/ˈvɪzɪt/
OriginFrom Middle English visiten, from Old French visiter, from Latin vīsitō, frequentative of vīsō (“behold, survey”), from videō (“see”). Cognate with Old Saxon wīsōn (“to visit, afflict”), archaic German weisen (“to visit, afflict”). Displaced native Old English sēċan (“to visit”) and sōcn (“a visit”).
The noun is from French visite or the verb. Doublet of visite.
- transitiveTo habitually go to (someone in distress, sickness etc.) to comfort them. (Now generally merged into later senses, below.)
- intransitive, transitiveTo go and meet (a person) as an act of friendliness or sociability.
“She decided to visit her grandparents for Christmas.”
- transitiveOf God: to appear to (someone) to comfort, bless, or chastise or punish them. (Now generally merged into later senses, below.)
“[God] hath visited and redeemed his people.”
“Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread.”
- archaic, transitiveTo punish, to inflict harm upon (someone or something).
“Her life was spared by the clemency of the emperor, but he visited the pomp and treasures of her palace.”
- transitiveOf a sickness, misfortune etc.: to afflict (someone).
“There used to be a sharp contest as to where the effigy was to be made, for the people thought that the house from which it was carried forth would not be visited with death that year.”
- transitiveTo inflict punishment, vengeance for (an offense) on or upon someone.
“05-032 was right about one thing: there is only one way to defeat the enemy, and that is to visit utter annihilation on it.”
“If this were an Ibsen play, we would be thinking of the sins of one generation being visited upon another, he said.”
- transitiveTo go to (a shrine, temple etc.) for worship. (Now generally merged into later senses, below.)
- transitiveTo go to (a place) for pleasure, on an errand, etc.
“Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare. Mr. Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and ”
“Each year, millions of people visit the 4,570-meter-high Baishui Glacier in southern China.”
- A single act of visiting.
“Next time you're in Manchester, give me a visit.”
“We paid a quick visit to James on the way up to Scotland.”
“There was some laughter, and Roddle was left free to expand his ideas on the periodic visits of cowboys to the town. “Mason Rickets, he had ten big punkins a-sittin' in front of his store, an' them fe”
- A meeting with a doctor at their surgery or the doctor's at one's home.
Formsvisits(present, singular, third-person) · visiting(participle, present) · visited(participle, past) · visited(past) · visit(infinitive) · visit(first-person, present, singular) · visited(first-person, past, singular) · visit(present, second-person, singular) · visitest(archaic, present, second-person, singular) · visited(past, second-person, singular) · visitedst(archaic, past, second-person, singular) · visiteth(archaic, present, singular, third-person) · visited(past, singular, third-person) · visit(plural, present) · visited(past, plural) · visit(present, subjunctive) · visited(past, subjunctive) · visit(imperative, present) · -(imperative, past) · visits(plural)