wight

/waɪt/

//waɪt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"wight" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“wight” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #21,706. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#21,706
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
18
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A living creature, especially a human being.

Corpus desk

Index EN-wight · wight · English

wight · rank #21,706 · 8 variants · 18 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #21,706
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 18 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH watercolor

Nearest frequency peer: watercolor (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “wight”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “wight” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

wight vs wit
60% similar
wight vs with
60% similar
wight vs wish
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for wight
PropertyValue
Headwordwight
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/waɪt/
Letters5
Frequency rank#21,706
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs18
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “wight”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).wightlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “watercolor” (#21,705), “warcraft” (#21,704), “WTO” (#21,709). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “wight” is #21,706. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around wight (IPA /waɪt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #21,706 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for wight, with forms such as "iwght", "wgiht", and "wigght". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 18 confusable-pair relationships, "wit", "with", "wish", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English wight, wiȝt, from Old English wiht (“thing, creature”), from Proto-West Germanic *wihti, from Proto-Germanic *wihtiz (“thing, creature”, literally “being”), from Proto-Indo-European *wekti- (“cause, sake, thing”), from *wekʷ- (“to say, t… The correct English form is wight, spelled W-I-G-H-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A living creature, especially a human being.
  2. 2
    A supernatural being, often used in compounds such as the land-vættr which guard the land, especially the four guardians of Iceland.
  3. 3
    A ghost, deity or other supernatural entity.
  4. 4
    A wraith-like creature.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how wight appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. O bace gongarian wight, wilt thou the ſpicket willd?
  2. Oh ſay me true if thou wert mortal wight And why from us ſo quickly thou didſt take thy flight.

Etymology

From Middle English wight, wiȝt, from Old English wiht (“thing, creature”), from Proto-West Germanic *wihti, from Proto-Germanic *wihtiz (“thing, creature”, literally “being”), from Proto-Indo-European *wekti- (“cause, sake, thing”), from *wekʷ- (“to say, tell”). Cognate with Scots wicht (“creature, being, human”), Dutch wicht (“child, baby, girl”), German Low German Wicht (“girl; wight”), German Wicht (“wretch, wight, little creature, scoundrel”), Danish vætte (“underground creature, gnome”), Norwegian Bokmål vette (“underground creature, gnome”), Swedish vätte (“underground creature, gnome”), Icelandic vættur (“imp, elf”). Doublet of whit.

This word in other languages

ente(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • iwght
  • wgiht
  • wigght
  • wighht
  • wightt
  • wigth
  • wihgt
  • wwight

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of wight - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

iwght2wgiht2wigght1wighht1wightt1wigth2wihgt2wwight1
Edit distance from "wight"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "wight"?
"wight" is spelled W-I-G-H-T. The IPA pronunciation is /waɪt/.
What does "wight" mean?
As a noun, "wight" means: A living creature, especially a human being.
What words are commonly confused with "wight"?
"wight" is commonly confused with "wit", "with", "wish". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "wight"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wight" is /waɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "wight"?
From Middle English wight, wiȝt, from Old English wiht (“thing, creature”), from Proto-West Germanic *wihti, from Proto-Germanic *wihtiz (“thing, creature”, literally “being”), from Proto-Indo-European *wekti- (“cause, sake, thing”), from *wekʷ- (... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "wight", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

valor#21,695triad#21,685bathe#21,729taker#21,677

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

UNICEF8 variantsbrodie8 variantschases8 variantsSloane8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list