wish

Pronunciation

• IPA: /wɪʃ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English wisshen, inherited from Old English wȳscan (“to feel intense longing, cherish a desire”),^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *wunsk-,^[2][5] from Proto-Indo-European *wen- (“to desire, strive for”).^[2][6] Old English lost the n before the spirant s.^[3] Its cognates include Middle Dutch wonscen, Dutch wensen, German wünschen and Old Norse œskja,^[3][2][4] and Sanskrit vāñchati, “he wishes”.^[7][5] It is related to ween, wont and win.^[4][8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

To desire, have a wish for: Old English wȳscan, before 899, in Alfred's translation of Gregory's Pastoral Care,^[3] or about 897.^[10]

Semantic evolution

With a clause expressing an unrealized desire (I wish it were) it is from 971.^[10] With an infinitive, as in wish to go, it is from about 1250.^[10] The noun, “the act of wishing” and “what one wishes for”, is from the early 14th century^[2] or before 1300,^[10] and an expression of desire for another's welfare (best wishes) from 1593.^[10] Wishing well is attested by 1819.^[2] Wish book, a mail-order catalogue, is North American slang by 1927.^[2][10]

Timeline

• before 899 – Old English wȳscan (Alfred).^[3]
• 971 – an unrealized wish.^[10]
• c. 1250 – wish to.^[10]
• early 14th century – noun, a wish.^[2]
• 1593 – a good wish.^[10]
• 1819 – wishing well.^[2]
• 1927 – wish book.^[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To long for; to want.
2. To express a hope for someone: wish you luck.
3. To desire something that is unlikely or impossible: I wish I were taller.
4. To order or request politely.
5. (wish on) To impose on someone.

Noun

1. A desire or longing for something.
2. An expression of a desire; a request.
3. Something desired.

Word family

• wisher
• wishless
• wishbone
• wishful
• wish-wash
• outwish
• unwish
• well-wisher

Related words

• ween
• wont
• win
• venom
• Venus

Usage notes

The American Heritage Dictionary notes that wish is widely used as a polite substitute for want with an infinitive, in keeping with the deference of formal style.^[11] A separate Old English wish is a piece of marshy meadow, recorded from 898.^[10]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin