▪ I. wise, n.1 arch.
(waɪz)
Forms: 1– wise, 1, 3–4 (5–6 Sc.) wis, 1, 3–6 wyse, (3–4 wisse, 4 wice, Sc. viss, vijs, vyijs, vyise), 4–5 wys, (Sc. wiss, vyse, vice, 4–6 Sc. wyis (6 -iss), 5 wyesse, whyse, 5–6 Sc. wyss(e, vise, 6 wize, weysse).
[OE. w{iacu}se wk. fem. (rarely w{iacu}s str. fem.) manner, mode, condition, thing, affair, cause, reason, (occas.) song = OFris. wîs, OS. wîsa wk. and str. (MLG. wîse, wîs, MDu. wîze, wijs, Du. wijze), OHG. wîsa, and wîs manner, custom, tune (MHG. wîse, G. weise), ON. v{iacu}sa wk. fem. stanza, *v{iacu}s manner in öðruv{iacu}s otherwise (Sw. visa, Da. vise song; also Sw., Da. vis way, manner):—OTeut. *wīsōn-, *wīsō: f. wit- wit v.1 (for the sense cf. the cognate Gr. εἶδος form, shape, kind, state of things, course of action).]
I. † 1. a. Manner, mode, fashion, style; spec. habitual manner of action, habit, custom (cf. way n. 22). Obs. (in later use Sc.): see also II.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 55 Maniᵹes mannes wise bið þæt he wile symle to his nehstan sprecan þa word þe he wenþ þæt him leofoste syn to ᵹehyrenne. c 1205 Lay. 25426 An hundred þusende iwepnede þeines ohte on heore londes wise. c 1220 Bestiary 468 Ðe spinnere..werpeð ðus hire web, and weueð on hire wise. a 1250 Owl & Night. 1029 For heom ne may halter ne bridel Bringe from here wode wyse. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1213 Þat folc verst in is wise, To hor godes as hii wolde, dude hor sacrefice. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xx. 263 Þis is þe worste wise þat eny wight myghte Synegen aȝens þe seynt espirit. c 1400 Mandeville (1919) xi. 49, & ȝit þei ben in moornynge in the wise þat þei maden here lamentacioun for him the firste tyme. c 1470 Henry Wallace ii. 25 Our all ye toune rewlyng on thair awne wis. 1572 Satir. Poems Reform. xxxiv. 3 Quho list to mark the Scottisch gyse..Sall weill persave thair craftie wyse. |
† b. phr. to do, make one's wise: to do what one can. in wise of: after the fashion of; in respect of. in wise that: in such a manner that, so that.
| c 1290 Beket 1279 in S. Eng. Leg. 143 Þo he hadde al is tale itold and imaked is grete wise [v.r. al his wise], He sat adoun. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus v. 64 This Troylus, yn wyse of curtasie,..rod and dide here compaynye. 1454 Paston Lett. I. 297 Ledam wulde a do hys wyse to a mad a complent to Pryothe in the scher-howse of yow. c 1470 Henry Wallace vi. 565 All Wallace folk in wys off wer was gud. 1561 Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer iii. (1577) P v, Wyth the wayes whyche she ordeined, those Realmes are still ruled, in wise that albeit hir life wanteth, yet hir authoritie liueth. |
† 2. Song, melody. Obs.
| a 1000 Menologium 70 Wrecan wordum forð, wise [MS. wisse] ᵹesingan. a 1250 Owl & Night. 519 So sone so þu sittest a brode Þu forleost al þine wise. |
II. OE. w{iacu}se manner, fashion, like the cognate forms in other Germanic languages (see the respective sections below), was used in various kinds of advb. expressions meaning ‘in such-and-such a manner, way, or respect’, in which it was qualified by an adj. or a n. with or without a governing preposition. Several of these expressions, with others formed on their pattern in later periods, have survived as simple words, e.g. anywise, crosswise, leastwise, likewise, nowise, otherwise, slantwise, in which -wise has the appearance of a suffix, and, in so far as it could or can still be freely combined with an adj. or a n. (as in 1 b, 3 b), it has actually performed the function of a suffix. The free use of the various forms, i.e. apart from the established simple words, is now only archaic exc. in sense 3 b.
1. a. With demonstrative, interrogative, or indefinite adj. in an oblique case. († rarely pl.)
In O.E. óðre w{iacu}san varies with on óðre w{iacu}san (see otherwise), but most later expressions of this form, e.g. likewise, thiswise, what-wise, resulted from ellipses of the prep. in expressions of the type in 2 a. thuswise is an analogical combination with an adv.
Cf. OFris. hûdêne wîs, OS. hû wîs(e, OHG. andar wîs, einic wîs, MHG. neheine wîs, der selben wîs, manege(n wîs.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 177 Þe læs þe oðre wisan æniᵹ man leoᵹe. c 1205 Lay. 32018 Wulchere wise he mihte wið Aðelstane fihte. a 1300 Cursor M. 17473 All fals sal far þat ilk wise. a 1300 [see what-wise]. 13.. Bonaventura's Medit. 154 Þat he to hys treytur dyd þe same wyse. 13..–1530 this wise [see thiswise]. 1375 Barbour Bruce v. 78 His menȝe..That vs dispytis mony vis. c 1375, 1556 suche wise [see suchwise]. c 1420 ? Lydg. Assembly of Gods 198 Syth that hit woll none other wyse be. c 1450 Cursor M. 9896 (Laud) This castelle..is feyror many wyse [Cott. on mani wise] Then tong can telle. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xix. 1 How sowld I rewill me, or quhat wyiss. Ibid. lxxviii. 15 It will nocht walkin me no wise. 1513 Douglas æneis vi. x. 93 And as thai flokkit about Enee, als tyte Sic vise ontil thaim carpis Sibilla. 1513 quhat wyse [see what-wise]. 1524 in Strype Eccl. Mem. (1721) I. App. xiii. 30 The delaying..of this matier may do moche harme, and prejudice sundry wises. 1530 Ibid. III. App. x. 20, I haue prayed no other wysse then the trewth. 1538 Starkey England (1878) 16 Thys law..must..be referryd, non other wyse then the conclusyonys of artys mathematical are euer referryd to theyr pryncypullys. 1560 Abst. Protocols Town Clerks of Glasgow (1896) II. 84 All reicht..quhilk he had or ony wyis mycht haif. 1649 C. Wase Sophocles, Electra 12 Whilst things stand this wise with me. 1693 Evelyn De La Quint. Compl. Gard. I. 36 The Houses, that can no wise afford above one Garden. 1799 Underwood Dis. Childh. (ed. 4) II. 242 A bougie..would be every wise as proper. 1856 Mrs. Browning Aur. Leigh iii. 810 No wise beautiful Was Marian Erle. 1883 L. Oliphant Altiora Peto xviii, He did it this wise. |
b. With general adjs., often forming an equivalent of -ly2, as † humble wise = humbly, despiteful-wise = despitefully: in later use hyphened or as one word.
