▪ I. † hight, n.1 Obs.
Forms: 3–4 hiht, 3–5 hiȝt (-e), 3–6 hight, (4 hit); Sc. 4–5 hicht 4–6 hecht, (5 heycht, height, heght).
[f. hight v.1: a northern form (instead of the original OE. hát, ME. hote); after 15th c. only Sc. Cf. behight n.]
1. A command, order.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 19330 (Edin.) We..ȝiu forbede þurȝ þe hiȝte of bissophede, þat ȝie in name of þat ihesu Be noȝte to preche sa bald. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints, Petrus 335 Cristis hecht for to fulfill, Þan paul to Rome com petir till. |
2. A promise; a vow.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 785 Þis hight..was ful fals and fikel. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints, Machor 1162 His hicht þat he mad to me. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 4 Aftir his hiȝt and couenaund. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. viii. xviii. 12 In þat Heycht he wes noucht lele. c 1470 Harding Chron. clxxiv. xi, He hight the Kyng..& held nothing his hight. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. III. 23 Oft syis fair hechtis makis fuillis fane. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj. 30 Ane donation is vnderstand, to be ane hecht or bair promise, rather then ane trew or effectuall gift. 1808–25 Jamieson, Hecht, heycht..this word is still used, Lothian. [1862 A. Hislop Prov. Scotl. 59 Fair hechts mak fools fain.] |
▪ II. † hight, highth, n.2 Obs.
Forms: 1 h{iacu}ᵹð, 3 hihðe, 4 hihte, (hithte), 5 hyȝt.
[OE. h{iacu}ᵹð, f. h{iacu}ᵹian to hie, with suffix -th later -t after gh; cf. height.]
Exertion, impetuosity, haste.
| c 1050 Gloss. in Zsch. für deutsches Alterth. XXXI. 14 Acutis nisibus, mid scearpum hiᵹðum. a 1225 Ancr. R. 324 Schrift schal beon on hihðe imaked. a 1225 Julianna 77 Þe reue..leup for hihðe wið lut men into a bat. a 1310 in Wright Lyric P. 110 For non hithte that he hath ne sytht me hym ner shake. c 1450 Myrc 559 Wheþer þe wordes were seyde a-ryȝt, And not turnet in þat hyȝt. |
▪ III. † hight, n.3 Obs.
Forms: 1 hyht, (hiht), 2 huht (-y-), 3 Orm. hihht, hiȝt(e.
[OE. hyht:—OTeut. *huhti- from root hug- of hycgan to think, hope. Cf. high n.1]
Hope, glad expectation; gladness, joy.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 165 Ðe bið þonne hyht and ᵹefea. c 1000 Agrs. Ps. (Th.) cxiii. 20 [cxv. 11] Hio hyht heora habban on Drihten. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 97 [He] ȝifð heom forȝifnesse and huht and heore ȝeomerinde mod iliðegað. c 1200 Ormin 3816 Hihht & hope o Drihhtin God. a 1250 Owl & Night. 272 Hit is min hiȝte, hit is mi wune. Ibid. 1101 An hadde soþþe blisse and hiȝte. |
▪ IV. hight, n.4 and a.
var. of height n. and a.
▪ V. hight, v.1 arch.
Forms: see below.
