What does hight mean?
Hight is an archaic English adjective and past participle of “high,” meaning raised, elevated, or lifted up. Its appearance in phrases such as “hight towers” gives writing an intentionally old-fashioned or poetic quality, while the construction “that hight,” meaning “named” or “called,” survives mainly in literary and historical contexts. The word is easily confused with “height,” the modern noun referring to the measurement of how high something is, and the two also share a historical connection. Today, hight is not part of ordinary contemporary usage, but recognizing it helps readers understand older texts, legends, quotations, and legal or literary language. Its modern significance is largely historical, though it remains a vivid example of how English inflections can fall out of use while their roots remain familiar.
adjectiveArchaic past participle of “high,” meaning raised or elevated. It also survives in the archaic expression “that hight,” meaning named or called.
- Raised or elevated; lifted up.
- In the archaic phrase “that hight,” named or called.
"The hight towers of the old city caught the first light of morning."
"A hight lookout offered a clear view across the valley."
"The king that hight Arthur was said to have dwelt at Camelot."
“Hight” is a fossil of the language of old stories and legal texts, where the ordinary modern past participle “heightened” would sound unexpectedly poetic.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hight come from?
Hight is an old English form associated with “high” and is generally treated as an archaic past participle or inflected adjective. It also developed the special use “called” or “named” in the phrase “that hight.” The modern noun “height” belongs to the same historical word family, although its grammatical development and present-day use differ substantially.
How hight is actually used
This word is now archaic or literary. It is not normally used in contemporary English, except in stylized writing, quotations, and expressions such as “that hight.”
Easily confused with hight
“Height” is the modern noun for the vertical measurement or level of something, whereas “hight” is chiefly an archaic adjective or past participle.