sight

English

Etymology

From Middle English siȝht, siȝt, siht, from Old English siht, sihþ (“something seen; vision”), from Proto-West Germanic *sihti, equivalent to see +‎ -th. Cognate with Scots sicht, Saterland Frisian Sicht, West Frisian sicht, Dutch zicht, German Low German Sicht, German Sicht, Danish sigte, Swedish sikte.

Pronunciation

• enPR: sīt, IPA^(key): /saɪt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪt
• Homophones: cite, site

Noun

sight (countable and uncountable, plural sights)

1. (in the singular) The ability to see.

   He is losing his sight and now can barely read.

   • c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:

     Thy sight is young, / And thou shalt read when mine begin to dazzle.

   • 1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 12, line 67:

     O loſs of ſight, of thee I moſt complain!

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

   to gain sight of land

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 1:9:

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

3. Something seen.
   • 2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown, Sophist, page 236d:

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

5. (often in the plural) Something worth seeing; a spectacle, either good or bad.

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

   You really look a sight in that ridiculous costume!

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

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

   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, Prothalamion:

     They never saw a sight so fair.

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

   the sight of a quadrant

   • c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

     their eyes of fire sparking through sights of steel

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

   a sight of money

   This is a darn sight better than what I'm used to at home!

   • 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 2, in Sons 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 a sight afore 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 for Henry Goſſon,  […], published 1609, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:

      Why cloude they not their ſights perpetually,

11. Mental view; opinion; judgment.

    In their sight it was harmless.

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

      a very heinous Sin in the Sight of God

    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 16:15:

      That which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

Synonyms

• (ability to see): sense of 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 — see eyesight

something seen

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

  Mandarin: 視野 / 视野 (zh) (shìyě), 情景 (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: ὅραμα n (hórama), θέαμα n (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, visitatio f
• Malayalam: കാഴ്ച്ച (kāḻcca)
• Polish: widok (pl) m
• Portuguese: vista (pt)
• Romanian: vedere (ro) f, priveliște (ro) f
• Russian: вид (ru) m (vid)
• Scottish Gaelic: sealladh m, fianais f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: vidik (sh), prizor (sh) m

• Slovak: výhľad m, pohľad m
• 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: مَنْظَر m (manẓar)
• Belarusian: славу́тасць f (slavútascʹ), выда́тнасць f (vydátnascʹ)
• Bulgarian: гледка (bg) f (gledka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 景色 (zh) (jǐngsè)

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

  Ancient: θέαμα n (théama)

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

  Bokmål: severdighet (no) m or f, turistattraksjon m

  Nynorsk: turistattraksjon m

• Polish: atrakcja turystyczna f
• 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: sealladh m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: vidik (sh), prizor (sh) m

• Spanish: lugar de interés m, espectáculo (es) m, panorama (es) m
• Swedish: sevärdhet (sv) c
• Telugu: దృశ్యము (te) (dr̥śyamu)
• Ukrainian: па́м'ятка f (pámʺjatka), незвича́йність f (nezvyčájnistʹ)
• Vietnamese: cảnh (vi)

device used in aiming a firearm

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

  Mandarin: 瞄準鏡 / 瞄准镜 (zh) (miáozhǔnjìng), 瞄準具 / 瞄准具 (miáozhǔnjù)

• Danish: sigte n
• 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: כוונת f (kavenet)
• Italian: mirino (it) m
• Japanese: 照準器 (ja) (しょうじゅんき, shōjunki), 照準具 (しょうじゅんぐ, shōjungu), サイト (ja) (saito)
• Macedonian: визир m (vizir)
• Maori: kero, kerokero
• Polish: celownik (pl) m
• Portuguese: mira (pt)
• Russian: прице́л (ru) m (pricél)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: vizir (sh) m

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

Verb

sight (third-person singular simple present sights, present participle sighting, simple past and past participle sighted)

1. (transitive) To see; to get sight of (something); to register visually.
   • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter IV, in Mr. 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 to sight one reef that I hadn't paid any attention to afore.

   to sight land from a ship

   1. (transitive) To observe through, or as if through, a sight, 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, page 30:

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

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

   to sight a rifle or a cannon

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

     Jim braced the gun and sighted, 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, page 27:

     So I sighted the 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].

   • 2010 October 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 and sighted through the scope.

Synonyms

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

Derived terms

• resight

Translations

see, get sight of, visually register

• Afrikaans: sien (af)
• Bulgarian: ^{(please verify)} виждам (bg) (viždam), ^{(please verify)} съзирам (bg) (sǎziram)
• Czech: spatřit (cs), zahlédnout (cs)
• Finnish: nähdä (fi), saada näkyviinsä
• 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), få syn på, 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 by Reinhold Pauli, Confessio Amantis of John Gower: Edited and Collated with the Best Manuscripts, volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Bell and Daldy […], published 1857, →OCLC:

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

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)