[A Com. Teut vb.; orig. reduplicated: OE. hát-an, pa. tense heht, contr. hét, pl. hehton, héton, pa. pple. háten = OFris. hêta, OS. hêtan, (MLG. hêten, MDu. heeten, heiten, Du. heeten), OHG. heiȥȥan, (MHG. heiȥen, Ger. heiszen), ON. heita (Sw. heta, Da. hede), Goth. haitan, pa. tense haihait, pl. -um, pa. ppl. haitans, to call by name, to name, call to come or do something, bid, command. Of this vb. the Old Teutonic medio-passive voice, Goth. haitada, pl. haitanda (pres. t.), remained in OE. as hátte, pl. hátton (pres. and pa. tense), being the only trace of this voice in English. In the other Teutonic langs. the passive form had been lost, or rather blended with that of the active, but the sense remained, as one of the uses of the verb, which was thus both ‘to call’ and ‘to be called’. In ME. the same fate befell the passive form, so that here also the active hoten, hight, came to be both ‘to call’ and ‘to be called’, the latter being the chief use in later times. In addition to this curious confusion, the active forms themselves suffered a remarkable series of changes, resulting finally in the entire loss of the present stem, and the substitution of that of the pa. tense. The original pres. háte and pa. pple. háten regularly became in ME. hôte, hôte(n (to c 1456), northern hāte, hāte(n. The redupl. pa. tense heht. (Goth. haihait = *hehait) gave ME. heȝt, hiht, hight; the contracted hét gave ME. hēt, heet, hete (to c 1470). Thus, the normal ME. inflexion was hote, hēt or hight, hote(n; but this was, from an early date, disturbed by the influence of ‘levelling’, and of various assumed analogies. From c 1200 the anomalous pa. tense heht often took, like the weak vbs., final -e, the loss of which, however, in 15th c., again made the form hight. About 1300, the pres. t. took (in midl. dial.) the vowel of the past, and became hete, heet(e, which survived to the 16th c. Farther north, the pres. assumed the form of the redupl. pa. tense, and became hight, hicht, hecht, still extant in Sc. in sense ‘promise’. Both forms of the pa. tense hēt and hight also passed over into the pa. pple., where hight is still a wellknown archaism. Dialectally, or by individual writers, this is extended as highted. There are various other anomalies; for which see the Forms below. The only parts of the vb. which remain in literary use are the pa. pple. hight ‘called’, and the kindred pa. tense hight ‘was called’, both conscious archaisms unknown to ordinary prose. In the dialects other forms and senses survive.]
A. Illustration of Forms.
1. Present stem. (α) 1 hát-, 2–5 hāt-, 3–5 h{ofrown}t-, (3 hoat-, 5 hoot-).
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. Pret. 3 ælfred kyning hateð gretan Wærferð biscep. Ibid. lviii. 443 Dryhten hwæt hætst ðu me don? c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xiv. 28 Hat me cuman to þe [Lindisf. G. haat meh ᵹecumæ to ðe]. c 1050 Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia (1885) VIII. 303 Þæt ᵹer þe man hæt solaris. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 15 God almihtin þe hat don þin god on-ȝein his uuel. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 201 Alle bileffulle ich hote þus waken. a 1225 Ancr. R. 186 So hat owr ueder ou. 1258 Eng. Proclam. Hen. III, I. 6 We willen and hoaten þæt alle vre treowe heom healden dead⁓liche ifcan. c 1320 R. Brunne Medit. 240 Thys y ȝow hote. 14.. Wyclif's Deut. xxiii. 23 marg., Of him that hootith, and fulfillith it not. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 249/2 Hotyn or make beheste, promitto. c 1475 Assembl. Ladies 689 Now good, tell on, I hate you, by saynt Jame. |
(β) ? 3, 4–6 hete, 5–6 heete, (? 3, 4–5 heit).
| a 1300 Cursor M. 5427 Heit [Fairf. hete] me truli, wit couenand. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 148 His help I ȝow hete. c 1386 Chaucer Man of Law's T. 236 But oon auow to grete god I heete [v.r. hete]. c 1460 Towneley Myst. (Surtees) 72 Oylle of mercy I can hym heyt. Ibid. 74 A child to bere thou me hetys, How shuld it be? 1549–62 Sternhold & H. Ps. cxix. 76 As thou to me thy seruant hetest. |
(γ) 3–4 hiht, hiȝt, 4– hight, (4 hite, hyte, 4–5 hyght, 5 hiȝte); Sc. 4– hicht, hecht, (4–5 hycht, 5–6 heght, 6 heycht).
