Online Etymology Dictionary

wisdom: O.E. wisdom, from wis (see wise (adj.)) + -dom. A common Gmc. compound (cf. O.S., O.Fris. wisdom, O.N. visdomr, O.H.G. wistuom "wisdom," Ger. Weistum "judicial sentence serving as a precedent"). Wisdom teeth so called from 1848 (earlier teeth of wisdom, 1668), a loan-translation of L. dentes sapientiæ, itself a loan-transl. of Gk. sophronisteres (used by Hippocrates, from sophron "prudent, self-controlled"), so called because they usually appear ages 17-25, when a person reaches adulthood.
wise (adj.): O.E. wis, from P.Gmc. *wisaz (cf. O.S., O.Fris. wis, O.N. viss, Du. wijs, Ger. weise "wise"), from pp. adj. *wittos of PIE base *woid-/*weid-/*wid- "to see," hence "to know" (see vision). Slang meaning "aware, cunning" first attested 1896. Related to the source of O.E. witan "to know, wit."
"A wise man has no extensive knowledge; He who has extensive knowledge is not a wise man." [Lao-tzu, "Tao te Ching," c.550 B.C.E.]
Wise guy is attested from 1896, Amer.Eng.; wisecrack is from 1924. Wisenheimer, with mock Ger. or Yiddish surname suffix, first recorded 1904.
wise (n.): "way of proceeding, manner," O.E. wise, ultimately from the same source as wise (adj.). Cf. O.S. wisa, O.Fris. wis, Dan. vis, M.Du. wise, Du. wijs, O.H.G. wisa, Ger. Weise "way, manner." Most common in Eng. now as a suffix. For sense evolution from "to see" to "way of proceeding," cf. cognate Gk. eidos "form, shape, kind," also "course of action." Ground sense is "to see/know the way."
wiseacre: 1595, partial translation of M.Du. wijssegger "soothsayer" (with no derogatory connotation), probably altered by association with M.Du. segger "sayer" from O.H.G. wizzago "prophet," from wizzan "to know," from P.Gmc. *wit "know." The depreciatory sense of "one who pretends to know everything" may have come through confusion with obsolete Eng. segger "sayer," which also had a sense of "braggart" (c.1440).
wish (v.): O.E. wyscan "to wish," from P.Gmc. *wunskijanan (cf. O.N. æskja, Dan. ønske, Swed. önska, M.Du. wonscen, Du. wensen, O.H.G. wunsken, Ger. wunschen "to wish"), from PIE *wun-/*wen-/*won- "to strive after, wish, desire, be satisfied" (cf. Skt. vanati "he desires, loves, wins," L. venus "love, sexual desire, loveliness," venerari "to worship;" see Venus). The noun is attested from c.1300. Wishful first recorded 1523. Wishful thinking is recorded from 1932; wish fulfillment (1901) translates Ger. wunscherfüllung (Freud, "Die Traumdeutung," 1900).
wishbone: 1860, from wish + bone, so called from the custom of making a wish while pulling the bone in two with another person. The wishbone breaking custom dates to the early 17c., when the bone was a merrythought.
wishy-washy: 1693, "feeble or poor in quality," reduplication of washy "thin, watery" (see wash). Meaning "vacillating" first recorded 1873.
wisp: c.1300, "handful or bundle of hay, grass, etc.," used for burning or cleaning or as a cushion; perhaps from an unrecorded O.E. word, cognate with Norw. and Swed. visp "wisp," of unknown origin; sometimes said to be connected with whisk or with M.L.G. and M.Du. wispel "a measure of grain." Meaning "thin, filmy portion" first attested 1836.
wist (v.): "to know" (archaic), 1508, from O.E. p.t. of witan "to know" (cf. Ger. wusste, p.t. of wissen "to know"); see wit.
wisteria: 1819, formed by botanist Thomas Nuttall, Eng. botanist, in allusion to Amer. anatomist Caspar Wistar (1761-1818) of Philadelphia. The -e- apparently is a misprint.
wistful: 1613, "closely attentive," from obsolete wist "intent" (c.1500), of uncertain origin. Perhaps formed on the model of wishful. The meaning of "yearningly eager" is first recorded 1714.
wit (n.): "mental capacity," O.E. wit, more commonly gewit, from P.Gmc. *witjan (cf. O.S. wit, O.N. vit, Dan. vid, Swed. vett, O.Fris. wit, O.H.G. wizzi "knowledge, understanding, intelligence, mind," Ger. Witz "wit, witticism, joke," Goth. unwiti "ignorance"), from PIE *woid-/*weid-/*wid- "to see," metaphorically "to know" (see vision). Related to O.E. witan "to know" (source of wit (v.)). Meaning "ability to make clever remarks in an amusing way" is first recorded 1542; that of "person of wit or learning" is from c.1470. Witticism coined 1677, by Dryden. For nuances of usage, see humor.
