wise

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See also -wise, Wise, and WISE

Contents

[edit] English

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Etymology 1

From Old English wīs, from Proto-Germanic *wīsaz, from a participle form of Proto-Indo-European *weyd-. Cognate with Dutch wijs, German weise, Swedish vis. Compare wit.

[edit] Adjective

wise (comparative wiser, superlative wisest)

  1. Showing good judgement or the benefit of experience.
    Storing extra food for the winter was a wise decision.
    They were considered the wise old men of the administration.
  2. (colloquial) Disrespectful.
    Don't get wise with me!
[edit] Usage notes
  • Objects: person, decision, advice, counsel, saying, etc.
[edit] Antonyms
[edit] Derived terms
terms derived from wise (adjective)
[edit] Translations
showing good judgement

[edit] Verb

wise (third-person singular simple present wises, present participle wising, simple past and past participle wised)

  1. To become wise.
  2. (transitive, slang) Usually with "up", to inform.
    Mo wised him up about his situation.
  3. (intransitive, slang) Usually with "up", to learn.
    After Mo had a word with him, he wised up.

[edit] Etymology 2

From Old English wīse, from Proto-Germanic *wīsō. Cognate with Dutch wijze, German Weise, Swedish visa, vis, Italian guisa, Spanish guisa. Compare -wise.

[edit] Noun

wise (plural wises)

  1. (archaic) Way, manner.
    • 1850 Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Burden of Nineveh, lines 2-5
      ... the prize
      Dead Greece vouchsafes to living eyes, —
      Her Art for ever in fresh wise
      From hour to hour rejoicing me.
    • 1866, Algernon Swinburne, A Ballad of Life, lines 28-30
      A riven hood was pulled across his eyes;
      The token of him being upon this wise
      Made for a sign of Lust.
[edit] Derived terms

[edit] Etymology 3

From Middle English wisen (“to advise, direct”), from Old English wisian (“to show the way, guide, direct”), from Proto-Germanic *wīsanan, *wīsijanan (“to show the way, dispense knowledge”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to know”). Cognate with Dutch wijzen (“to indicate, point out”), German weisen (“to show, indicate”), Danish vise (“to show”).

[edit] Verb

wise (third-person singular simple present wises, present participle wising, simple past and past participle wised)

  1. (dialectal) to instruct
  2. (dialectal) to advise; induce
  3. (dialectal) to show the way, guide
  4. (dialectal) to direct the course of, pilot
  5. (dialectal) to cause to turn

[edit] Statistics

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