| a 1300 Cursor M. 5431 (Cott.) Truli now i þe hight [Gött. hite]. Ibid. 24890 (Edin.) Þu sal nu hiht and vow me her. a 1340 Hampole Psalter Prol. 21 Hyghtand ioy til ryghtwismen. 1375 Barbour Bruce xii. 318, I hecht heir, in my lawte. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 5782 Here I hight amendement. c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) iii. 34 And hecht thame giftis, howbeid ȝe gif thame nocht. 1565 Golding Ovid's Met. vii. (1593) 169 And as for leach, was none that helpe could hight. 1674 Ray N.C. Words 25 To Hight (Cumb.), to promise or vow. 1789 Burns 5 Carlines xi, He wadna hecht them courtly gifts..But he wad hecht an honest heart. 1872 Blackie Lays Highl. 3 Molaise..Hights me go, and I obey. |
2. Past tense. (α) strong 1 heht, 3 hieȝt, (heitt), 4 heȝt, heycht, hiȝt, 4–5 hight; also weak 2–3 hehte, 3 hæhte, hahte, hætte, heitte, 3–4 hihte, 3–5 hiȝte, 4–5 highte, hyghte, 5 heȝte, heghte; undetermined 6– hight, (hyght), Sc. hecht, (heght).
| a 1000 Andreas 365 (Gr.) He heht englas him to cuman. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 121 Summe..hehten hine aredan. a 1200 Moral Ode 268 Al þet þe laþe gast hechte to. c 1250 Meid. Maregrete viii, E heitt hem aquelle. Ibid. lv, Olibrius heitte þe mai ut of prisun don. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 218 And hieȝt him ded he sulde ben. a 1300 Cursor M. 15660 Has þou nu al forgeten þat þou hight. c 1300 Harrow. Hell 231 That I hihte the In the old lawe, thou dudest me. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. iii. 9 As þe kyng hihte. 1375 Barbour Bruce x. 262 He his man hecht for till be. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints, Symon & Judas 122 He heycht to mend his stat. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 101 Þat he hiȝt hem graciously. c 1440 York Myst. xliv. 49 He highte vs fro harme for to hyde. c 1440 Gesta Rom. lxv. 284 Þe porter hiȝte for to do it. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 8180 Wele he hight, bot euyl did he. 1460 J. Capgrave Chron. 265 Notwithstanding that the kyng hite him this, he vas exiled. 1557 Tottell's Misc. (Arb.) 249 Hopefull youth that higth me health. 1578 Ps. li. in Scot. Poems 16th C. II. 114 Thou heght to Abraham anone, Isack his eldest son. 1793 Burns Meg o' the Mill 9 The Miller he hecht her a heart leal and loving. [1841 hight: see B. 5 b γ] |
(β) strong 1 hét, 2–4 hēt, 4–5 heet, hett; also 3 heitt, (? weak), 3 heitte, 4 hete, 4–5 hette.
| c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iii. xii. [xiv.] (1890) 194 Þæs þe hine slean het. a 1000 Cædmon's Gen. 2613 (Gr.) He het his naman Adam. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 7 Þe witeȝa het þet we sculde makien his stiȝes. c 1290 Beket 806 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 129 Heo heten him don heom sikernesse. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 275 Þre days trewe þe Inglis him hete. 13.. Guy Warw. (A.) 204 To him he cleped Gij, And him hete and comandi. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 448 Loke, Gawan, þou be grayþe to go as þou hettez. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xx. 271 Enuye..heet freres to go to scole. 1393 Ibid. C. ii. 17 He het þe elementes to helpe ȝow alle tymes. c 1430 Syr Tryam. 1043 When thou haste done that thou hett. 1460 Lybeaus Disc. 206 Kyng Artour.. Hette of the table rounde Four the beste knyghtes..Arme Lybeaus. |
(γ) erron. 6 hote.
