wis

W4I1S1
/waɪs/

adverb

Certainly, surely.

Less commonScrabble 6

Meanings

wis1

adverbwis (comparative more wis, superlative most wis)

comparative more wis · superlative most wis

  1. dialectalobsoleterareCertainly, surely.

    So I wis would the Dragon under him […]

    1884, Charlotte Mary Yonge, The armourer's prentices
  2. dialectalobsoleterareReally, truly.
  3. dialectalobsoleterareIndeed.

    As wis God help me.

    c. 1368-1372, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Book of the Duchess
adjectivewis (comparative more wis, superlative most wis)

comparative more wis · superlative most wis

  1. dialectalobsoleterareCertain.
  2. dialectalobsoleterareSure.

    He was wis on his word.

    1 more example

    I am wis that it will happen.

wis2

verbwis (third-person singular simple present wis, no present participle, no simple past, past participle wist or wissed)

participle past wist · participle past wissed

  1. archaicno pastno present participleobsoleteTo know.

    "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."

    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]
  2. archaicno pastno present participleobsoleteTo think, suppose.

    Howe'er you wis.

    1850, Robert Browning, “(please specify the page)”, in Christmas-Eve and Easter-Day. A Poem, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC
  3. archaicno pastno present participleobsoleteTo imagine, ween; to deem.

    And oh, that I should see that star remote / Yet His near Glory miss / Whereto the sun itself and stars do float / As motes, I wis!

    1889, Harriet McEwen Kimball, Poems, "In the Garden"
    1 more example

    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) […]

    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

wis3

nounwis (usually uncountable)
  1. abbreviationclippinguncountableusuallyroleplaying gamesClipping of wisdom.

    I often like to have discordant scores, e.g., low wis and high int. One of my current characters has a high int (16) but a low wis (8).

    1995 June 11, verkuilen john v, “Roleplaying Low INT and WIS.”, in rec.games.frp.dnd (Usenet)
    3 more examples

    How much wis is "enough" for skill building? What I mean is if you have a bit over 100 cha, that is all you need to get the best prices you can get from vendors. Is there a similiar "cap" for skill building? (i.e. does someone with 250 wis learn faster than someone with 120?)

    2002 February 5, Kothall, “WIS or Mana”, in alt.games.everquest (Usenet)

    The terminology of V and many variants is confusing regarding wisdom and experience -- for example, if you get a message saying "You feel very naive" it means your wis, not your xp, was drained!

    2003 February 1, Neodymium, “[v302] Passage of Time?”, in rec.games.roguelike.angband (Usenet)

    I had kind of a low wis as well (10), but wis isn't as important for a guardian, especially a light sider (most light side powers are buffs, so you only need to cast them once per battle, unless it's a really long battle). I put all my bonus attributes into wisdom, which got it up to 14, and then on Kashyyk there's an item that will give light siders a boost of +5 wis, which was plenty.

    2004 January 6, Marc DeMarco, “Help, my KOTOR char is an asthmatic moron”, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg (Usenet)

WIS4

nounWIS (uncountable)
  1. abbreviationuncountableroleplaying gamesAbbreviation of wisdom point.

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

wis · adverb, adjective

  1. Proto-Germanic*gawissaz
  2. North Germanic
  3. Old Englishġewiss“certain, sure”
  4. Middle Englishwis“certain, sure”
  5. Englishwis

Inherited 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, cognate with Icelandic viss (“certain, sure”), Dutch gewis (“certain, sure”), and German gewiss (“certain, sure”). Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *gawissaz. More at iwis.

Full word history & related roots →

wis · verb

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.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with wis

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

wis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wis

MLA

“wis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wis. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wis,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wis.

Source: wis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.