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wist

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: -wist

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Past indicative of wit: from Old English witan, from Proto-Germanic *witaną, from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (see, know). Cognate with Dutch weten, German wissen, Swedish veta, and Latin videō (I see). Compare guide.

Verb

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wist

  1. (archaic) simple past and past participle of wit.
    • a1796, Robert Burns, "Bonie Jean: A Ballad", in Poems and Songs, P.F. Collier & Son (1909–14), Bartleby.com (2001), [1],
      And lang ere witless Jeanie wist, / Her heart was tint, her peace was stown!
    • 1837, Thomas Carlyle, The French Revolution: A History [], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, (please specify the book or page number):
      Did the maledicent Bodyguard, getting (as was too inevitable) better malediction than he gave, load his musketoon, and threaten to fire; and actually fire? Were wise who wist!

Etymology 2

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A misunderstanding, or a joking use of the past indicative of wit; see Etymology 1.

Verb

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wist (third-person singular simple present wists, present participle wisting, simple past and past participle wisted)

  1. (nonstandard, pseudo-archaic) To know, be aware of.
Usage notes
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  • This use of wist was never a part of the regular English language; rather, it resulted from the erroneous attempted use of archaisms.

Anagrams

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Dutch

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Pronunciation

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  • Rhymes: -ɪst
  • Audio:(file)

Verb

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wist

  1. singular past indicative of weten
  2. inflection of wissen:
    1. second/third-person singular present indicative
    2. (archaic) plural imperative

Old English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Proto-West Germanic *wisti (essence).

Noun

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wist f

  1. being, existence
  2. well-being
Declension
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Strong i-stem:

singular plural
nominative wist wiste, wista
accusative wist, wiste wiste, wista
genitive wiste wista
dative wiste wistum
Derived terms
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Descendants
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  • Middle English: wiste, wyste

Etymology 2

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From Proto-West Germanic *wisti (food).

Noun

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wist f

  1. provisions, food
  2. feast, meal
    • 10th century, The Wanderer:
      Ġemon hē seleseċġas · ond sincþege,
      hū hine on ġeoguðe · his goldwine
      wenede tō wiste · Wyn eal ġedrēas.
      He remembers hall-men and takings of treasures,
      how his goldfriend accustomed him
      to feast on youth. Mirth has completely perished.
  3. delicacy
  4. abundance, plenty
    • The Legend of St. Andrew in Verse
      ...Ne ġedafenað þē nū þē dryhten ġeaf welan and wiste and woruldspēde,...
      ...It befitteth thee not since to thee the Lord hath given wealth and abundance and worldly prosperity,...
Declension
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Strong i-stem:

Polish

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Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Etymology

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Borrowed from English whist.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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wist m inan

  1. whist (card game)

Declension

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Further reading

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  • wist in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • wist in Polish dictionaries at PWN