| 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. July 164 A shepheard trewe, yet not so true, as he that earst I hote. |
3. Pa. pple. (α) 1 (ᵹe)háten, 2–3 (ȝe-, i-)haten, 3–4 haten, 4–5 hate; 2–6 (ȝe-, y-, i-)hoten, (y-, i-)hote.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. i. §1 Ða wæs sum consul..Boetius wæs haten. c 975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xxvii. 16 Monn se wæs haten barrabas [Hatt. G. ȝehaten]. 1154 O.E. Chron. an. 1132 An prior of S' Neod, Martin was ȝehaten. c 1175 Cott. Hom. 219 Heo was ȝehoten leoht berinde. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 97 He is ihate on grekisc paraclitus. c 1200 Ormin 5200 He wass hatenn Helyseow. c 1205 Lay. 3156 Þe kinge of Bruttaine þe Leir is haten. c 1250 Meid. Maregrete i, Ðe vie of one meidan was hoten Maregrete. 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 80 A lordyng of þe Romaynes, þat y hote was Galle. a 1300 K. Horn 201 Horn ihc am ihote. a 1300 Cursor M. 14503 His nam was haten caiphas. Ibid. 19465 Þat ilk þat þan was hate saul. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 61 A wiht þat wrong is I-hote. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints, Johannes 65 Þat hatine wes deme drusiane. c 1386 Chaucer Reeve's T. 21 His name was hoote [v.r. hoten] deynous Symkyn. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 55 A lord, whiche Phorceus Was hote. c 1400 Solomon's Bk. Wisd. 156 He was yhote Ionas. 1513 Douglas æneis iii. i. 25 Our friendlie goddis, Penates hait [rime estait]. a 1643 W. Cartwright Ordinary iii. i. in Hazl. Dodsley XII. 255 Aldersgate Is hoten so from one that Aldrick hight. |
(β) 3–5 hatten (-in), 4–5 hatte. Chiefly north.
[? from the passive form hatte, or shortened from hāten.]
| a 1300 Cursor M. 9545 (Cott.) Þe toþer was hatten sothfastnes. 1375 Barbour Bruce xiv. 376 Thomas of dwn hattyn wess he. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 97 Þe tour is i-cleped and hatte Babel. a 1400 Relig. Pieces fr. Thornton MS. (1867) 11 The secunde dedely synne es hattene enuy. c 1450 St. Cuthbert 6827 His name was hattyn cuthrede. |
(γ) 4 heiten, heit, hete, hett(e, 4–5 (9 dial.) het.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 1524 (Cott.) Sco was heiten [v.r. cald(e] noema. Ibid. 14783 (Gött.) Ouþer es he prophete, Or crist himself to man es hete. c 1340 Ibid. 2658 (Trin.) As I bifore haue hette [v.rr. hight, heȝt, hith] to þe. Ibid. 12820 (Trin.) Þat longe was hett [v. rr. hight, hiȝt] now comen es. c 1460 Towneley Myst. (Surtees) 39 So have I het. 1855 Waugh Lanc. Life (1857) 65 A lawm, fause owd felly, het an elder. |
(δ) ? 3, 4— hight, (4 heȝt, hiht, hith, hite, 4–5 hiȝt, -e, hyȝt, yhight, yhyȝt, ihight, 4–6 hyght, 5 height, Sc. 4— hicht, hecht, 7 heght).
| a 1300 Cursor M. 1276 (Cott.) Þe oile me was hight [v.rr. heȝt, het]o merci. Ibid. 2590 (Gött.) As it was hite bifor þas dais. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 107 [God] has hight him yit þar to Þe blise of heven. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus v. 540 O hous of housses, whilom best yhight! c 1386 ― Frankl. T. 595 Wel ye woot what ye han hight [v.rr. hyȝt, hiȝt, hiht]. a 1400 Pistill of Susan 14 He hed a wif hiȝt Susan. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 449, I sall hald that I haue hecht. 1513 Douglas æneis i. i. 19 Thair was ane anciant ciete hecht Cartage. 1563 in B. Googe's Eglogs etc. (Arb.) 81 Happye (Googe) he maye be hyght. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. ix. 59 An auncient booke, hight Briton moniments. a 1605 Montgomerie Flyting 451 Wee haue heght to Mahoun, for hand⁓sell, this hair. 1664 Butler Hud. ii. iii. 106 A cunning man, hight Sidrophel. 1812 Byron Ch. Har. i. iii, Childe Harold was he hight. 1863 Baring-Gould Iceland 116 A glen which..has been hight the Vale of Shadows. |
(ε) 4 *hehted, (hethede), 6–7 highted, Sc. 8–9 hechted.
