"witwanton" meaning in English

See witwanton in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Forms: witwantons [plural]
Etymology: From wit + wanton. Etymology templates: {{compound|en|wit|wanton}} wit + wanton Head templates: {{en-noun}} witwanton (plural witwantons)
  1. (archaic) One who indulges in idle, foolish, and irreverent fancies or speculations; one who tries to be cleverly amusing but falls short. Tags: archaic
    Sense id: en-witwanton-en-noun-IUStoJOR Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 65 35
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: wit-wanton

Verb

Forms: witwantons [present, singular, third-person], witwantoning [participle, present], witwantoned [participle, past], witwantoned [past]
Etymology: From wit + wanton. Etymology templates: {{compound|en|wit|wanton}} wit + wanton Head templates: {{en-verb}} witwanton (third-person singular simple present witwantons, present participle witwantoning, simple past and past participle witwantoned)
  1. (archaic) To indulge in vain, sportive, or irreverent wit; speculate idly or irreverently. Tags: archaic
    Sense id: en-witwanton-en-verb-7Xh64vYi
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: wit-wanton

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for witwanton meaning in English (4.3kB)

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  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "wit",
        "3": "wanton"
      },
      "expansion": "wit + wanton",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From wit + wanton.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "witwantons",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "witwanton (plural witwantons)",
      "name": "en-noun"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "65 35",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1613, Josuah Sylvester, Lachrymae Lachrymarum",
          "text": "All epicures, witwantons, atheists.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1655, Thomas Fuller, “4, A.D. 1611--1619”, in The Church History of Britain from the Birth of Jesus Christ until the Year MDCXLVIII, Book 10",
          "text": "And how dangerous it is for wit-wanton men to dance with their nice distinctions, on such mystical precipices, where slips in jest may cause deadly downfalls in earnest, …",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1855, Thomas Carlyle, Fraser's magazine, Volume 52, Digitized edition, published 2005, page 345",
          "text": "Word-warriors and wit-wantons would waste their breath upon one whose book-hunger has won him so rich a meed, ...",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1986, David Grambs, Dimboxes, epopts, and other quidams",
          "text": "The witwanton is always a little off in trying to be always GETTING MENTAL.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2003, Robert M. Jarvis, Amicus Humoriae: An Anthology of Legal Humor, Carolina Academic Press, page 97",
          "text": "WITWANTON: One who tries to be cleverly amusing, but misses the mark.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "One who indulges in idle, foolish, and irreverent fancies or speculations; one who tries to be cleverly amusing but falls short."
      ],
      "id": "en-witwanton-en-noun-IUStoJOR",
      "links": [
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(archaic) One who indulges in idle, foolish, and irreverent fancies or speculations; one who tries to be cleverly amusing but falls short."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "wit-wanton"
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  ],
  "word": "witwanton"
}

{
  "etymology_templates": [
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      "args": {
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        "3": "wanton"
      },
      "expansion": "wit + wanton",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From wit + wanton.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "witwantons",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "witwantoning",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
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    },
    {
      "form": "witwantoned",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "witwantoned",
      "tags": [
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  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
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      "name": "en-verb"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1834, William Chambers, Robert Chambers, Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, Digitized edition, W. Orr, published 2007, page 32",
          "text": "… a citizen in Cheapside was executed as a traitor for saying he would make his son heir to the crown, though he only meant his own house, having a crown for the sign, more dangerous it is to wit-wanton it with the Majesty of God.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1839, Rober Southey, The poetical works of Robert Southey, Digitized edition, D. Appleton, published 2008, page 88",
          "text": "Wit-wanton it with lewd barbarity, …",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1922, James Joyce, Ulysses, HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2008",
          "text": "And Master Lynch bade him have a care to flout and witwanton as the god self was angered for his hellprate and paganry.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1922, E. R. Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros, The Project Gutenberg, Australia",
          "text": "Nor I will not suffer mine indignation so to witwanton with fair justice as persuade me to put the wite on Witchland.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To indulge in vain, sportive, or irreverent wit; speculate idly or irreverently."
      ],
      "id": "en-witwanton-en-verb-7Xh64vYi",
      "links": [
        [
          "wit",
          "wit"
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(archaic) To indulge in vain, sportive, or irreverent wit; speculate idly or irreverently."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "wit-wanton"
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  ],
  "word": "witwanton"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English compound terms",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English verbs"
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  "etymology_templates": [
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      "args": {
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  ],
  "etymology_text": "From wit + wanton.",
  "forms": [
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      "form": "witwantons",
      "tags": [
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      "expansion": "witwanton (plural witwantons)",
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  "senses": [
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        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1613, Josuah Sylvester, Lachrymae Lachrymarum",
          "text": "All epicures, witwantons, atheists.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1655, Thomas Fuller, “4, A.D. 1611--1619”, in The Church History of Britain from the Birth of Jesus Christ until the Year MDCXLVIII, Book 10",
          "text": "And how dangerous it is for wit-wanton men to dance with their nice distinctions, on such mystical precipices, where slips in jest may cause deadly downfalls in earnest, …",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1855, Thomas Carlyle, Fraser's magazine, Volume 52, Digitized edition, published 2005, page 345",
          "text": "Word-warriors and wit-wantons would waste their breath upon one whose book-hunger has won him so rich a meed, ...",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1986, David Grambs, Dimboxes, epopts, and other quidams",
          "text": "The witwanton is always a little off in trying to be always GETTING MENTAL.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2003, Robert M. Jarvis, Amicus Humoriae: An Anthology of Legal Humor, Carolina Academic Press, page 97",
          "text": "WITWANTON: One who tries to be cleverly amusing, but misses the mark.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "One who indulges in idle, foolish, and irreverent fancies or speculations; one who tries to be cleverly amusing but falls short."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "speculation",
          "speculation"
        ]
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        "(archaic) One who indulges in idle, foolish, and irreverent fancies or speculations; one who tries to be cleverly amusing but falls short."
      ],
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        "archaic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "wit-wanton"
    }
  ],
  "word": "witwanton"
}

{
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    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English verbs"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "wit",
        "3": "wanton"
      },
      "expansion": "wit + wanton",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From wit + wanton.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "witwantons",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "witwantoning",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "witwantoned",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "witwantoned",
      "tags": [
        "past"
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    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "witwanton (third-person singular simple present witwantons, present participle witwantoning, simple past and past participle witwantoned)",
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with archaic senses",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1834, William Chambers, Robert Chambers, Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, Digitized edition, W. Orr, published 2007, page 32",
          "text": "… a citizen in Cheapside was executed as a traitor for saying he would make his son heir to the crown, though he only meant his own house, having a crown for the sign, more dangerous it is to wit-wanton it with the Majesty of God.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1839, Rober Southey, The poetical works of Robert Southey, Digitized edition, D. Appleton, published 2008, page 88",
          "text": "Wit-wanton it with lewd barbarity, …",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1922, James Joyce, Ulysses, HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2008",
          "text": "And Master Lynch bade him have a care to flout and witwanton as the god self was angered for his hellprate and paganry.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1922, E. R. Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros, The Project Gutenberg, Australia",
          "text": "Nor I will not suffer mine indignation so to witwanton with fair justice as persuade me to put the wite on Witchland.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To indulge in vain, sportive, or irreverent wit; speculate idly or irreverently."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "wit",
          "wit"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(archaic) To indulge in vain, sportive, or irreverent wit; speculate idly or irreverently."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "wit-wanton"
    }
  ],
  "word": "witwanton"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). 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.