"Whit" meaning in English

See Whit in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proper name

Forms: the Whit [canonical]
Etymology: Shortening of the surname of Dick Whittington, London mayor who funded the rebuilding of the prison. Head templates: {{en-prop|head=the Whit}} the Whit
  1. (originally thieves' cant, now archaic or historical) Newgate Prison in London, England (particularly as it was in the 15- and 1600s). Tags: archaic, historical
    Sense id: en-Whit-en-name-J40a1zS~ Categories (other): English Thieves' Cant
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 2

Noun

Forms: Whits [plural]
Head templates: {{en-noun}} Whit (plural Whits)
  1. Whitsunday. Wikidata QID: Q3446130 Synonyms: Pentecost, Whitsun
    Sense id: en-Whit-en-noun-en:Q3446130 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 2 entries, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 19 46 35 Disambiguation of Pages with 2 entries: 16 60 25 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 16 60 24
  2. The season of Whitsuntide. Synonyms: Pentecost, Whitsun, Whitsuntide
    Sense id: en-Whit-en-noun-en:holiday_that_begins_on_Q3446130 Categories (other): Calendar Disambiguation of Calendar: 20 31 49
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: Whit Monday, Whit Saturday, Whit Sunday, Whitsun, Whitsunday
Etymology number: 1

Inflected forms

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "52 48",
      "word": "Whit Monday"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "52 48",
      "word": "Whit Saturday"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "52 48",
      "word": "Whit Sunday"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "52 48",
      "word": "Whitsun"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "52 48",
      "word": "Whitsunday"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Whits",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Whit (plural Whits)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "19 46 35",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "16 60 25",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 2 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "16 60 24",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Holonyms: Pentecost, Whitsun, Whitsuntide, Whit (season)"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Whitsunday."
      ],
      "id": "en-Whit-en-noun-en:Q3446130",
      "senseid": [
        "en:Q3446130"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "Pentecost"
        },
        {
          "word": "Whitsun"
        }
      ],
      "wikidata": [
        "Q3446130"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "20 31 49",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Calendar",
          "orig": "en:Calendar",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Meronyms: Pentecost, Whitsun, Whit (day)"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The season of Whitsuntide."
      ],
      "id": "en-Whit-en-noun-en:holiday_that_begins_on_Q3446130",
      "senseid": [
        "en:holiday that begins on Q3446130"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "Pentecost"
        },
        {
          "word": "Whitsun"
        },
        {
          "word": "Whitsuntide"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Whit"
}

{
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "etymology_text": "Shortening of the surname of Dick Whittington, London mayor who funded the rebuilding of the prison.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "the Whit",
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "head": "the Whit"
      },
      "expansion": "the Whit",
      "name": "en-prop"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English Thieves' Cant",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              235,
              239
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1951, Georgette Heyer, The Quiet Gentleman:",
          "text": "A Bow Street Runner says \"I knew a cove as talked the way you do – leastways, in the way of business I knew him! In fact, you remind me of him very strong […] He was on the dub-lay, and very clever with his fambles. He ended up in the Whit, o’ course.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              39,
              43
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2020 May 5, Peter Linebaugh, The London Hanged: Crime and Civil Society in the Eighteenth Century, Verso Books, →ISBN:",
          "text": "One of the strong drinks brewed in the Whit, a place as noted for the variety of its potions as the irony of its expressions, was called 'South Sea'. The gin brewed in Newgate was […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Newgate Prison in London, England (particularly as it was in the 15- and 1600s)."
      ],
      "id": "en-Whit-en-name-J40a1zS~",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(originally thieves' cant, now archaic or historical) Newgate Prison in London, England (particularly as it was in the 15- and 1600s)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "historical"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Whit"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English eponyms",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English proper nouns",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Pages with 2 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "en:Calendar"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "Whit Monday"
    },
    {
      "word": "Whit Saturday"
    },
    {
      "word": "Whit Sunday"
    },
    {
      "word": "Whitsun"
    },
    {
      "word": "Whitsunday"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Whits",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Whit (plural Whits)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Holonyms: Pentecost, Whitsun, Whitsuntide, Whit (season)"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Whitsunday."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:Q3446130"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "Pentecost"
        },
        {
          "word": "Whitsun"
        }
      ],
      "wikidata": [
        "Q3446130"
      ]
    },
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Meronyms: Pentecost, Whitsun, Whit (day)"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The season of Whitsuntide."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:holiday that begins on Q3446130"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "Pentecost"
        },
        {
          "word": "Whitsun"
        },
        {
          "word": "Whitsuntide"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Whit"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English eponyms",
    "English lemmas",
    "English proper nouns",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Pages with 2 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "en:Calendar"
  ],
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "etymology_text": "Shortening of the surname of Dick Whittington, London mayor who funded the rebuilding of the prison.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "the Whit",
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "head": "the Whit"
      },
      "expansion": "the Whit",
      "name": "en-prop"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English Thieves' Cant",
        "English terms with archaic senses",
        "English terms with historical senses",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              235,
              239
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1951, Georgette Heyer, The Quiet Gentleman:",
          "text": "A Bow Street Runner says \"I knew a cove as talked the way you do – leastways, in the way of business I knew him! In fact, you remind me of him very strong […] He was on the dub-lay, and very clever with his fambles. He ended up in the Whit, o’ course.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              39,
              43
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2020 May 5, Peter Linebaugh, The London Hanged: Crime and Civil Society in the Eighteenth Century, Verso Books, →ISBN:",
          "text": "One of the strong drinks brewed in the Whit, a place as noted for the variety of its potions as the irony of its expressions, was called 'South Sea'. The gin brewed in Newgate was […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Newgate Prison in London, England (particularly as it was in the 15- and 1600s)."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(originally thieves' cant, now archaic or historical) Newgate Prison in London, England (particularly as it was in the 15- and 1600s)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "historical"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Whit"
}

Download raw JSONL data for Whit meaning in English (2.9kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-02-08 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-02-01 using wiktextract (f492ef9 and 9905b1f). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.