| c 1300 Havelok 551 Hwan þe swike him hauede hethede, Þat he shulde him forth lede. 1583 Stanyhurst æneis iii. (Arb.) 77 For those plats Strophades in languadge Greekish ar highted. 1602 W. Fulbecke Pandectes 83 So Arsaces..was..highted a lawfull king. a 1833 J. Ballantyne in Whistle-Binkie (Scot. Songs) Ser. i. 33 Mony big loons hae hechted to wyle her awa. |
4. Passive: see B. 5.
B. Signification. I. trans.
† 1. To command, bid; to order, ordain. Constr. with person and thing, or pers. and inf. or clause; also with thing only, and absol. Obs.
| a 900 Charter (Th.) 47 (Bosw.) [He] heht ðæt he cuome to him. c 1000 ælfric Hom. I. 394 We dydon swa swa ðu us hete. ― Gram. xxi. (Z.) 125 Mid ðam ᵹemete we hatað oðre menn don sum ðing. Ibid., Gehwa hæt oðerne, na hyne sylfne. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 31 Þenne þe preost hine hat aȝefen þa ehte. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 211 He ne wile don þat god him het..and doð þat þe deuel het. c 1275 Lay. 31552 We beoþ icome ase þou hauest i-hote. a 1300 Vox & Wolf 36 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 59 Be stille, ich hote, a Godes nome! c 1300 Beket 2039 (Percy) We hoteþ þe ek in his half þat þu assoilli also Þe Bischop [etc.]. c 1350 Will. Palerne 1082 [He] het hem alle hiȝe þider as harde as þei miȝt. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 17 He hihte þe eorþe to seruen ow vchone. Ibid. iii. 9 Corteisliche þe Clerk þo as þe kyng hihte, Tok þe Mayden bi þe Middel. 1377 Ibid. B. ii. 218 He was..Ouer al yhowted and yhote trusse. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 411 Ȝif þe prince of þe lond hote, Briddes syngeþ wiþ mery note. 1447 O. Bokenham Seyntys Introd. (Roxb.) 5 Lete hem be hete Thedyr to bere and there to lete The same thyng. 14.. Stac. Rome 804 in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems 141 He hett also that men shoulde to chyrche goo. 1872 [see A. 1 γ]. |
† b. To bid come, call, summon. (Only in OE. and arch. in Spenser.) Obs.
| a 1000 Daniel 532 Ða wæs to ðam dome Daniel haten. 1591 Spenser Daphn. 11 Ne let the Sacred Sisters here be hight, Though they of sorrowe heavilie can sing. |