Cf. MHG. glîcher wîse (G. gleicherweise), G. glücklicherweise, irrtümlicherweise, törichterweise, zufälligerweise, etc.; normaler weise, etc.
| Beowulf 1865 Ic þa leode wat..fæste ᵹeworhte, æᵹhwæs untæle ealde wisan. a 1300 Cursor M. 21277 Þe queles er draun diuerse wise. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 480 The nyghtes longe Encressen double wise the peynes stronge. 1475 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 129/1 Service, the which the seid Galiard..had doon dyvers wise to your goode grace. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 929 Thus may thow, and thow will, wirk the best wise. 1592 Constable Diana i. i. 2 Humble wise To thee my sighes in verse I sacrifise. 1635 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Banish'd Virg. 157 It was formed hooked-wise. 1866 Church & State Rev. 11 May 298/2 It is no dull good-boy book, to be taken teetotalwise. 1876 Stedman Vict. Poets vi. 220 ‘The Princess’ and ‘The Idylls of the King’, are written Dorian-wise. 1903 Kipling Five Nations, S. Africa vi, She..Treated them despiteful-wise. |
2. a. (a) With prep. (orig. on, arch. since 16th cent.; OE. also of; from 14th cent. in) and demonstrative, interrogative, or indefinite adj., as on náne w{iacu}san in no way, nowise, of þisse w{iacu}san in this way, thiswise. (Cf. 1 a.) Sometimes illogically written as one word or with hyphen.
Cf. OS. an negana wîsa, MLG. in wat wîs(e, OHG. in thesa, alla, managa, zwei wîs, ze dero, andrero, welero wîs, etc., G. auf andere, solche, welche weise, etc.
| c 888 ælfred Boeth. xvi. §2 On nane wisan. c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. i. xxvii. (1890) 72 Ne meaht þu on oðre wisan biscop halᵹian buton oðrum biscopum. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke xv. 10 Ita, on ða wisa. 971 Blickl. Hom. 31 Þas cyþnesse Drihten nam of þisse wisan. c 1050 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 341/26 Aliter, on æniᵹe oðre wisan. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 109 On monie wisen mon mei wurchen elmessan. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 203 Alle he laðeð ech a sume wise to endelese blisse. c 1200 Ormin 2534 Herrsumm onn alle wise. c 1350 in what wise [see what-wise]. c 1400 Destr. Troy 8440 Andromaca..prayet the prinse..On nowise in thys world the walles to passe. c 1400 Rom. Rose 5940 Ben thanne siche marchauntz wise, No, but fooles in euery wise. c 1440 Generydes 102, I am come here, in lyke wyse as ye see. 1472, 1563 in any wise [see anywise]. 1526 Tindale Rom. iii. 9 Are we better then they? No in no wyse. 1581 Burne Disput. in Cath. Tract. (S.T.S.) 112 Thay..vil in nauyse suffer onie man to..preache aganis the same. 1639 Rouse Heav. Univ. Advt. (1702) 2 One who was in no wise averse to that common Learning. 1732 T. Lediard Sethos II. ix. 269 Provided, however, it were in no-wise an obstacle. 1800 Med. Jrnl. IV. 318 The abdominal ring is in nowise concerned in the disease. 1844 Disraeli Coningsby iv. vii, In this wise, affairs had gone on for a month. 1848, 1865 in somewise [see somewise]. 1879 M. Arnold Mixed Ess., Milton 238 Whoever comes to the Essay on Milton..will feel that the essay in nowise helps hims. 1905 in what-wise [see what-wise]. |
(b) with a or a numeral, or pl.
| a 1000 Colloq. ælfric in Wright Voc. (1857) I. 7 On feala wisan ic beswice fuᵹelas. c 1000 ælfric Gram. xxxviii. (Z.) 237 Bifariam, on twa wisan. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 77 Þe fader is ine þe sune on þre wise. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 9 Teȝenes ure emcristene we sulle laden ure lif edmodeliche on two wise. a 1225 Ancr. R. 6 Alle ne muwe nout..holden on one wise ðe vtture riwle. a 1300 Cursor M. 29506 O thrijn wijs Mai cursing be tald on right wijs. 1340 Ayenb. 62 Þe dyeuel..him chongeþ in uele wysen þet uolk uor to gyly. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 1805 Þus vpon þrynne wyses I haf yow þro schewed, Þat vnclannes to cleues in corage dere. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xii. (Mathias) 99, & In a vice to-gyddyr fede & in ane aray in bak & bede. 1430–40 Lydg. Bochas ix. ii. (1554) 197/1 Disceiuable in many sondry wyses. c 1449 Pecock Repr. v. xii. 548 Bi manye wijsis. 1520 Rolls of Parlt. V. 437/1 In other divers manere of wyses. |
b. With general adjs.: cf. 1 b. (occas. illogically as one word or with hyphen.)
Cf. in likewise (likewise 1), and OFris. to lîkere wîs (and).
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 189 Þa cwæþ Neron, On ða betstan wisan þu demest. a 1100 Aldhelm Gloss. i. 1252 (Napier 34) Mirum in modum, on wunderlicum ᵹemete [in another hand wise]. c 1205 Lay. 27834 Wes þe kaisere of-slæȝen a seolcuðe wisen. a 1300 Cursor M. 10948 Als lagh was þan on ald wise. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 1095 So sodanly on a wonder wyse, I was war of a prosessyoun. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 20 In euery skylful wyse. c 1400 Cursor M. 28028 (Cotton Galba) Ȝe oft sithes on wonderwise Biswikes þam. 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. xcvii, That coude his office doon In connyng wise. 1456 Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 153 Thareto I ansuere in double wis. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xi. vii. 580, I will..that ye be wel bisene in the rychest wyse. 1480 Cely Papers (Camden) 29 In as lovynge whyse as harte cone thynke. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxv. 3 We..To ȝow that ar in purgatory Commendis ws on our hairtly wyiss. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 2, I shall praye for you in lyke wyse. 1597 Morley Introd. Mus. 87 You take a discord for the first part, & not in binding wise. 1600 W. Watson Decacordon (1602) 360 Some in scoffing manner; others in malicious wise. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. i. 98 These letters in scattering wise, C a e r a t i c. 1684 Bunyan Pilgr. ii. Introd., By all means in all Loving-wise, them greet. 1782 Trumbull M{supc}Fingal iv. (1795) 94 In mournful wise. 1865 Swinburne Chastelard i. i. (1894) 13 You praise her in too lover-like a wise. 1870 Morris Earthly Par. II. iii. 46 A while in gentle wise they went. |
3. a. With prep. (see 2) and n. in (non-syntactical) combination with wise, e.g. OE. on scipw{iacu}san in the manner of a ship, like a ship.
Cf. OS. an kuningwîsa(n like a king, MHG. in kriuzewîs, MSw. i korsvîs crosswise.
| c 890 Wærferth tr. Gregory's Dial. (1900) 343 Tweᵹen oflæthlafas on beaᵹwisan abacene. a 950 Guthlac ii. (Prose) 107 Mid þam þe seo yld com þæt hit sprecan mihte æfter cnihtwisan. c 1000 ælfric Saints' Lives vi. 247 On munuc⁓wisan ᵹescryd. c 1070 in Thorpe Charters (1865) 430 Mycel Englisc boc..on leoðwisan ᵹeworht. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xix. 138 Kulleden hym on-crosse-wyse. 1393 Ibid. C. viii. 163 In a weythwynde wyse ywryþe al aboute. c 1400 Destr. Troy 175 Ayre vp the erthe on ardagh wise. Ibid. 4762 The grekes..At wyndous on yche syde-wise a wondurfull nombur. c 1407 Lydg. Reson & Sens. 5245 In karol wise I saugh hem goon. 1495 Acta Dom. Conc. (1839) 427/2 In Indenture wise. 1571 Golding Calvin on Ps. xxxv. 20 By the clifts of the earth wee may in metaphorwyse vnder⁓stande miserable men..broken and maymed. 1589 in ballade wise [see ballad-wise s.v. ballad n. 6]. 1596 Edw. III, v. 137 Heere twise as many pikes in quadrant wise. 1606 W. Crashaw Rom. Forgeries To Rdr. D 4 b, The reuerend Master Iohn Ferus..did in Sermon-wise explane the bookes of Iob vnto the Citizens. 1622 Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. ii. 333 The points of the Hornes meeting..in a kinde of circle-wise. 1800 Coleridge Christabel ii. 573 Geraldine, in maiden wise,..turned her from Sir Leoline. 1916 H. E. G. Rope Relig. Ancilla 54 We trod the pilgrim road in pilgrim wise. |
b. without prep. (variously written).
(i) The meaning is ‘in the manner of’, ‘in the..manner’. Cf. MLG. crûcewîs, Du. kruiswijs, MHG. kriuzewîse, G. kreuzweise, pfandweise, etc.
| 1398 [see crosswise 1]. 1459 Paston Lett. I. 475 A goune..with side slevis, sirples wise. 1474 [see cornerwise]. c 1530 Crt. of Love 1354 Within a temple shapen hauthorn wise. 1530 [see lozengewise]. 1545–1616 compass-wise [see compass n.1 D]. 1577 Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. 37 To order it garden wyse, castyng it into beddes. 1591 Savile Tacitus, Hist. i. lv. 32 No man presumed to make any solemne oration assembly-wise [L. in modum concionis]. 1625 Antheme-wise [see anthem n. 4]. 1631 in Courridge Ye Olde Streete of Pavement (c 1890) 177/1 Let them tie upon a stick, posie wise, a little piece of sponge. 1657 Sparrow Bk. Com. Prayer (1661) 100 Then the Priest Collect-wise makes a Prayer. 1677 W. Hughes Man of Sin iii. iii. 61 Let us try once more to argue Cardinalwise. 1725 Fam. Dict. s.v. Cutting, They do at other Times cut sloaping, and Hind-foot-wise. 1743 Shenstone Let. to Graves 23 Dec., The sides [of an alcove] ornamented with sheeps⁓bones, jaws, sculls, &c. festoon-wise. 1851 H. Melville Moby Dick II. xxviii. 192 Ahab..took Stubb's long spade..and striking it into the lower part of the half-suspended mass, placed its other end crutch-wise under one arm. 1854 H. D. Thoreau Walden 21 Waiting at evening on the hill-tops for the sky to fall, that I might catch something, though I never caught much, and that, manna-wise, would dissolve again in the sun. 1876 [O. H. B.] White Cross xlviii, ‘Oh, only in a brotherly way.’.. ‘Timothy or Titus-wise, you know.’ 1885 Cornhill Mag. Mar. 283 Priests sitting with their legs tucked up tailor-wise, in the attitude of Buddha. 1919 R. Firbank Valmouth iv. 52 Flecked with wood shavings, Saint Joseph-wise, it [sc. a gown] brought with it suggestions of Eastern men. 1921 Kastner & Charlton Poetical Wks. of Sir Wm. Alexander I. p. lvii, The style throughout, Seneca-wise, ought to be magnificent and grave. 1923 R. Macaulay Told by an Idiot I. ii. 11 Her mass of chestnut hair parted Rosetti-wise in the middle. 1940 ‘Gun Buster’ Return via Dunkirk ii. iv. 117 In a few minutes our vehicles were coiled serpent-wise round the château. |
(ii) Used in the same way but with the sense: as regards, in respect of. colloq. (orig. U.S.).
| 1942 E. R. Allen in J. J. Mattiello Protective & Decorative Coatings II. viii. 252 It should be noted that there are two types of hydrogen atoms positionwise. 1948 Sat. Rev. 6 Mar. 16/3 Plotwise, it offers little more or little less of what-happens-next interest than may be found [etc.]. 1958 Spectator 10 Jan. 37/2 John Robert Russell, 13th Duke of Bedford..in twelve TV performances, was the greatest, successwise, among the aristocrats. 1958 Times 5 Sept. 11/5 An ill-disciplined, over-paid, frustrated youth, whose life chances have been vastly improved moneywise without commensurate social adjustment. 1961 Far East Film News (Tokyo) Apr. 5/1, 1961 so far has been UA [sc. United Artists] all the way prize-wise with this company taking an even dozen Oscars. 1976 J. I. M. Stewart Memorial Service xii. 184 These were a gentle race..desperately worried over the grim state of the market job-wise. 1981 Gossip (Holiday Special) 24/1 Acting-wise, I like Katharine Hepburn, Joanne Woodward, Judy Garland and, of course, Marilyn. |
c. with prep. and n. in the genitive.
