visit
/ˈvɪzɪt/ verb, noun
Forms visits visiting visited visitest visitedst visiteth
- verb (transitive) To habitually go to (someone in distress, sickness etc.) to comfort them. (Now generally merged into later senses, below.)
- verb (transitive, intransitive) To go and meet (a person) as an act of friendliness or sociability. “She decided to visit her grandparents for Christmas.”
- verb (transitive) Of God: to appear to (someone) to comfort, bless, or chastise or punish them. (Now generally merged into later senses, below.)
- verb (transitive, now rare) To punish, to inflict harm upon (someone or something).
- verb (transitive) Of a sickness, misfortune etc.: to afflict (someone).
- verb (transitive) To inflict punishment, vengeance for (an offense) on or upon someone.
- verb (transitive) To go to (a shrine, temple etc.) for worship. (Now generally merged into later senses, below.)
- verb (transitive) To go to (a place) for pleasure, on an errand, etc.
- noun A single act of visiting. “Next time you're in Manchester, give me a visit.”
- noun (medicine, insurance) A meeting with a doctor at their surgery or the doctor's at one's home.
Synonyms
call on sojourn see travel to call in call inspect inflict bring down impose chew the fat shoot the breeze chat confabulate confab chitchat chit-chat chatter chaffer natter gossip jaw claver
Etymology
From 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.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To go or come to see, as for the purpose of friendship, business, curiosity, etc.; to attend; to call upon; as, the physician visits his patient.
- verb Specifically: To go or come to see for inspection, examination, correction of abuses, etc.; to examine, to inspect; as, a bishop visits his diocese; a superintendent visits persons or works under his charge.
- verb To make a visit or visits; to maintain visiting relations; to practice calling on others.
- noun The act of visiting, or going to see a person or thing; a brief stay of business, friendship, ceremony, curiosity, or the like, usually longer than a call; as, a visit of civility or respect; a visit to Saratoga; the visit of a physician.
Etymology [F. visiter, L. visitare, fr. visere to go to see, to visit, fr. videre, visum to see. See Vision.]
Etymology [Cf. F. visite. See Visit, v. t., and cf. Visite.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “visit”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details