2. To promise, to vow; to pledge oneself. (Constr. as in 1.) Obs. exc. Sc.
| a 900 Cynewulf Juliana 53 Gif þu to sæmran gode..hætsð hæþen-weoh. c 1200 Ormin 4922 Þatt tatt icc het Drihhtin. c 1205 Lay. 23384 Ȝet ich wulle haten mare. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 4098 Ðe lond hoten sal hem ben giuen. a 1300 Cursor M. 5429 (Gött.) Hite me treuli þu þi selue Sal me wid min eldris delue. c 1340 Cursor M. 3886 (Fairf.) Þou sal haue rachel as I þe hiȝt. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints, Baptista 1022 Bath gold and fe Hechtand hyme in-to plente. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 30 We þat hoten grete avowis to voiden..siiknessis. c 1386 Chaucer Man of Law's T. 236 Oon auow to grete god I heete. c 1400 Mandeville Pref. (Roxb.) 2 Þis es þe land þat es hight til vs in heritage. c 1460 Towneley Myst. (Surtees) 44 That he may fle Esaw, That us bothe hetes bale to brew. c 1470 Harding Chron. clxviii. vi, Ever y⊇ kyng Edward hight men greate hyre Hym for to take. 1577–87 Harrison England i. vii. in Holinshed 15 He was so desperatelie wounded, that no man hight him life. 1724 Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. (1733) II. 182 Rob my eem hecht me a stock. 1829 in Chambers Scott. Songs 40 Hope aye hechts his safe return. |
† 3. parenthetical. To assure (one that it is as one says): cf. ‘I promise you.’ Obs.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 402 Maysterful mod & hyȝe pryde I hete þe arn heterly hated here. c 1350 Will. Palerne 1123 So harde þei hiȝed þan, i hote þe for soþe. 1375 Barbour Bruce vii. 156 The kyng, that hungry wes, I hicht. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. iii. 936 Also this y yow hete I preued haue. 1501 Douglas Pal. Hon. i. xxxiii, Baith aixtree and quheillis of gold, I hote. 1515 Scot. Field 257 in Chetham Misc. (1856) II, I will wynde you to wreke, wees, I you heete. |
4. To call, to name. (Now only in pa. pple.). arch.
| c 893 K. ælfred Oros. i. i. §17 Ða deor hi hataþ hranas. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 77 Þu scald..bere knaue child, and haten hit helend. c 1205 Lay. 2857 To hire he hefde loue, and læfdi heo hehte. a 1225 Juliana 55 Sathanas þat tu leuest upon & ti feader hatest. c 1350 Will. Palerne 405 Þat menskful mayde Melior was hoten. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 477 A bischop hight Eugenius. c 1460 Towneley Myst. (Surtees) 145 Emanuelle is hete His name for to lere. 1580 Sidney Ps. xxiv. vi, Even He the King of glory hight. 1583 Stanyhurst æneis i. (Arb.) 26 Thee Romans of his owne name, Romulus, highting. 1605 Verstegan Dec. Intell. (1634) 83 The nether Saxons are hight now Friesians. 1807–8 W. Irving Salmag. (1824) 83 A little pest, hight Tommy Moore. 1845 Hood Recipe Civiliz. 39 Look at the polish'd nations hight The civilized. |
II. intr.: in origin medio-passive.
5. To call oneself, be called, have or bear the name. (Now only in the archaic pa. tense hight.) a. (a) Orig. in forms repr. the OTeut. passive, Goth. pres. t. haitada, -anda. Pres. and pa. tense 1 hátte, pl. -on, 2–5 hatte, pl. -en, 4–5 hette, hatt, hat, hett. The forms with e were prob. influenced by those in b (β).
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. lviii. 445 On ðæm bocum ðe hatton Apocalipsin. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xiii. 55 Hu ne hatte hys modor Maria? c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 13 Þe six werkes of brihtnesse hatten þus. Ibid. 89 Bethfage..hatte þe þrop. a 1300 Cursor M. 3948 ‘Tel me nam’, he said, ‘quat es þin?’ ‘Iacob i hatt’ [v.rr. hate, het]. Ibid. 14218 Thomas þat hette didimus. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 22 Oxen hate þe toun, þer þe body felle. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xvi. 15 Herte hatte þe [h]erber þat it in groweth. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. iii. i. (Tollem. MS.), A man hat [1535 hight, 1582 is called] antrapos in Grew. c 1430 Chev. Assigne 232 Betryce she hette. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 377 Hardebrechins þe cite hatte. c 1460 Towneley Myst. (Surtees) 8 A good yoman my master hat. |
(b) Extended to infinitive; and sometimes in indicative with person-endings.