"A witty saying proves nothing." [Voltaire, Diner du Comte de Boulainvilliers]
wit (v.): "know," O.E. witan "to know," from P.Gmc. *witanan "to have seen," hence "to know" (cf. O.S. witan, O.N. vita, O.Fris. wita, M.Du., Du. weten, O.H.G. wizzan, Ger. wissen, Goth. witan "to know"); see wit (n.). The phrase to wit, almost the only surviving use of the verb, is first recorded 1577, from earlier that is to wit (1340), probably a loan-translation of Anglo-Fr. cestasavoir, used to render L. videlicet (see viz.).
witch: O.E. wicce "female magician, sorceress," in later use esp. "a woman supposed to have dealings with the devil or evil spirits and to be able by their cooperation to perform supernatural acts," fem. of O.E. wicca "sorcerer, wizard, man who practices witchcraft or magic," from verb wiccian "to practice witchcraft" (cf. Low Ger. wikken, wicken "to use witchcraft," wikker, wicker "soothsayer"). OED says of uncertain origin. Klein suggests connection with O.E. wigle "divination," and wig, wih "idol." Watkins says the nouns represent a P.Gmc. *wikkjaz "necromancer" (one who wakes the dead), from PIE *weg-yo-, from *weg- "to be strong, be lively." That wicce once had a more specific sense than the later general one of "female magician, sorceress" perhaps is suggested by the presence of other words in O.E. describing more specific kinds of magical craft. In the Laws of Ælfred (c.890), witchcraft was specifically singled out as a woman's craft, whose practitioners were not to be suffered to live among the W. Saxons:
"Ða fæmnan þe gewuniað onfon gealdorcræftigan & scinlæcan & wiccan, ne læt þu ða libban."
The other two words combined with it here are gealdricge, a woman who practices "incantations," and scinlæce "female wizard, woman magician," from a root meaning "phantom, evil spirit." Another word that appears in the Anglo-Saxon laws is lyblæca "wizard, sorcerer," but with suggestions of skill in the use of drugs, since the root of the word is lybb "drug, poison, charm." Lybbestre was a fem. word meaning "sorceress," and lybcorn was the name of a certain medicinal seed (perhaps wild saffron). Weekly notes possible connection to Gothic weihs "holy" and Ger. weihan "consecrate," and writes, "the priests of a suppressed religion naturally become magicians to its successors or opponents." In Anglo-Saxon glossaries, wicca renders L. augur (c.1100), and wicce stands for "pythoness, divinatricem." In the "Three Kings of Cologne" (c.1400) wicca translates Magi:
"Þe paynyms ... cleped þe iij kyngis Magos, þat is to seye wicchis."
The glossary translates L. necromantia ("demonum invocatio") with galdre, wiccecræft. The Anglo-Saxon poem called "Men's Crafts" has wiccræft, which appears to be the same word, and by its context means "skill with horses." In a c.1250 translation of "Exodus," witches is used of the Egyptian midwives who save the newborn sons of the Hebrews: "Ðe wicches hidden hem for-ðan, Biforen pharaun nolden he ben." Witch in ref. to a man survived in dialect into 20c., but the fem. form was so dominant by 1601 that men-witches or he-witch began to be used. Extended sense of "young woman or girl of bewitching aspect or manners" is first recorded 1740. Witch doctor is from 1718; applied to African magicians from 1836.
"At this day it is indifferent to say in the English tongue, 'she is a witch,' or 'she is a wise woman.' " [Reginald Scot, "The Discoverie of Witchcraft," 1584]
witch hazel: 1540s, probably from O.E. wice "wych-elm" (from wican "to bend") + hæsel, used for any bush of the pine family. The North American bush, from which a soothing lotion is made, was so called from 1670s.
witch hunt: 1640 in the literal sense; the extended sense is attested from 1932 (in witch-hunting), popularized in Cold War anti-Communist hysteria.
witchcraft: O.E. wiccecræft, from wicce (see witch) + cræft "power, skill" (see craft). Witchcraft was first declared a crime in Eng. law in 1542; trials there peaked in 1580s and 1640s but fell sharply after 1660. The last, in 1717, ended in acquittal. The Witchcraft Act was repealed 1736.