Cf. OFris. thiaveswîse like a thief, MLG. (in) dieves wîse, in pelegrimes wîse, gastes wîse as a guest, OHG. in eseles wîs like an ass, MHG. in kriuzes wîs crosswise, ze gesellen wîs like comrades.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2961 It was on fendes wise wroȝt. a 1300 K. Horn 360 On a squieres wise. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. ii. 148 On Palfreis wyse. Ibid. vi. 9 In A weþe⁓bondes wyse I-wriþen aboute [cf. quot. 1393 in 3]. Ibid. vii. 53 In pilgrimes wyse. 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. cxvii, In thaire flouris wise. 1865 Swinburne Chastelard i. iii. (1894) 46 On peaceable men's wise. |
† d. with formations in -kin(s, manner. Obs.
| c 1200 Vices & Virtues 25 On alles kennes wisen. a 1300 Cursor M. 7984 On quatkin wise. Ibid. 9486 He ne mai be fre on nakins wis [v.r. nan-kin wise]. c 1350 Will. Palerne 4380 In no maner wice. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints ix. (Bertholomeus) 129 One foure-kine wise. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 91 On mani maner wis. c 1520 Skelton Garl. Laurel 647 In lyke maner of wyse. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccccviii. 287 b/1 In some maner awyse. 1535 Goodly Primer Ps. cxix, In no maner wyse. 1563 P. Whitehorne Onosandro Platon. 31 In no maner of wyse. |
4. The synonymy of -wise and -ways in such advs. as likeways, likewise, noways, nowise, led to their interchange and consequently the illogical use of -wise for -ways: see -ways 3.
▪ II. wise, n.2 Obs. exc. dial.
Also wyse.
[OE. w{iacu}se; cf. ON. v{iacu}sir: ultimate relations doubtful.]
The stalk or stem of a plant; esp. a trailing stem or runner, as of the strawberry.
| a 1000 Riddles lxvi. 4 æᵹhwa mec reafað,..min heafod scireþ, biteð mec on bær lic, briceð mine wisan. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 36 Streawberᵹean wise. c 1050 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 415/34 Gesce, eall hwite wysan. c 1425 Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903) 310 Tak an handful of Bugyl, an oþer of strawebery wyse. c 1440 MS. Lincoln A. i. 17 lf. 280 (Halliw.), Take the wyse of tormentile, and bray it. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 531/1 Wyse, of strawbery (P. or pesyn), fragus. c 1450 [see strawberry wise s.v. strawberry 8]. |
▪ III. wise, a. (n.3, adv.)
(waɪz)
Forms: 1–5 (6 Sc.) wis, 3–5 (6 Sc.) wys, 4–7 wyse, 4– wise; also 3–5 wiis, 4 wiys, wyys, wyese, -esse, weysse, Sc. viss, vyijs, 4–5 wijs, wyes, wiss, 4–5 (6 Sc.) wyss, wice, 4–6 Sc. vyise, 4, 7 wiese, 5 wijse, wies, weise, wiesse, wisse, wysse, vise, vice, viese, Sc. vyis, 5 (6 Sc.) wyis, wyce, vyse, 6 Sc. wisz, wyise, -ice, -iss, vyiss, vyce.
[OE. w{iacu}s = OFris., OS., OHG. (MLG., MDu., MHG.) wîs, (Du. wijs, G. weis in phr. einen weis machen), ON. v{iacu}ss (Sw., Da. vis), Goth. weis (in compounds):—OTeut. *wīsaz:—pre-Teut. *wīttos, f. Indo-Eur. weid- (see wit v.1) + ppl. suffix -to-.
OHG. wîsi (MHG. wîse, G. weise) is from a parallel formation with j-suffix.
The standard pronunciation with voiced s (z) is presumably derived from the oblique cases. The normal representative of OE. w{iacu}s with (s), as in ice (OE. {iacu}s), survives in some northern dialects; the regular Sc. pronunciation is (weis).]
1. a. Having or exercising sound judgement or discernment; capable of judging truly concerning what is right or fitting, and disposed to act accordingly; having the ability to perceive and adopt the best means for accomplishing an end; characterized by good sense and prudence. Opp. to foolish. (See also wise man 1.) Also in phr. wise old man; spec. = wise man 4.
In ME. often in collocation with ware a.
