879

square-headed1896

1593 T. Nashe Christs Teares 67 Discontent,..if [it light] on a man of puissance, (be he not more then mother-witted circumspect,) to him and his family it is no lesse fatall.

1991 N. Baker U & I vii. 137 Updike..can be..as metaphorically mother-witted as Proust.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	mother wit
释义	mother witn. Brit. /ˈmʌðə ˌwɪt/, U.S. /ˈməðər ˈwɪt/ Forms: see mother n.¹ and wit n. Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: mother n.¹, wit n. Etymology: < mother n.¹ + wit n. Probably originally a genitive compound with unmarked first element. Compare slightly earlier mother's wit n. (see quot. c1475¹ at sense 1). 1. A person's native or natural wit; common sense. Formerly also: †shrewd mind or intelligence (obsolete).For the proverb an ounce of mother wit is worth a pound of clergy: see ounce n.¹ 1c. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > understanding > reason, faculty of reasoning > common sense > [noun] witc1175 sensea1382 conscience1449 mother witc1475 common wit1517 common sense1536 philosophy1557 good sense?1562 sconce1567 mother-sense1603 ingenuity1651 bonsense1681 rumgumption1686 nous1706 gumption?1719 rummlegumption1751 savvy1785 horse sense1832 kokum1848 sabe1872 common1899 marbles1902 gump1920 loaf1925 c1475 J. Capgrave Life St. Katherine (Rawl.) (1893) v. 1710 W^t sorcery & myschauns þ^u hast turned hem Þei coude neuyr resort on-to her modyr wytte. c1475 (c1450) P. Idley Instr. to his Son (Cambr.) (1935) ii. B. 1336 (MED) If he..vse subtilitees to begile, whiche true men lothis; All this, they sey, cometh of a verri modir wytt. 1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes i, in Wks. (1557) 153/2 One speciall thynge, without which all lernynge is halfe lame. What is that quod he. Mary quod I, a good mother wyt. 1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. x. sig. K For all that nature by her mother wit Could frame in earth,..Was there. View more context for this quotation 1640 R. Brathwait Ar't Asleepe Husband? 305 Likewise their pregnancy of conceipt, an infallible argument of a Mother-wit. 1697 J. Sergeant Solid Philos. 428 Such Forms of Reasoning were, certainly, never intended..for Men of good Mother-Wits. a1713 A. Pitcairne Assembly (1722) iv. iii. 74 He has just as much Mother wit as fits him to be a Provost of a Town. 1760 C. Johnstone Chrysal I. ii. xiv. 238 Well supplied with what is called mother-wit. 1860 R. W. Emerson Worship in Conduct of Life (London ed.) 189 The cure for false theology is motherwit. 1885 J. Martineau Types Ethical Theory I. 49 The domain of accidental judgment and mother-wit. 1912 Internat. Jrnl. Ethics 22 242 The mother-wit of the people knows that prices are not cheap which produce ten-ply millionaires. 1931 Jrnl. Philos. 28 172 These facts would in time be analyzed satisfactorily by pure mother wit, even without the help of the new logic he had hoped to provide. 1954 L. Armstrong Satchmo x. 159 But with my good sense and mother-wit..that's all I've needed through life. 1978 J. Updike Coup (1979) v. 191 This woman has spit upon you, and you don't have the mother wit to wipe your fucking face. 1996 Daily Tel. 2 Oct. 21/6 Though he claimed never to have read a book, he was highly intelligent and full of mother wit. †2. Perhaps: a person who possesses mother wit. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ 1590 C. Marlowe Tamburlaine: 1st Pt. Prol. sig. A3 From iygging vaines of riming mother wits. Derivatives ˈmother-witted adj. having or displaying mother wit (rare). ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > understanding > reason, faculty of reasoning > common sense > [adjective] wittyc1380 perceivedc1425 sensible?a1439 sober-minded1534 staida1555 sonsy1568 mother-witted1593 unfoolish1603 capable1609 sober1619 hard-headed1779 commonsensical1792 sensical1795 sober-minded1811 common-sensible1813 savvy1826 common sensed1834 level1869 level-headed1879 square-headed1896 1593 T. Nashe Christs Teares 67 Discontent,..if [it light] on a man of puissance, (be he not more then mother-witted circumspect,) to him and his family it is no lesse fatall. 1991 N. Baker U & I vii. 137 Updike..can be..as metaphorically mother-witted as Proust. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.c1475
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