Etymology Explorer › Old English

Where does “wise” come from?

wise (Old English) comes from Proto-Germanic wīsō, from Proto-Indo-European weyd- — to see.

wise (Old English): manner, way, fashion; wise, manner, direction;...

Definitions

  1. manner, way, fashion; wise, manner, direction;...

Ancestry of “wise”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Germanicwīsōway, method, etc
2Proto-Indo-Europeanweyd-to see

Words derived from “wise”

  • -wise
  • -wis
Every word from Proto-Indo-European weyd- →