Chaucer's "wight" = person (England, c. 1387–1400)
Record: the document says itPattern: documents line upLens: our readingOpen: not yet proven
Year: 1387 · Places: Europe
SUMMARYChaucer's "wight" = person (England, c. 1387–1400) [Connections: Masonic color line, asylums, castles, wight, Nov 5, 2026]
RECORDIn the General Prologue of the Canterbury Tales (Harvard Chaucer site, with glosses), "wight" appears at line 71 ("In al his lyf unto no maner wight," glossed "unto any sort of person"), line 280 ("Ther wiste no wight that he was in dette," "There was no one who knew"), line 326 ("Ther koude no wight pynche at his writyng"), line 537 ("For Cristes sake, for every povre wight," "every poor person") and line 842 ("Anon to drawen every wight bigan," "Every person began")
PATTERNIn Middle English, "wight" was the ordinary word for any person, poor or rich, with no color meaning at all
LENS (WW9)In Chaucer's England, "every wight" meant every human being
OPENMiddle English Dictionary entry for wight (the site refused the connection this session)
SOURCEHarvard Chaucer: General Prologue, interlinear.