| c 1250 Gen & Ex. 813 Ðat burȝe..atteð cariatharbe. a 1300 Cursor M. 3948 (Cott.) Iacob ya, Sal þou na langer hetten [v.rr. hat, be cald] sua. c 1340 Ibid. 2650 (Trin.) And seide þou hettest now abrahame. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 365 Zacarie..tolde what þe child shulde hatte. c 1400 Destr. Troy 4257 Not Delphon but Doels sum demyt hit to het. c 1460 Towneley Myst. (Surtees) 74 Godes son shalle he hat [rime that]. |
b. Already in OE. the passive infinitive had to be supplied by the active hátan, ME. h{ofrown}ten, north. hāte; and from an early date in ME., the passive forms began to yield to the corresponding active ones: (α) in Pres. t. 1 hátan, 3–5 h{ofrown}te(n, north. 3–5 hāte, (4–6 hait). (By Spenser also erroneously in pa. tense) (β) in pa. tense het, hete; later also in pres. t. (γ) in pa. tense highte (etc.), later hight (the only part still in archaic use). (δ) From 14th to 18th c. hight was extended to the pres. t. (sometimes with person-endings), and to the infinitive.
| α a 1000 Cædmon's Gen. 344 Se hehsta hatan sceolde Satan siððan. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 127 Þis child shal hoten godes prophete. a 1300 Cursor M. 4752 (Cott.) In þe flum þat hait þe nile. Ibid. 2650 (Gött.) And said he suld hate [v.rr. hatte, hat] abraham. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. iii. 31 Filius dei he hoteþ. ? a 1400 Arthur 613 Now hyt hooteþ Glastyngbury. c 1511 1st Eng. Bk. Amer. (Arb.) Introd. 28/1 Oon aforemontayen and hooth caput viride. 1513 Douglas æneis i. Prol. 244 That in the text of Virgill..Hait Deiphebe. Ibid. ii. 58 Quhilkis, eist, south, and waist wyndis hait [v.r. hate] with ws. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. Sept. 194 Lowder (for so his dog hote). 1590 ― F.Q. i. xi. 29 It rightly hot The well of life. |
| β a 1175 Cott. Hom. 227 His sune hete arfaxat. a 1300 K. Horn 9 Godhild het his quen. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 115 In þat mount was þe litel strete of preostes, þat heet Be[th]phage. c 1425 Eng. Conq. Irel. (E.E.T.S.) 1 [An] heighe man in Irland, þat het dermond Macmorgh. 1470–85 Malory Arthur vii. ii, What heteth your lady and where dwelleth she? |
| γ a 1225 Juliana 5 Hire fleschliche feader affrican hehte. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 67/6 Þat heiȝte Maximian. a 1300 Cursor M. 633 (Cott.) Þar for hight [v.r. heȝt] sco virago. a 1300 Ibid. 2594 (Gött.) Sare..had..an hand womman þat agar hite. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 9426 Sire Bertel þen hat þat on, Þat oþer heyghte sire Iordan. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 719 At this gentil hostelrye That highte [v.rr. hyȝte, hiht] the Tabard. 1480 Caxton Descr. Brit. 13 Bathe highte sommetyme Athamannus Cyte. 1513 Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 314 The quene of eest-Englande saynt Heryswith she hyght. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. (1858) I. 6 In Grece..duelt ane king, the quhilk hecht æalus. 1663 Butler Hud. i. i. 152 In School-Divinity as able As he that hight Irrefragable. 1714 Gay Sheph. Week ii. 20 A Lass that Cic'ly hight, had won his Heart. 1841 Longfellow Childr. Lord's Supper 48 Father he hight and he was in the parish. |
| δ c 1340 Cursor M. 3946 (Fairf.) Tel me man quat þou hiȝt. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 423 That highten Balades, Roundels, Virelayes. c 1386 ― Knt.'s T. 699 But ther as I was wont to highte Arcite, Now highte I Philostrate noght worth a myte. c 1430 Syr. Gener. 1665 ‘What dooth he hight’, she seid, ‘Madame?’ c 1440 York Myst. xxvi. 225 What hytist thou? 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. clxiii. 201 Sir, sayde he, I hyght Iohan of Helenes, but what is your name? a 1536 Calisto & Mel. in Hazl. Dodsley I. 56 Sem. What hight she? Cal. Melibæa is her name. 1600 Fairfax Tasso i. Argt. 1 He sends them to the fort that Sion hights. a 1610 Healey Cebes (1636) 122 Shee that teareth her hayre, hight Sorrow. 1641 Prynne Antip. 154 Hightest thou Vrse? Have thou Gods curse. a 1643 W. Cartwright Ordinary ii. ii. in Hazl. Dodsley XII. 241 How highteth she, say you? |
¶ III. 6. Used by Spenser as a pseudo-archaism in various senses not otherwise exemplified: a. to direct; b. to commit; c. to name, designate, mention; d. to mean, purport.
