Added 9 October 2026
height
/haɪt/ noun
In Latin: altitūdō, proceritas Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about height at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
The distance from the base to the top of something.
— What's your height? — 180 centimetres.
-
The vertical distance from the ground to the highest part of a standing person or animal (withers in the case of a horse).
— What's your height? — 180 centimetres.
-
The minimum distance from a vertex of a triangle to (the extension of) the edge opposite, namely along a line perpendicular to the edge.
The area of a triangle is "a half base times height".
Origin
From Middle English heighte, heiȝþe, from Old English hēahþu, hēhþo, hīehþu (“height”), Proto-West Germanic *hauhiþu, from Proto-Germanic *hauhiþō (compare *hauhaz). Equivalent to high + -t (abstract nominal suffix). The regular pronunciation is now obsolete /heɪt/ (as with other words in -eight); the modern form developed early on, at first as a variant, by analogy with the underlying adjective. See also Saterland Frisian Höchte, Hööchte (“height”), West Frisian hichte (“height”), Dutch hoogte (“height”), Middle High German hœhede, hœhte (“height”), Old Norse hæð (“height”) (compare Swedish höjd, Norwegian høyde), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐌹𐌸𐌰 (hauhiþa, “height”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)