with: O.E. wið "against, opposite, toward," a shortened form related to wiðer, from P.Gmc. *withro- "against" (cf. O.S. withar "against," O.N. viðr "against, with, toward, at," M.Du., Du. weder, Du. weer "again," Goth. wiþra "against, opposite"), from PIE *wi-tero-, lit. "more apart," from base *wi- "separation" (cf. Skt. vi, Avestan vi- "asunder," Skt. vitaram "further, farther," O.C.S. vutoru "other, second"). In M.E., sense shifted to denote association, combination, and union, partly by influence of O.N. vidh, and also perhaps by L. cum "with" (as in pugnare cum "fight with"). In this sense, it replaced O.E. mid "with," which survives only as a prefix (e.g. midwife). Original sense of "against, in opposition" is retained in compounds such as withhold, withdraw, withstand. Often treated as a conjunction by ungrammatical writers and used where and would be correct. First record of with child "pregnant" is recorded from c.1200. With it "cool" is black slang, recorded by 1931.
withal: "in addition," 1393, from M.E. with alle (c.1200), superseding O.E. mid ealle "wholly" (see with).
withdraw: early 13c., "to take back," from with "away" + drawen "to draw," possibly a loan-translation of L. retrahere "to retract." Sense of "to remove oneself" is recorded from c.1300.
withdrawal: 1820s, "act of taking back," also "retraction of a statement," from withdraw. Earlier was withdrawment (1630s). Meaning "removal of money from a bank, etc." is from 1861; psychological sense is from 1916; meaning "physical reaction to the cessation of an addictive substance" is from 1897, not common until 1920s.
withe: O.E. wiððe "twisted cord, willow twig" (see withy).
wither: 1530s, alteration of M.E. wydderen "dry up, shrivel" (c.1300), apparently a differentiated and special use of wederen "to expose to weather" (see weather). Cf. Ger. verwittern "to become weather-beaten," from Witter "weather."
withers: 1580, probably from a dialectal survival of O.E. wiðer "against, contrary, opposite" (see with) + plural suffix. Possibly so called because the withers are the parts of the animal that oppose the load. Cf. Ger. Widerrist "withers," from wider "against" + Rist "wrist."
withhold: c.1200, from with- "back, away" (see with) + holden "to hold" (see hold (v.)); probably a loan-translation of L. retinere "to withhold." Past participle form withholden was still used 19c.
within: O.E. wiðinnan, lit. "against the inside," see with + in.
without: O.E. wiðutan, lit. "against the outside" (opposite of within), see with + out. As a word expressing lack or want of something (opposite of with), attested from c.1200. In use by 1393 as a conjunction, short for without that.
withstand: O.E. wiðstandan, from wið "against" (see with) + standan "to stand" (see stand (v.)); perhaps a loan-translation of L. resistere "to resist" (see resist). Cf. O.N. viðstanda, O.Fris. withstonda, O.H.G. widarstan. In 14c. and early 15c., withsit was in use with the same meaning.
withy: O.E. wiðig "willow, willow twig," from P.Gmc. *withjon- "willow" (cf. O.N. viðir, Dan. vidje, O.H.G. wida, Ger. Weide "willow"), from PIE *wei-ti-, suffixed form of base *wei- "to bend, twist" (cf. Avestan vaeiti- "osier," Gk. itea "willow," L. vitis "vine," Lith. vytis "willow twig," Pol. witwa, Welsh gwden "willow," Rus. vitvina "branch, bough").
witness: O.E. witnes "attestation of fact, event, etc., from personal knowledge;" also "one who so testifies;" originally "knowledge, wit," formed from wit (n.) + -ness. The verb is c.1300, from the noun. Christian use (1382) is as a lit. translation of Gk. martys (see martyr). Witness stand is recorded from 1853.
witting: "aware," mid-14c. (wittingly), from wit (v.).
witty: O.E. wittig "clever, wise," from wit (n.) "intellect." Meaning "possessing sparkling wit" is recorded from 1588.
wive (v.): "to marry (a woman)," O.E. wifian, from wif "woman" (see wife). Cf. M.Du. wiven.
wizard: c.1440, "philosopher, sage," from M.E. wys "wise" (see wise (adj.)) + -ard. Cf. Lith. zynyste "magic," zynys "sorcerer," zyne "witch," all from zinoti "to know." The ground sense is perhaps "to know the future." The meaning "one with magical power" did not emerge distinctly until c.1550, the distinction between philosophy and magic being blurred in the Middle Ages. As a slang word meaning "excellent" it is recorded from 1922.
wizen: O.E. wisnian, weosnian "to wither," cognate with O.N. visna, O.H.G. wesanen "to dry up, shrivel, wither;" Ger. verwesen "to decay, rot."
woad: O.E. wad, from P.Gmc. *waido- (cf. Dan. vaid, O.Fris. wed, M.Du. wede, Du. wede, O.H.G. weit, Ger. Waid "woad"), probably cognate with L. vitrium "glass" (see vitreous). Old type of blue dye processed from plant leaves, since superseded by indigo. Fr. guède, It. guado are Gmc. loan-words.
wobbegong: type of Australian shark, 1852, an Aboriginal word.
wobble (v.): 1657, probably from Low Ger. wabbeln "to wobble;" cognate with O.N. vafla "hover about, totter," related to vafra "move unsteadily," from P.Gmc. *wab- "to move back and forth" (see waver). The noun is attested from 1699.
