sight

English

Etymology

FromMiddle Englishsiȝht,siȝt,siht,fromOld Englishsiht,sihþ(“something seen; vision”),fromProto-West Germanic*sihti,equivalent tosee+‎-th.Cognate withScotssicht,Saterland FrisianSicht,West Frisiansicht,Dutchzicht,German Low GermanSicht,GermanSicht,Danishsigte,Swedishsikte.

Pronunciation

• enPR:sīt,IPA^(key):/saɪt/

• Audio(US):

  (file)

• Rhymes:-aɪt
• Homophones:cite,site

Noun

sight(countableanduncountable,pluralsights)

1. (in thesingular)The ability to see.

   He is losing hissightand now can barely read.

   • c.1588–1593(date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”,inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies[…](First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard,andEd[ward]Blount,published1623,→OCLC,[Act III, scene ii]:

     Thysightisyoung,/ And thou shaltreadwhen mine begin to dazzle.

   • 1671,John Milton,“Samson Agonistes,[…].”,inParadise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes,London:[…]J[ohn]M[acock]for John Starkey[…],→OCLC,page12,line67:

     O loſs ofſight,of thee I moſt complain!

2. The act of seeing; perception of objects by the eye; view.

   to gainsightof land

   • 1611,The Holy Bible,[…](King James Version), London:[…]Robert Barker,[…],→OCLC,Acts1:9:

     And when hee had spoken these things, while they beheld, hee was taken vp, and a cloud receiued him out of theirsight.

3. Somethingseen.
   • 2005,Plato,translated by Lesley Brown,Sophist,page236d:

     He's a really remarkable man and it's very hard to get him in one'ssights;[…]

5. (often in theplural)Something worth seeing; aspectacle,either good or bad.

   We went to London and saw all thesights– Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, and so on.

   You really look asightin that ridiculous costume!

   • 1611,The Holy Bible,[…](King James Version), London:[…]Robert Barker,[…],→OCLC,Exodus3:3:

     And Moses saide, I will nowe turne aside, and see this greatsight,why the bush is not burnt.

   • 1596,Edmund Spenser,Prothalamion:

     They neversawasightso fair.

6. (often in theplural)A device used in aiming aprojectile,through which the person aiming looks at the intended target.
7. A smallaperturethrough which objects are to be seen, and by which their direction is settled or ascertained.

   thesightof a quadrant

   • c.1596–1599(date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth,[…]”,inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies[…](First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard,andEd[ward]Blount,published1623,→OCLC,[Act IV, scene i]:

     their eyes of fire sparking throughsightsof steel

8. (nowcolloquial)a great deal, a lot;frequently used to intensify a comparative.

   asightof money

   This is a darnsightbetter than what I'm used to at home!

   • 1913,D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence,chapter 2, inSons and Lovers,London:Duckworth & Co.[…],→OCLC:

     "If your mother put you in the pit at twelve, it's no reason why I should do the same with my lad."
     "Twelve! It wor asightafore that! "

9. In a drawing, picture, etc., that part of the surface, as of paper or canvas, which is within the frame or the border or margin. In a frame, the open space, the opening.
10. (obsolete)The instrument of seeing; the eye.
    • c.1607–1608,William Shakeſpeare,The Late, And much admired Play, Called Pericles, Prince of Tyre.[…],London: Imprinted at London forHenry Goſſon,[…],published1609,→OCLC,[Act I, scene i]:

      Why cloude they not theirſightsperpetually,

11. Mental view; opinion; judgment.

    In theirsightit was harmless.

    • 1720,William Wake,Principles of the Christian Religion in a Commentary on the Church Catechism:

      a very heinous Sin in theSightof God

    • 1611,The Holy Bible,[…](King James Version), London:[…]Robert Barker,[…],→OCLC,Luke16:15:

      That which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in thesightof God.

Synonyms

• (ability to see):senseof sight,vision
• (something seen):view
• (aiming device):scope,peep sight

Derived terms

• a damn sight
• a fuck sight
• at first sight
• at short sight
• at sight
• at the sight of
• barleycorn sight
• bill of sight
• bore sight
• by sight
• can't stand the sight of
• catch sight of
• day-sight
• eye sight
• far sight
• far-sighted
• foresight
• globe sight
• heave in sight
• heave into sight
• hidden in plain sight
• hide in plain sight
• hindsight
• in one's sight
• in plain sight
• insight
• in sight
• keep sight of
• leaf sight
• line of sight
• line-of-sight
• long sight
• long-sighted
• lose sight of
• love at first sight
• mouse-sight
• near sight
• near-sighted
• not a pretty sight
• nowhere in sight
• old sight
• on sight
• out of one's sight
• out of sight
• out of sight is out of mind
• out of sight, out of mind
• outsight
• outta sight
• oversight
• point of sight
• pyramid sight
• second sight
• short sight
• short-sighted
• sight bite
• sight cheque
• sight draft
• sight for sore eyes
• sightful
• sight gag
• sight glass
• sight in
• sightless
• sightly
• sight radius
• sight read
• sight-read
• sight-reader
• sight rhyme
• sight-seeing
• sight sing
• sight to behold
• sight-translate
• sight translation
• sight triangle
• sight unseen
• sightwise
• sight word
• slant sight
• take a sight
• telescopic sight
• time sight