| Beowulf 1845 Mæᵹenes strang and on mode frod, wis wordcwida. c 1000 Rule of Chrodegang liv, Preostas sceolon ᵹemunan þæt hiᵹ ne synt..wisran þonne Salomon. a 1122 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 656 Theodorus, swiðe god man & wis. c 1205 Lay. 6303 Heo wes swiðe wis of wordliche dome. a 1225 Ancr. R. 90 Salomon þe wise. a 1250 Owl & Night. 192 He is wis and war of worde. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 5388 King alfred was wisost king þat longe was biuore. 1375 Barbour Bruce ix. 327 The viss king, that ves vicht and bald. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 68 Though þat he were worthy he was wys. Ibid. 309 A Sergeant of the Lawe war and wys. c 1400 Destr. Troy 1463 A man witty & wise, wight, wildist in armes. 1434 Misyn Mending Life iv. 113 In meet & drynke be þow scars & wisse. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 526/1 Wyce, in werkynge and ware.., discretus, providus. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxxix. 39 And quha can reive vthir menis rowmis..Is now ane active man and wyice. 1508 ― Tua mariit wemen 294 As wis woman ay I wrought & not as wod fule. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 131 We sholde also be wele ware or wyse, as is y⊇ serpent. 1526 Tindale Matt. xxv. 2 Fyve of them were folysshe, and fyve were wyse. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado ii. iii. 167 Claudio. And she is exceeding wise. Prince. In euery thing, but in louing Benedicke. 1639 J. Taylor (Water P.) Pt. Summers Trav. 42 To tempt and draw the wisest men to folly. a 1732 Gay Fables ii. v. 1 That man must daily wiser grow, Whose search is bent himself to know. 1798 Southey Well of St. Keyne 51 She had been wiser than me, For she took a bottle to Church. 1818 Coleridge Friend II. i. 23 The first duty of a wise advocate is to convince his opponents, that he understands their arguments and sympathizes with their just feelings. 1872 Tennyson In Children's Hospital vi, ‘If I,’ said the wise little Annie, ‘was you, I should cry to the dear Lord Jesus to help me.’ 1875 Manning Mission Holy Ghost xiv. 383 The wisest of all the sons of men before the Incarnation of the Son of God was Solomon, king of Israel. 1940 [see shadow n. 1 d]. 1956 R. F. C. Hull tr. Jung's Symbols of Transformation in Coll. Wks. V. ii. vii. 332 The archetype of the wise old man first appears in the father, being a personification of meaning and spirit in its procreative sense. 1961 G. Adler Living Symbol xvii. 397 The more remote and more powerful figure of the ‘wise old man’ represents a further step..to a higher and more comprehensive wisdom. 1968 ‘A. Whitney’ Every Man has his Price viii. 61 Now he was a wise old man, greatly feared, much respected. 1975 D. Daniell Interpreter's House iii. 60 There is a Wise Old Man..blind and of immense strength who..blesses John Burnet. 1977 M. Green Children of Sun i. 36 A whole movement focuses passionate values..on them [sc. young men]—as opposed to focusing them on the wise old man. |
(b) of God.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 260 Ihesus, god and man so wis. c 1400 tr. Secr. Secr., Gov. Lordsh. 92 God ys wys and conynge. 1526 Tindale Jude 25 To God oure saveour, whyche only ys wyse [1611 to the onely wise God our Sauiour], be glory, maiestie, dominion, and power. 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. ii. i. 6 We ignorant of our selues, Begge often our owne harmes, which the wise Powres Deny vs for our good. 1719 Watts Ps. lxiii. (L.M.) ii, Thou Great and Good, thou Just and Wise, Thou art my Father and my God! |
(c) of animals.
| a 1000 Boeth. Metr. xviii. 5 Sio wilde beo, þeah wis sie [etc.]. 1560 Bible (Genev.) Prov. xxx. 24 These be foure smal things.., yet thei are wise and ful of wisdome. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 271 The wise Ant her wintry Store provides. 1863 Kingsley Water-Bab. ii, The wise dog took them over the moor. |
(d) of superhuman beings and personifications.
| c 1400 Rom. Rose 4621 Resoun Discrete and wijs and full pleasaunt. 1611 Shakes. Cymb. v. v. 367 He..hath vpon him still that naturall stampe: It was wise Natures end..To be his euidence now. 1647 H. More Song of Soul ii. Infin. Worlds cv, Wise preventing Destinie. 1796 H. Hunter tr. St. Pierre's Study Nat. (1799) I. 382 Wise Nature, in giving so much force to early habits, intended that our happiness should depend on those who are most concerned to promote it. 1833 Tennyson Dream Fair Women xxiv, No one can be more wise than destiny. |
(e) const. to (with n. or inf.), unto. arch.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 8544 Was neuer nan wiser lagh to lede. c 1449 Pecock Repr. iv. i. 420 Hem that made hem silf seme wijse forto condempne mennis lawe. 1526 Tindale Rom. xvi. 19, I wolde have you wyse vnto that which is good. And to be innocent as concernynge evyll. ― 2 Tim. iii. 15 Which is able to make the wyse vnto health. 1560 Bible (Genev.) Jer. iv. 22 Thei are wise to do euil, but to do wel thei haue no knowledge. 1583 B. Melbancke Philotimus K iv b, It makes my harte bleede to see thee so wise to wickednes. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 193 Wise to frustrate all our plots and wiles. 1781 Cowper Charity 87 Wise to promote whatever end he means, God opens fruitful nature's various scenes. |
(f) in proverbs and proverbial sayings. (See also 6 c.)
| 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 9884 Wyys ys þat ware ys. 1526 Tindale Luke xvi. 8 The chyldren of this worlde, are in their kynde [1611 generation] wyser then the chyldren off light. 1539 Taverner Erasm. Prov. 18 He is in vayne wyse y{supt} is not wyse for hym selfe. [See Prov. ix. 12.] 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 132 Who wedth ere he be wise, shall die ere he thriue. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. ii. ii. 83 It is a wise Father that knowes his owne childe. 1617 B. Rich Irish Hubbub 16 We were wont to say, it was a wise childe that did know the owne Father. 1717 Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 319 The proverb of being wise behind the time. 1745 B. Franklin Poor Richard (1890) 157 Fools make feasts and wise men eat them. 1879 Dixon Windsor II. xix. 204 Men who are wise are wise in time. 1881 Saintsbury Dryden i. 10 Sir Gilbert Pickering..was wiser in his generation. |
b. Of action, speech, personal attributes, etc.: Proceeding from, indicating, or suggesting sound judgement or good sense; ‘becoming a wise man’ (J.); sage.
| a 900 Cynewulf Crist 922 Þam þe hafað wisne ᵹeþoht. a 1225 Ancr. R. 198 So þet non wisure read ne mei bringen hire ut of hire riote. Ibid. 338 Of þe axunge mei uallen vuel bute ȝif þe axunge beo þe wisre. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. x. 71 Vche wiȝt in þis world þat haþ wys vnderstondinge. 1422 Yonge tr. Secr. Secr. 134 Anothyr yewyth a vyse consail. c 1480 Henryson Fables Prol. 17 (Makculloch MS.), A doctryne wiss anewch, and ful of fruyt. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, v. i. 84 It is certaine, that either wise bearing, or ignorant Carriage is caught, as men take diseases, one of another. 1600 ― A.Y.L. ii. vii. 156 Full of wise sawes, and moderne instances. 1667 Milton P.L. xi. 666 One..eminent In wise deport, spake much of Right and Wrong. a 1672 Wilkins Nat. Relig. i. vi. (1675) 84 It must be a Wise Being that is the Cause of those Wise Effects. 1753–4 Richardson Grandison II. xxiii. 166 My father also thought fit (perhaps for wise reasons) to acquaint us, that he designed for us but small fortunes. 1821 Scott Kenilw. xvi, Teach your affection to see with a wiser eye. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 89 By a wise dispensation of Providence. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xi. 71 He thought it wise not to attempt the ascent farther. |
| ironically. 1535 Joye Apol. Tindale (Arb.) 28 S. Paule (by this wyse reason) playd bo peep wythe hys pistle to the hebrews. 1822 Shelley Scenes fr. Faust ii. 227 'Twere a wise feat indeed to wander out Into the Brocken upon May⁓day night. |
† 2. a. Having practical understanding and ability; skilful, clever; skilled, expert (const. of). Obs.
