whit

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

[i. e. Whittington's.] Newgate. Cant.--Five rum-padders are rubbed in the darkmans out of the whit, and are piked into the deuseaville; five highwaymen broke out of Newgate in the night, and are gone into the country.

Era: ca. 1811 (Georgian)

Where it’s used: Origin British & Irish English
Sources & notes

Historical definition reproduced from Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 edition, public domain; Project Gutenberg #5402, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “whit” mean?

[i. e. Whittington's.] Newgate. Cant.--Five rum-padders are rubbed in the darkmans out of the whit, and are piked into the deuseaville; five highwaymen broke out of Newgate in the night, and are gone into the country.

Is “whit” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.