whate

Middle English

Alternative forms

ȝwate, quate, qwate, wate, what
hwate (Early Middle English)

Etymology

From Old English hwatu (“omen”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwatu (“warning”), from Proto-Germanic *hwatō (“incitement”); compare Icelandic hvöt (“urge, encouragement”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈhwaːt(ə)/
(dialectal) IPA^(key): /ˈxwaːt(ə)/, /ˈwaːt(ə)/

Noun

whate (uncountable) (poetic)

fortune, destiny, luck
(rare) divination, augury

References

“whāte, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

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