| a 900 Cynewulf Elene 592 Wordcræftes wis. c 1300 Havelok 282 Of alle þewes was she wis, Þat gode weren. c 1320 Sir Tristr. 1270 In warld was non so wiis Of craft þat men knewe. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 2745, I rede ȝe wyrke aftyre witte, as wyesse men of armes. c 1400 Destr. Troy 1530 Wise wrightis to wale, werkys to caste. 1508 Dunbar Tua mariit wemen 462 Ȝit am I wise in sic werk. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VII 32 b, He secretly sent wise espialles..to searche & prye oute of what progeny thys.. Rycharde was dissended. |
b. spec. Skilled in magic or hidden arts. Now only dial., as in wise wife, wise man 3, wise woman 1.
| a 1639 Spottiswood Hist. Ch. Scot. vi. (1655) 383 Agnes Samson (commonly called the wise wife of Keith) was..a woman not of the base and ignorant sort of Witches. 1653 H. More Antid. Ath. iii. vi. §6 (1712) 102 While he wish'd to himself that some wise body would help him to his..money again there appeared unto him a Spirit. |
3. a. Having knowledge, well-informed; instructed, learned (in, earlier of, upon). Obs. exc. as in b. (See also wise man 2 a, wise woman 1.)
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 146 Læcas lærdon, þa þe wisoste wæron, þæt nan man on þam monþe ne drenc ne drunce. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 331 Sone ȝe it ðor of hauen eten,..ȝe..sulen..ben so wise alle euene So ðo ðe wunen a-buuen in heuone. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1605 Wys vpon wod⁓craftez. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxxi. (Eugenia) 61 In al science at dewyce, Þar mycht na woman wysare be. c 1400 Rule St. Benet (prose) lxiv. 42 Sho aȝht at be wise in goddis law. c 1505 (title) Here begynneth thystorye of y⊇ .vii. Wyse Maysters of rome. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, ii. iv. 18 But in these nice sharpe Quillets of the Law, Good faith I am no wiser then a Daw. 1651 Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxx. 179 Wiser and better learned in cases of Law,..than them⁓selves. 1742 Gray Eton 100 Where ignorance is bliss, 'Tis folly to be wise. |
b. (a) Informed or aware of something specified or implied. Now only in such phrases as none the wiser, as wise as before = knowing no more than before (i.e., usually, nothing) about the matter.
| c 1200 Ormin 2279 Forrþi wollde ȝho ben wis off þatt þurrh Godess enngell. c 1220 Bestiary 799 In water ȝe is wis of heuekes come. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints ii. (Paulus) 424 Þat god wyss þame wald make Peteris banis quhilk war of þai, And quhilk war paulis banis alsa. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. x. 372 Þis is a longe lessoun,..and litel am I þe wyser. c 1470 Henry Wallace viii. 580 Thai maid him wys off all that suttell cace. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V iv. i. 206. 1616 Withals' Dict. 574 Obscurum per obscurius, I am as wise as I was before. 1635 D. Dickson Hebr. viii. 8. 156 The Church was made wyse of the imperfection of the Olde Covenant. 1712–13 Swift Jrnl. to Stella 2 Mar., I went into the city to see Pat Rolt, who lodges with a city cousin, a daughter of cousin Cleve (you are much the wiser). 1714 ― Let. to Miss Vanomrigh 8 June, The pretender, or duke of Cambridge, may both be landed, and I never the wiser. 1838 Dickens O. Twist xxxi, Messrs. Blathers and Duff came back again as wise as they went. 1889 Century Mag. July 343/1 Not one whit the wiser of the world than when he left home. |
(b) colloq. (orig. U.S.). to be (or get) wise to, to be (or become) aware of; to put (one) wise (to), to inform one (of), enlighten one (concerning).
| 1896 Ade Artie ii. 14, I told him that when he wanted to get wise to what was in my hand all he had to do was to dig up his bit and come in. Ibid. xvii. 155 There was somethin' ailed me, but I was n't wise to it. 1901 H. M{supc} Hugh John Henry 69 When I hear a pool⁓room comedian speaking lines about getting seasick on the B. & O., I'm wise to the fact that he dips in the Farmers' Almanac for his comedy stuff. 1913 A. Bennett Regent x. 296 ‘Tell me,..she hasn't got herself arrested yet, has she?’ ‘No. And she won't!’ ‘Why not?’ ‘The police have been put wise.’ 1918 H. Bindloss Agatha's Fortune xvii. 158, I suppose it was because the drummer put you wise that you went to Miss Strange? 1923 F. H. Kitchen Divers. Dawson 103 There would be the very devil to pay if Crutchley..got wise to their existence. 1937 G. Heyer They found Him Dead ii. 41 Say, sister, get wise to this! You can't put nothin' across on me! 1950 G. Greene Third Man ii. 21, I met him my first term at school... He was a year older and knew the ropes. He put me wise to a lot of things. 1955 M. Gilbert Sky High xv. 210, I suppose Bill had just about got wise to you. 1977 F. Parrish Fire in Barley v. 49 Dan wondered if the arty woman was wise to him. |
c. wise guy (colloq., orig. U.S.): an experienced or knowledgeable man; usu. ironic or derog., a know-all, a wiseacre; someone who makes sarcastic or annoying remarks; also (with reversal of meaning), someone easily duped; also attrib.