Translations

eyesight—seeeyesight

something seen

• Afrikaans:gesig(af),aanskouing
• Arabic:مَشْهَدm(mašhad)
• Belarusian:відm(vid)
• Bulgarian:и́зглед(bg)m(ízgled),вид(bg)m(vid)
• Catalan:vista(ca)f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin:Thị dã／Thị dã(zh)(shìyě),Tình cảnh(zh)(qíngjǐng)

• Czech:pohled(cs)m
• Dutch:aanblik(nl)
• Esperanto:vidaĵo
• Estonian:nähe,nähtus
• Finnish:näköala(fi),näkökenttä(fi)
• French:vue(fr)f
• Galician:vista(gl)f
• Greek:θέαμα(el)n(théama)

  Ancient:ὅραμαn(hórama),θέαμαn(théama)

• Hebrew:מראה(he)m(mar'eh)
• Hindi:दर्शन(hi)m(darśan),दीदार(hi)f(dīdār)
• Hungarian:látvány(hu)
• Indonesian:nampak(id)
• Italian:vista(it)f
• Latin:visus(la)m,visitatiof
• Malayalam:കാഴ്ച്ച(kāḻcca)
• Polish:widok(pl)m
• Portuguese:vista(pt)
• Romanian:vedere(ro)f,priveliște(ro)f
• Russian:вид(ru)m(vid)
• Scottish Gaelic:sealladhm,fianaisf
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman:vidik(sh),prizor(sh)m

• Slovak:výhľadm,pohľadm
• Spanish:vista(es)f
• Swedish:anblick(sv)c,syn(sv)c,åsyn(sv)c
• Ukrainian:вид(vyd)
• Vietnamese:tầm nhìn(vi)

something worth seeing

• Afrikaans:besienswaardigheid,besigtigheid
• Arabic:مَنْظَرm(manẓar)
• Belarusian:славу́тасцьf(slavútascʹ),выда́тнасцьf(vydátnascʹ)
• Bulgarian:гледка(bg)f(gledka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin:Cảnh sắc(zh)(jǐngsè)

• Czech:pamětihodnost(cs)f,podívanáf
• Danish:seværdighedc
• Dutch:bezienswaardigheid(nl)
• Esperanto:vidindaĵo
• Estonian:vaatamisväärsus(et),pilguköitja,pilgupüüdja
• Finnish:nähtävyys(fi)
• French:quelque chose à voir,truc à voir(colloquial),principales attractionsfpl,monuments(fr)mpl,curiosité(fr)f
• German:Sehenswürdigkeit(de),Gesicht(de)n
• Greek:αξιοθέατο(el)n(axiothéato)

  Ancient:θέαμαn(théama)

• Hebrew:אתר(he)m(atar)
• Hindi:दृश्य(hi)m(dŕśya)
• Hungarian:látnivaló(hu)
• Italian:spettacolo(it)m
• Japanese:Kiến vật(ja)(みもの, mimono),Tình cảnh(ja)(じょうけい, jōkei)
• Korean:경치( cảnh trí )(ko)(gyeongchi),구경(ko)(gugyeong)
• Malayalam:ദൃശ്യം(ml)(dr̥śyaṁ)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål:severdighet(no)morf,turistattraksjonm

  Nynorsk:turistattraksjonm

• Polish:atrakcja turystycznaf
• Portuguese:espetáculo(pt)m
• Romanian:spectacol(ro)n,priveliște(ro)f
• Russian:достопримеча́тельность(ru)f(dostoprimečátelʹnostʹ),зре́лище(ru)n(zrélišče)(spectacle)
• Sanskrit:दृश्यम्(sa)(dṛśyam)
• Scottish Gaelic:sealladhm
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman:vidik(sh),prizor(sh)m

• Spanish:lugardeinterésm,espectáculo(es)m,panorama(es)m
• Swedish:sevärdhet(sv)c
• Telugu:దృశ్యము(te)(dr̥śyamu)
• Ukrainian:па́м'яткаf(pámʺjatka),незвича́йністьf(nezvyčájnistʹ)
• Vietnamese:cảnh(vi)

device used in aiming a firearm

• Afrikaans:visier
• Bulgarian:мерник(bg)m(mernik)
• Catalan:punt de miram,mira(ca)f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin:Miểu chuẩn kính／Miểu chuẩn kính(zh)(miáozhǔnjìng),Miểu chuẩn cụ／Miểu chuẩn cụ(miáozhǔnjù)

