wis
English
Pronunciation
Alternative forms
Etymology 1
From Middle English wis (“certain, sure”), from an aphetic form of Middle English iwis, ywis (“certain, sure”) (from Old English ġewiss (“certain, sure”)), or of North Germanic origin, akin to Icelandic viss (“certain”). Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *gawissaz. More at iwis.
Adverb
wis (comparative more wis, superlative most wis)
- (rare, obsolete or dialectal) Certainly, surely.
- 1884, Charlotte Mary Yonge, The armourer's prentices:
- So I wis would the Dragon under him […]
- (rare, obsolete or dialectal) Really, truly.
- (rare, obsolete or dialectal) Indeed.
- c. 1368-1372, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Book of the Duchess:
- As wis God help me.
Adjective
wis (comparative more wis, superlative most wis)
- (rare, obsolete or dialectal) Certain.
- (rare, obsolete or dialectal) Sure.
- He was wis on his word.
- I am wis that it will happen.
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From an incorrect division, mistaking iwis (“certain”) for I wis (“I know”). See ywis for more information. The German verb wissen may appear similar, but in fact corresponds etymologically to the English verb wit; both of those verbs ultimately descend from the same Proto-Indo-European root as this one.
Verb
wis (third-person singular simple present wis, no present participle, no simple past, past participle wist or wissed)
- (obsolete or archaic) To know.
- c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ix]:
- "The fire seven times tried this: / Seven times tried that judgement is, / That did never choose amiss. / Some there be that shadows kiss: / Such have but a shadow's bliss. / There be fools alive, I wis, / Silver'd o'er; and so was this. / I will ever be your head: / So be gone: you are sped."
- (obsolete or archaic) To think, suppose.
- 1850, Robert Browning, “(please specify the page)”, in Christmas-Eve and Easter-Day. A Poem, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC:
- Howe'er you wis.
- (obsolete or archaic) To imagine, ween; to deem.
- 1797, S[amuel] T[aylor] Coleridge, “Christabel. Part I.”, in Christabel: Kubla Khan, a Vision: The Pains of Sleep, London: […] John Murray, […], by William Bulmer and Co. […], published 1816, →OCLC, page 8:
- As sure as Heaven shall rescue me, / I have no thought what men they be; / Nor do I know how long it is / (For I have lain in fits, I wis) […]
Anagrams
Afrikaans
Verb
wis
Chuukese
Noun
wis
Dutch
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Proto-Germanic *wissaz, past participle of *witaną. See gewis.
Adjective
wis (not comparable)
Inflection
Declension of wis | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
uninflected | wis | |||
inflected | wisse | |||
comparative | — | |||
positive | ||||
predicative/adverbial | wis | |||
indefinite | m./f. sing. | wisse | ||
n. sing. | wis | |||
plural | wisse | |||
definite | wisse | |||
partitive | wis |
Etymology 2
From Middle Dutch wisch, from Old Dutch *wisk, from Proto-Germanic *wiskaz (“bundle of straw, hay”).
Noun
wis f or m (plural wissen, diminutive wisje n)
Etymology 3
Verb
wis
- (deprecated template usage) first-person singular present indicative of wissen
- (deprecated template usage) imperative of wissen
Gothic
Romanization
wis
- Romanization of 𐍅𐌹𐍃
Javanese
Javanese register set |
---|
ꦏꦮꦶ (kawi): sampun |
ꦏꦿꦩꦲꦶꦁꦒꦶꦭ꧀ (krama inggil): pun |
ꦏꦿꦩꦲꦤ꧀ꦝꦥ꧀ (krama andhap): wis |
Adverb
j=ꦮꦶꦱ꧀Please see Module:checkparams for help with this warning.
wis
Kabyle
Particle
wis (feminine tis)
- -th, forms ordinal numerals by preceding a cardinal numeral
Usage notes
- The particle agrees in gender with its associated noun. If this noun is feminine, the particle has a feminine form tis.
- The particle may be used before both native Kabyle numerals and Arabic-derived numerals.
- The particle is not used before yiwen (“one”). The adjective amezwaru (“first”) is used instead of such an ordinal.
Old Dutch
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *wīsaz, from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to see, to know”).
Adjective
wīs
Inflection
Strong declension | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | neuter | feminine | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | singular | plural | |
nominative | wīs | wīse | wīs | wīse | wīs | wīsu |
accusative | wīsan | wīse | wīs | wīse | wīsa | wīsu |
genitive | wīsis | wīsro | wīsis | wīsro | wīsro | wīsrō |
dative | wīson | wīson | wīson | wīson | wīsro | wīson |
Weak declension | ||||||
masculine | neuter | feminine | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | singular | plural | |
nominative | wīso | wīsu | wīsa | wīsu | wīsa | wīsu |
accusative | wīsin | wīsin | wīsa | wīsin | wīsin | wīsin |
genitive | wīsin | wīsno | wīsin | wīsno | wīsin | wīsno |
dative | wīsin | wīson | wīsin | wīson | wīsin | wīson |
Descendants
- Middle Dutch: wijs
Further reading
- “wīs”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012
Old English
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *wīsaz, from Proto-Indo-European *weydstos (“knowledgeable”), an extension of *weyd- (“to see, to know”). Akin to Old High German wīs and Old Norse víss.
