Editing Wight (section)

===Middle English===
====Connotations and scope====
When {{lang|xno|creature}} was borrowed from [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman]] around 1300 CE, it was possibly wholly synonymous with {{langx|enm|wight}}, however over time the words became differentiated by speakers.{{sfn|Farrell|2015|p=182}} The exact usage of the term varies between works but it broadly is used in one of five loose categories that blur between themselves:
* a "living creature", an element of the earthly world
* a generic being, with few connotations
* an enemy or social inferior that is seen as other
* as beloved, often gendered 
* a being connected to the spiritual realm, either good or bad{{sfn|Farrell|2015|p=184}}

The term is used to refer to a range of positive beings with supernatural aspects such as [[saint]]s, [[Jesus]], and his mother, [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Mary]].{{sfn|Farrell|2015|p=186}} It has been argued that the term could be used for anything other than [[God the Father]], as he himself was not created in [[Christian theology]]. It has been noted, however, that it is stated in the [[Man of Law]] that [[Daniel in the lion's den]] was saved by "No wight but God", showing it was possible to use the term to refer to a class of beings that includes both man and the Christian god. Though there are no extant texts in Middle English that refer to God the Father directly as a {{lang|enm|wight}}.{{sfn|Farrell|2015|pp=180-182,193}}

The most common use of the term, however, is to refer to everyday corporeal beings as these are much more represented in normal conversation. {{lang|enm|Wight}} is commonly found with adjectives, such as {{lang|enm|curside}}, {{lang|enm|wikkede}}, or {{lang|enm|worldly}}. The phrase "{{lang|enm|sweet wight}}" is notable, occurring frequently and often in gendered and romantic contexts.{{sfn|Farrell|2015|pp=184-186}}

====Examples====
{{Div col}}
* [[Geoffrey Chaucer]]
: ''[[s:s:The Canterbury Tales|The Reeve's Tale]]'', (1387–1400), line 4236:
:: "For [Aleyn] had swonken al the longe nyght, 
:: And seyde, 'Fare weel, Malyne, sweete '''wight'''!'"
: ''[[s:s:The Canterbury Tales|The Monk's Tale]]'', (1387–1400), line 380:
:: "She kept her maidenhood from every '''wight'''
:: To no man deigned she for to be bond."
:''[[s:The Book of the Duchess|The Book of the Duchess]]'', (1387–1400), line 579:
:: "Worste of alle '''wightes'''."
: ''[[s:The Canterbury Tales|Prologue of The Knight]]'', (1387–1400), line 72–73:
:: "Ne neuere yet no vileynye he sayde
:: In al his lyf vnto no manere '''wight'''.
:: He was a verray parfit gentil knyght."
: ''[[s:The House of Fame|The House of Fame]]'', (1379–1380), line 1830–1831:
:: "We ben shrewes, every '''wight''',
:: And han delyt in wikkednes."
{{div col end}}