Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “iwis” come from?

iwis (Middle English) comes from Old English ġewiss, from Proto-West Germanic gawiss, from Proto-Germanic gawissaz, from Proto-Indo-European weyd- — to see.

iwis (Middle English): certain, sure

Definitions

  1. certain, sure

Ancestry of “iwis”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishġewisscertain, sure; certainly, indeed
2Proto-West Germanicgawiss—
3Proto-Germanicgawissazcertain, sure; known
4Proto-Indo-Europeanweyd-to see

Words derived from “iwis”

  • wise
  • wiser
  • wis
  • wiss
  • wisecrack
  • wiseass
  • worldlywise
  • somewise
  • pennywise
  • wisecracker
  • iwis
  • workwise
  • wisen
  • wisenheimer
  • wisehead
  • airwise
  • wisecracky
  • penny-wise
  • way-wise
  • weather-wise
  • copwise
  • cop-wise
  • wiseling
  • afterwise
Every word from Proto-Indo-European weyd- →