Pronunciation
Adjective
wīs
Declension
Singular | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
---|---|---|---|
Nominative | wīs | wīs | wīs |
Accusative | wīsne | wīse | wīs |
Genitive | wīses | wīsre | wīses |
Dative | wīsum | wīsre | wīsum |
Instrumental | wīse | wīsre | wīse |
Plural | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
Nominative | wīse | wīsa, wīse | wīs |
Accusative | wīse | wīsa, wīse | wīs |
Genitive | wīsra | wīsra | wīsra |
Dative | wīsum | wīsum | wīsum |
Instrumental | wīsum | wīsum | wīsum |
Derived terms
Descendants
Old High German
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *wīsaz, from Proto-Indo-European *weydstos (“knowledgeable”), an extension of *weyd- (“to see, to know”). Akin to Old English wīs and Old Norse víss.
Adjective
wīs
Derived terms
Descendants
Old Saxon
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *wīsaz, from Proto-Indo-European *weydstos (“knowledgeable”), an extension of *weyd- (“to see, to know”). Akin to Old English wīs, Old High German wīs and Old Norse víss.
Adjective
wīs
Declension
Strong declension | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
gender | masculine | feminine | neuter | |||
case | singular | plural | singular | plural | singular | plural |
nominative | wīs | wīse, wīsa | wīs | wīsa | wīs | wīs, wīsa |
accusative | wīsan, wīsen | wīsa, wīse | wīsa | wīsa | wīs | wīs, wīsa |
genitive | wīses, wīsas | wīsaro, wīsoro, wīsero | wīsara, wīsaro | wīsaro, wīsoro, wīsero | wīses, wīsas | wīsaro, wīsoro, wīsero |
dative | wīsumu, wīsum, wīsun, wīsun, wīson, wīsen, wīsan | wīsun, wīson, wīsum | wīsaro, wīsaru, wīsara | wīsun, wīson | wīsumu, wīsum, wīsun, wīsun, wīson, wīsen, wīsan | wīsun, wīson, wīsum |
Weak declension | ||||||
gender | masculine | feminine | neuter | |||
case | singular | plural | singular | plural | singular | plural |
nominative | wīso, wīsa | wīson, wīsun | wīsa, wīse | wīson, wīsun, wīsan | wīsa, wīse | wīson, wīsun |
accusative | wīson, wīsan | wīson, wīsun | wīsun, wīson, wīsan | wīson, wīsun, wīsan | wīsa, wīse | wīson, wīsun |
genitive | wīsen, wīsan | wīsono, wīseno | wīsun, wīsan, wīsen | wīsono | wīsen, wīsan | wīsono, wīseno |
dative | wīson, wīsen, wīsan | wīson, wīsun | wīsun, wīsan | wīson, wīsun | wīson, wīsen, wīsan | wīson, wīsun |
Descendants
- Middle Low German: wīs
Scots
Etymology
Compare West Frisian wie.
Verb
wis
- simple past tense of be
Usage notes
Wis is used with singular pronouns and plural nouns, and wis, war or wir are used with plural pronouns.
See also
West Frisian
Etymology
See witte (“to know, be sure”). Related to English wis.
Adjective
wis
Inflection
Inflection of wis | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
uninflected | wis | |||
inflected | wisse | |||
comparative | wisser | |||
positive | comparative | superlative | ||
predicative/adverbial | wis | wisser | it wist it wiste | |
indefinite | c. sing. | wisse | wissere | wiste |
n. sing. | wis | wisser | wiste | |
plural | wisse | wissere | wiste | |
definite | wisse | wissere | wiste | |
partitive | wis | wissers | — |
Derived terms
Further reading
- “wis (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/aɪs
- Rhymes:English/aɪs/1 syllable
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms derived from North Germanic languages
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English lemmas
- English adverbs
- English terms with rare senses
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English dialectal terms
- English terms with quotations
- English adjectives
- English terms with usage examples
- English verbs
- English terms with archaic senses
- Afrikaans non-lemma forms
- Afrikaans verb forms
- Chuukese lemmas
- Chuukese nouns
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɪs
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɪs/1 syllable
- Dutch terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch adjectives
- Dutch terms inherited from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms inherited from Old Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Old Dutch
- Dutch terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -en
- Dutch feminine nouns
- Dutch masculine nouns
- Dutch nouns with multiple genders
- Dutch non-lemma forms
- Dutch verb forms
- Gothic non-lemma forms
- Gothic romanizations
- Javanese lemmas
- Javanese adverbs
- Kabyle lemmas
- Kabyle particles
- Old Dutch terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old Dutch terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old Dutch terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Old Dutch lemmas
- Old Dutch adjectives
- Old English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Old English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Old English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Old English lemmas
- Old English adjectives
- Old High German terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old High German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old High German terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Old High German terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Old High German lemmas
- Old High German adjectives
- Old Saxon terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old Saxon terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old Saxon terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Old Saxon terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Old Saxon lemmas
- Old Saxon adjectives
- Scots non-lemma forms
- Scots verb forms
- West Frisian lemmas
- West Frisian adjectives