| 1896 Ade Artie xvi. 150 He was the wise guy and I was the soft mark. 1903 H. Hapgood Autobiogr. of Thief iv. 82 When these Rufus's up the State get a Yorker or a wise guy, they'll strip him down to his socks. 1910 W. M. Raine Bucky O'Connor ii. 28 You're wise guys, gents, both of yez. 1920 B. Tarkington in On Plays, Playwrights & Playgoers (1959) 42 However, they'd made the crowd aware of wise guy superiority. 1922 Wodehouse Adventures of Sally xiii. 219 Obviously one of the Wise Guys of whom her friend the sporting office⁓boy had spoken, he was frankly dissatisfied with the exhibition. 1929 W. T. Scanlon God have Mercy on Us! lvi. 331 We had positive orders not to pick up any form of documents and to leave them for the Intelligence Section—the ‘Wise Guy Section’, as we called it. 1932 [see con v.]. 1935 [see easy a. 13 b]. 1941 B. Schulberg What makes Sammy Run? (1943) i. 7 Listen, wise guy,..if you found something wrong..why didn't you come and tell me? 1959 C. Williams Man in Motion xi. 150 ‘What're you, a wise guy?’ he snarled. 1972 Village Voice (N.Y.) 1 June 50/3 The cop..told Rob he didn't think it was funny, portfolio or not, declared that he was a clear-cut wise guy and placed him under arrest. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 7 Aug. 17/1 Kramer and Roberts seem unable to shake off the brittle, knowing, wise-guy tone of voice. |
4. In one's right mind, sane. Now Sc. and dial.
So Du. wijs. Cf. wisdom 4.
Cf. Beowulf 3094 wis and ᵹewittiᵹ (= fully conscious).
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 412 Here men miȝhten iseo Hou he pleiȝez with þis ȝongue brid; he ne miȝhte nouȝt wys beo. a 1400, 1481 [implied in unwise 3]. a 1598 D. Ferguson Scot. Prov. (S.T.S.) 8 Anes wood, never wise. 1604 Shakes. Oth. iv. i. 245 Oth. Fire, and brimestone. Des. My Lord. Oth. Are you wise?.. Des. My Lord? Oth. I am glad to see you mad. 1881 ‘Sarah Tytler’ Three Frights (1882) 9 They were each, according to a significant old Scotch phrase, ‘wise (pronounced wice, and meaning rather rational than sagacious) and warld-like’. |
5. † a. to make it wise (see make v.1 68 b): to deliberate, hesitate. Obs.
| c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 785 Vs thoughte it was noght worth to make it wys And graunted hym wit outen moore auys. |
b. to make wise (see make v.1 69): to behave as if one were ‘wise’ about a matter; to pretend, ‘make as if{ddd}’ Obs. exc. dial.
| 1447 J. Shillingford Lett. (Camden) 14 Hengston seide but litell therto, but made wyse as thogh hit were yes. 1561 Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer ii. (1577) M vj, The two..wente to bed darkelong, laughing and making wise to beleeue that hee wente about to mocke them. 1589 Puttenham Engl. Poesie iii. xxii. (Arb.) 265 He makes wise, as if he had not bene a man learned in some of the mathematickes. 1604 Hieron Preachers Plea Wks. 1614 I. 511 Hee..made wise, as if he could haue tolde great tydings. 1834 A. E. Bray Warleigh x, Whether she really felt desirous to take this opportunity of gaining repose, or whether, to use a Devonshire phrase, she only ‘made wise’ to do so. |
6. absol. or as n. † a. sing. usually with def. article or demonstrative: A or the wise man; spec. a sage. Obs.
| c 897 ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xxxiii. 220 Se dyseᵹa..all his inᵹeðonc he ᵹeypt, ac se wisa hit ieldcað. a 1250 Owl & Night. 176 Wel fyht þat wel flyhþ, seyþ þe wise. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus i. 79 Þis forknowyng wyse. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 268 Upon the fol, upon the wise Siknesse and hele entrecomune. 1401 26 Pol. Poems iii. 12 Do euene lawe to fooll and wyse. c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 484 Þe wise sayd vnto hym: ‘þis way is bothe fayr & gude’. |
b. pl. Wise men or persons: now always with the; † formerly also with demonstrative, possessive, etc.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xi. 25 Þu þe behyddyst þas þing fram wisun & gleawun. c 1205 Lay. 16817 He bi-heold..wulc of wiisen ærest spæken wolden. a 1300 Cursor M. 20794 Disput, he sais, es na mister, Bituix te wis in swilk a wer. 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 973 Dindimus þe dere king, the docktour of wise. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 1 Som matiere, Essampled of these olde wyse. Ibid. 26 The wiseste of Caldee Ne cowthen wite what it mente. c 1400 26 Pol. Poems i. 167 Fle fro fooles, and folwe wise. 1535 Coverdale Isa. xxix. 14, I wil destroye the wisdome of their wise. 1670 Dryden 1st Pt. Conq. Granada ii. (1672) 21 The bold are but the Instruments o' th' wise. 1784 Cowper Task iii. 562 The learn'd and wise Sarcastic would exclaim. 1833 Tennyson Pal. Art 195 O silent faces of the Great and Wise. |
c. a word to the wise (is enough): = verbum sap. Also † few words to the wise suffice, etc.
| 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xv. 24 Few wordis may serve the wyis. 1562 Mountgomery in Archaeologia XLVII. 241 Feawe woordes to the wise doeth suffice. 1639 J. Clarke Parœm. 51 Few words to the wise suffice. Verbum sapienti sat est. A word to the wise. 1754 Richardson Grandison I. xix. 127 Nay, if she can withstand him—But a word to the wise, Mr. Reeves! Hem! |
d. The comp. wiser as n. (with pl. wisers): One who is wiser; usually with possessive, (one's) superior in wisdom. Now rare.
(Cf. better A. 7, elder n.3 2, greater C b.)
| a 1300 Cursor M. 26180 Ga til a wijser to sceu þi wond. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 2634 Hypermnestra, And werke aftyr thyn wisere euere mo. 1447 O. Bokenham Seyntys v. 292 And of þi wysers lern bettyr gouernaunce. c 1480 Henryson Want of Wise Men 22 For warldly wyn sik walkis, quhen wysar wynkis. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. i, Since it is well known these Delilahs seduce my wisers and my betters. 1838 Hare Guesses Ser. i. (1847) 161 All writers who feel an itching..to be carping at their wisers and betters. 1843 Carlyle Past & Pr. iii. xiii, If thou really art my Senior, Seigneur, my Elder,..if thou art in very deed my Wiser. |
7. Used as adv. = wisely. In later use only in comparative. rare.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce xvii. 52 Thou vroucht has vis, That thou discouerit first till me. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. iv. 58 Thou speak'st wiser then thou art ware of. 1797 M. Robinson Walsingham IV. 153, I cannot act wiser than to take the little Welsh girl off the hands of her dragon. |
8. Comb. a. advb. with adj. or pple., as wise-bold, wise-hardy (opp. to foolhardy), wise-valiant; wise-framed, wise-judging, wise-reflecting, wise-said. b. attrib. with n., as wise-ass n. and adj. (cf. smart-arse, -ass); wisebones n. (humorous appellation for a wiseacre), wise-heart adj. (= wise-hearted). c. parasynthetic, as wise-assed, wise-hearted, wise-lipped, wise-worded (ME. wis iworded).