| 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. July 164 A shepherd trewe, yet not so true As he that earst I hote. Ibid. Sept. 172 Say it out, Diggon, what euer it hight, For not but well mought him betight. 1590 ― F.Q. i. iv. 6 Yet charge of them was to a Porter hight. 1596 Ibid. iv. x. 38 An hundred brasen caudrons bright..Every of which was to a damzell hight. Ibid. v. xi. 8 But the sad steele seizd not, where it was hight, Uppon the childe, but somewhat short did fall. Ibid. vi. vii. 31 She could or save or spill whom she would hight. |
Hence † ˈhighting (heting, hetting, hoting, hechting), vbl. n. Obs., bidding or promising; concr. a promise, a vow.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 785 (Gött.) Þis heting..was bath fals and fikil. Ibid. 792 (Gött.) Sum of þe hoting was gain sau. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xxiv. 11 Þai ere witnes of his hightynge. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 33 God is trewe in his heetynge. c 1440 York Myst. xlviii. 201 My hetyng haly schall I fulfille. a 1500 Knt. & Wife 47 in Hazl. E.P.P. II. 18 This knyȝt ..thouȝt to fulfyl his hettynge. a 1575 Diurn. Occurr. (1833) 300 He promittit in hechting to caus the toun men doe or die. |
▪ VI. † hight, v.2 Obs.
In 1 hyhtan, 3 hiȝten.
[OE. hyhtan, f. hyht hight n.3]
intr. To hope, anticipate something with hope or joy; to rejoice, exult.
| c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.) lxxxiii[i]. 2 Heorte min and flæsc hyhtað ᵹeorne, on þone lifᵹendan leofan Drihten. Ibid. xc[i]. 14 He hyhte to me. a 1250 Owl & Night. 437 Ech wiȝt is glad for mine þinge..And hiȝteþ aȝen mine kume. |
▪ VII. † hight, v.3 Obs.
Forms: 2–3 hihten, huihten, 4–5 hiȝte(n, 5 hyght, heyghte, 7 hight.
[Early ME. huihten, hihten, of doubtful origin.
Perh., like prec., a deriv. of hyht, hight n.3, in sense ‘to make joyous or delightful’: cf. hightle v., hightly.]
trans. To beautify, adorn, embellish, set off.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 71 We shule..noht mid faire worde hihten þo ateliche sinnes. Ibid. 89 Þat burh folc hihten þe heȝe strete and bihengen it mid palmes. Ibid. 195 Alle þos wennen huihten his wurðshipe. 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 728 Þe hauter of he[r]cules alle ȝe hihten. c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. i. metr. ii. 4 (Camb. MS.) The lusty howres of the fyrst somer seson þat hyhteth [v.r. hiȝteþ] and aparaileth the Erthe with rosene flowres. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 217 An hous i-made wel nyh al of gold and i-hiȝt wiþ precious stones. 1398 ― Barth. De P.R. ii. v. (1495) 31 By theyr presence al that is in heuen and in erthe is wonderfully hyghted. 1633 T. Adams Exp. 2 Peter iii. 12 His land shall be husbanded, his house highted, his garments brushed. |
Hence highting vbl. n.; highter, an adorner or embellisher.
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 7 Faire florischers and hiȝteres of wordes and of metre. Ibid. II. 313 By cause of þe more hiȝtinge and fairenesse [causa ornatus dignioris]. |
▪ VIII. hight v.4
obs. var. of height v.