wæt

Wæt is an Old English term that appears in two main contexts within the early Germanic lexicon. In its verbal use, wāt is the third-person singular present indicative of witan, meaning “to know.” Thus, hē wāt translates to “he knows.” This form is part of a broader family of words surrounding knowledge, including the noun wit meaning “knowledge,” and it has descendants in later Germanic languages, such as Gothic witan and Old High German witzen.

The more famous occurrence of wæt is in the interjective form hwæt, an attention-getting particle often translated as “What!” or “Listen!” Its primary function is to draw the audience into the narrative, a device especially well known from Beowulf, whose opening line begins with Hwæt: “Hwæt! We Gar-Dena in geardagum...”. In scholarly editions, hwæt is typically treated as a discourse marker rather than a straightforward question word, signaling the start of a tale or speech.

Etymology and relation to other words are interconnected but distinct for the two forms. The verb witan derives from Proto-Germanic roots related to knowledge and perception, giving rise to the Old English wit and related cognates in other Germanic languages. The interjection hwæt is commonly discussed as a separate particle with its own historical development, often linked to exclamations or lines of address in early poetry. Today, wæt survives mainly in historical and philological contexts, with hwæt most recognizable to readers as the opening word of Beowulf and a classic example of Old English literary formula.