Wise
Pronunciation
- IPA: /waɪz/
- Rhymes: -aɪz
Origin 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.
Full definition of wise
Adjective
wise
- 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."It is a profitable thing, if one is wise, to seem foolish" - Aeschylus
- (colloquial) Disrespectful.Don't get wise with me!
Usage notes
Objects: person, decision, advice, counsel, saying, etc.
Derived terms
Verb
Origin 2
From Old English wÄ«se, from Proto-Germanic *wÄ«sÅ. Cognate with Dutch wijze, German Weise, Swedish visa, vis, Italian guisa, Spanish guisa. Compare -wise.
Noun
wise
(plural wises)- (archaic) Way, manner, method.
- 1850 Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Burden of Nineveh, lines 2-5... the prizeDead Greece vouchsafes to living eyes, —Her Art for ever in fresh wiseFrom hour to hour rejoicing me.
- 1866, Algernon Swinburne, A Ballad of Life, lines 28-30A riven hood was pulled across his eyes;The token of him being upon this wiseMade for a sign of Lust.
- 1926, J. S. Fletcher, Sea Fog, page 308And within a few minutes the rest of us were on our way too, judiciously instructed by Parkapple and the Brighton official, and disposed of in two taxi-cabs, the drivers of which were ordered to convey us to Rottingdean in such wise that each set his load of humanity at different parts of the village and at the same time that the bus was due to arrive at the hotel.
Derived terms
Origin 3
From Middle English wisen ("to advise, direct"), from Old English wisian ("to show the way, guide, direct"), from Proto-Germanic *wīsaną, *wīsijaną ("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").