Wut

Part of speech: interjection, noun

Definitions

1. A casual online spelling of what, typed to show confusion, surprise or disbelief in a message or post
2. An informal, playful respelling of the word what, often used in texts and social media to express bafflement
3. A chatty internet spelling of what, used to convey puzzlement or astonishment in casual written communication

Etymology: Pronounced casually, "what" often loses its full vowel and drifts toward the vowel in "but," so "wut" is best understood as an eye-dialect spelling: a way of writing that casual speech sound on the page. It is not a separate word with its own history, but a respelling of "what," and it's used as an interjection to express confusion or disbelief, as in "Wut?" The most common mix-up is with German "Wut," which means "rage" or "fury" and has no etymological connection to the English slang. The resemblance is pure coincidence. German "Wut" descends from an old Germanic root for anger, while the English spelling simply mirrors how "what" is spoken informally.