Wobbly: 1914, member of Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.). Probably some sort of elaboration of the W aspect of the acronym.
Woden: Anglo-Saxon god, O.E., see Odin.
woe: O.E. wa, a common exclamation of lament in many languages (cf. L. væ, Gk. oa, Ger. weh, Lettish wai, O.Ir. fe, Welsh gwae, Armenian vay). The noun is attested from c.1175, from the interjection.
woebegone: c.1300, in me is wo bigone "woe has beset me," from begon "to beset, surround."
wog: c.1920, "a lower-class babu shipping clerk" [Partridge]; later World War II British armed forces slang for "native of India" (especially as a servant or laborer), possibly shortened from golliwog. Many acronym origins have been proposed, none found satisfactory.
wok: 1952, from Cantonese.
wold: O.E. wald (Anglian), weald (W.Saxon) "forest, wooded upland," from P.Gmc. *walthuz (cf. O.S., O.Fris. wald, M.Du. wold, Du. woud, O.H.G. wald, Ger. Wald "forest," Swed. vall "pasture," O.N. völlr "soil, field, meadow"); perhaps connected to wild. The sense development from "forested upland" to "rolling open country" (c.1200) perhaps is from Scandinavian influence, or a testimony to the historical deforestation of Britain. Not current since mid-16c.; survives mainly in place names (cf. Cotswold).
wolf: O.E. wulf, from P.Gmc. *wulfaz (cf. O.S. wulf, O.N. ulfr, O.Fris., Du., O.H.G., Ger. wolf, Goth. wulfs), from PIE *wlqwos/*lukwos, from base *wlp-/*lup- (cf. Skt. vrkas, Avestan vehrka-; Albanian ulk; O.C.S. vluku; Rus. volcica; Lith. vilkas "wolf;" O.Pers. Varkana- "Hyrcania," district southeast of the Caspian Sea, lit. "wolf-land;" probably also Gk. lykos, L. lupus). The verb meaning "eat like a wolf" is attested from 1862. Wolves as a symbol of lust are ancient, e.g. Roman slang lupa "whore," lit. "she-wolf" (preserved in Sp. loba, It. lupa, Fr. louve). The equation of "wolf" and "prostitute, sexually voracious female" persisted into 12c., but by Elizabethan times wolves had become primarily symbolic of male lust. The specific use of wolf for "sexually aggressive male" first recorded 1847; wolf-whistle first attested 1952. The image of a wolf in sheep's skin is attested from c.1400. See here for a discussion of "wolf" in I.E. history.
"This manne can litle skyl ... to saue himself harmlesse from the perilous accidentes of this world, keping ye wulf from the doore (as they cal it)." ["The Institution of a Gentleman," 1555]
wolfram: 1757, from Ger. Wolfram, wolform "iron tungstate" (1562), of obscure etymology. It looks like "wolf-cream" (from rahm "cream"), but the second element might be M.H.G. ram (Ger. Rahm) "dirty mark, soot;" if so, perhaps "so called in sign of contempt because it was regarded of lesser value than tin and caused a considerable loss of tin during the smelting process in the furnace" [Klein]. Or perhaps the word is originally a personal name, "wolf-raven."
wolfsbane: "aconite" (especially Aconitum lycoctonum), 1548, from wolf + bane; a translation of L. lycoctonum, from Gk. lykotonon, from lykos "wolf" + base of kteinein "to kill."
wolverine: carnivorous mammal, 1619, alteration of wolvering (1574), of uncertain origin, possibly from wolv-, inflectional stem of wolf, or perhaps from wolver "one who behaves like a wolf" (1593).
woman: late O.E. wimman (pl. wimmen), lit. "woman-man," alteration of wifman (pl. wifmen), a compound of wif "woman" (see wife) + man "human being" (in O.E. used in ref. to both sexes; see man). Cf. Du. vrouwmens "wife," lit. "woman-man." The formation is peculiar to Eng. and Du. Replaced older O.E. wif, quean as the word for "female human being." The pronunciation of the singular altered in M.E. by the rounding influence of -w-; the plural retains the original vowel. Meaning "wife," now largely restricted to U.S. dial. use, is attested from c.1450. Women's liberation is attested from 1966; women's rights is from 1840, with an isolated example in 1632. Verb womanize originally (1593) meant "to make effeminate;" sense of "to chase women, to go wenching" is attested from 1893.