• Danish:sigten
• Dutch:vizier(nl)
• Esperanto:celilo
• Estonian:sihik,kirp(et)
• Finnish:tähtäin(fi)
• French:mire(fr)f,viseur(fr)m
• German:Visier(de)n
• Greek:στόχαστρο(el)n(stóchastro)
• Hebrew:כוונתf(kavenet)
• Italian:mirino(it)m
• Japanese:Chiếu chuẩn khí(しょうじゅんき, shōjunki),Chiếu chuẩn cụ(しょうじゅんぐ, shōjungu),サイト(ja)(saito)
• Macedonian:визирm(vizir)
• Maori:kero,kerokero
• Polish:celownik(pl)m
• Portuguese:mira(pt)
• Russian:прице́л(ru)m(pricél)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman:vizir(sh)m

• Spanish:visorm,mira(es)f
• Swedish:sikte(sv)n
• Ukrainian:приці́л(uk)m(prycíl)

Verb

sight(third-person singular simple presentsights,present participlesighting,simple past and past participlesighted)

1. (transitive)To see; to get sight of (something); to register visually.
   • 1913,Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln,chapter IV, inMr. Pratt’s Patients,New York, N.Y., London:D[aniel] Appleton and Company,→OCLC:

     I was on my way to the door, but all at once, through the fog in my head, I began tosightone reef that I hadn't paid any attention to afore.

   tosightland from a ship

   1. (transitive)To observe through, or as if through, asight,to check the elevation, direction, levelness, or other characteristics of, especially when surveying or navigating.
      • 1912,John Herbert Farrell, Alfred Joseph Moses,Practical Field Geology,page30:

        Next a point of known elevation, preferably one of the triangulation stations, issighted;the vertical angle is read and the horizontal distance is scaled from the point of the setup on the map to the pointsighted.

2. (transitive)To apply sights to; to adjust the sights of.

   tosighta rifle or a cannon

3. (transitive,intransitive)To observe or aim (at something) using a (gun)sight.
   • 2005August 2, C. J. Cherryh,The Deep Beyond,Penguin,→ISBN:

     Jim braced the gun andsighted,tried to pull the trigger. Beside him a body collapsed, limp. It was Max. A shot had gone through his brain. Jim stared down at him, numb with horror.

   • 2009,James Wright,FBI: Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity: an Autobiography,iUniverse,→ISBN,page27:

     So Isightedthe deer with my.30—30 and fired at him. The bullet hit about ten yards below the deer. I realized that I had a problem with the gun so I aimed about ten yards above the deer as he was running and he dropped dead on the [spot].

   • 2010October 6, Bryce M. Towsley,Gunsmithing Made Easy: Projects for the Home Gunsmith,Skyhorse Publishing Inc.,→ISBN:

     This buck was finally mine. I had spent hours shooting at moving targets with that rifle and there was no way I could miss. I raised my gun andsightedthrough the scope.

Synonyms

• (visually register):see
• (get sight of):espy,glimpse,spot
• (take aim):aimat,take aimat

Derived terms

• resight

Translations

see, get sight of, visually register

• Afrikaans:sien(af)
• Bulgarian:^{(pleaseverify)}виждам(bg)(viždam),^{(pleaseverify)}съзирам(bg)(sǎziram)
• Czech:spatřit(cs),zahlédnout(cs)
• Finnish:nähdä(fi),saadanäkyviinsä
• French:voir(fr),apercevoir(fr)
• German:sehen(de),erblicken(de)
• Greek:βλέπω(el)(vlépo)
• Italian:vedere(it),avvistare(it)
• Korean:보다(ko)(boda)
• Polish:dojrzeć(pl),zobaczyć(pl)
• Portuguese:ver(pt),avistar(pt)
• Romanian:vedea(ro)
• Russian:уви́деть(ru)(uvídetʹ),заме́тить(ru)(zamétitʹ)
• Spanish:ver(es),avistar(es)
• Swedish:se(sv),fåsynpå,sikta(sv)
• Ukrainian:поба́чити(pobáčyty),диви́тися(uk)(dyvýtysja)
• Vietnamese:nhìn thấy(vi)

take aim at

• Afrikaans:korrel,mik(af)
• Bulgarian:прицелвам се(pricelvam se)
• Finnish:tähdätä(fi)
• French:viser(fr)
• German:anvisieren(de)
• Italian:mirare(it)
• Korean:겨누다(gyeonuda)
• Ottoman Turkish:نشانلامق(nişanlamak)
• Polish:celować(pl)
• Portuguese:mirar(pt)
• Russian:це́литься(ru)(célitʹsja)
• Spanish:apuntar(es)
• Swedish:sikta(sv)

See also

• see
• vision

Anagrams

• ghits,thigs

Middle English

Noun

sight

1. a great deal, a lot
   • c.1386–1390,John Gower,edited byReinhold Pauli,Confessio Amantis of John Gower: Edited and Collated with the Best Manuscripts,volumes(please specify |volume=I, II, or III),London:Bell and Daldy[…],published1857,→OCLC:

     A nombre of twenty sterres bright,
     Which is to sene a wondersight

     (pleaseadd an English translationof this quotation)