| 1971 Current Slang V. iv. 21 *Wise ass, n., a wise guy. 1972 J. Poyer Chinese Agenda iii. 17 Listen to what I have to say, then you can make all the wise-ass remarks you want. 1978 J. Irving World according to Garp iv. 66 Benny Potter from New York—a born wise-ass. Ibid. 67 It was unfortunate that wise-ass Benny Potter was the first to tell Garp the news. |
| 1967 P. Tamony Americanisms (typescript) No. 18. 2 A fantastic display of brash male and female *wise-assed mediocrity. 1976 ‘Trevanian’ Main xii. 260 Some wiseassed note about the bad luck of getting a parking ticket the same night you get killed. |
| 1600 Tourneur Transf. Metam. liv, With a *wise-bold heed. |
| 1894 Miss L. Alma-Tadema Wings of Icarus v. 26 There you go, old *wisebones! Here's a storm in a tea-cup! |
| 1642 H. More Song of Soul iii. ii. xli, *Wise framed questions. |
| 1575 Laneham Let. (1871) 44 Valiant, & *wizehardy. 1587 Holinshed Chron. III. 583/2 Of courage inuincible,..wise⁓hardie alwaies. |
| 1887 Morris Odyssey viii. 327 The cunning of *wise-heart Hephæstus' snare. |
| 1535 Coverdale Exod. xxxv. 26 Soch wemen as were *wyse herted. 1867 Morris Jason ii. 862 Men there are Wise-hearted. |
| 1644 Milton Divorce ii. xvii. (ed. 2) 66 Why men so disesteem this *wise judging Law of God. 1821 Scott Kenilw. vii, Many wise-judging men. |
| 1818 Milman Samor i. 384 *Wise-lipp'd chief. |
| 1848 Buckley Iliad vi. 110 By no means could she persuade just-minded, *wise-reflecting Bellerophon. |
| 1597 Pilgr. Parnass. i. 113 Youre *wise-said says Keepe mee from devious..wayes! |
| a 1586 Sidney Astr. & Stella lxxv, He could young wise, *wise valliant frame His Syres revenge. |
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 64 Sum is so wel ilered, oðer se *wis iworded [etc.]. |
Add: 9. Special collocation: wise use orig. and chiefly U.S., environmental policy which favours stricter controls on existing methods of exploiting natural resources, as opposed to policies which seek either to find alternative resources or to prevent such exploitation altogether; chiefly attrib., esp. designating (members of) a movement advocating such a policy.
| 1989 R. Annold in A. Gottlieb Wise Use Agenda p. xviii, The *Wise Use Movement argues that such dour anti-people attitudes have no place in an ethical view of mankind. 1989 USA Today 3 May 10a/1 For 25 years, environmentalists have driven one ranch after another into non-use classifications such as ‘wilderness’. But they've radicalized so many people the Wise Use Movement has arisen to defend commodity production on our federal lands. 1991 U.S. News & World Rep. Nov. 5/3 Now, the exploiters and developers have introduced the euphemism ‘wise use’ for wilderness destruction. 1992 St. Louis Post-Dispatch 10 May a8/1 The timber industry says plenty of old-growth forest still exists, and that the industry has adopted a ‘wise use’ policy that will maintain the integrity of the region's forests. |
▸ wise guy n. U.S. slang (freq. in form wiseguy) a gangster; a person involved in organized crime.
| 1956 Lima (Ohio) News 29 June 2/5 ‘Wise guy’ slayer draws prison term... Described by the state's attorney as a ‘little gangster and a typical wise guy’. 1962L. Frankenberg in S. V. Baum E. E. Cummings & Critics viii. 144 He talks frequently out of the corner of his mouth, in his own brand of the vernacular based, in attitude and idiom, on the American wiseguy. 1985 N. Pileggi Wiseguy 19 At the age of twelve my ambition was to be a gangster. To be a wiseguy... To be a wiseguy was to own the world. 2005 N.Y. Mag. 17 Jan. 31/3 Mikey Scars's grandfather had been a ‘blackhand’shtarker (enforcer) a hundred years ago in New York, and his father had been a wiseguy, too. |
▪ IV. wise, v.1 Obs. exc. Sc. and north. dial.
(waɪz)
Forms: 1 wisian, 3 wisie, 4–6 (8–9 Sc. and dial.) wyse, (5 vyse, 6 pa. pple. wizde), 7 (9 dial.) wize, 3–7 (9 dial.) wise, 9 Sc. weise, weize.
[OE. w{iacu}sian to show the way = OFris. wîsa, OS. wîsian, MLG., MDu. wîsen (Du. wijzen), OHG. wîsan (MHG. wîsen, G. weisen, now conjugated as a str. vb.), ON. v{iacu}sa (Sw. visa, Da. vise). Goth. fulla-weisjan πείθειν: f. OTeut. *wîsaz wise a. (Cf. wis v.1)]
1. trans. To show the way to (a person); to guide, direct; † hence, to direct or manage the affairs of, govern, rule (obs.); also in mod. dial., to induce, entice away, from{ddd}; to instruct, inform.
| Beowulf 320 Stræt wæs stanfah, stiᵹ wisode gumum ætgædere. c 1000 ælfric Gen. xxxv. 5 Iacob ferde þa mid ealre his hiwrædene, swa him god wisode. c 1205 Lay. 1200 Wise mi & witere..whuder ich mæi liðan. a 1250 Owl & Night. 973 Þu..seist þu uisest [v.r. wisest] mankunne Þat hi biwepen hore sunne. c 1250 Prayer to Our Lady 2 in O.E. Misc. 192 Þu wisie me nuþe for ich eom eirede. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 10755 Sire steuene of segraue was imad þo hei iustise In sire hubertes stude de boru þut lond wel to wise. 13.. Cursor M. 17931 (Gött.) Quen i þe gan wis To þe ȝatis of paradis. c 1320 Cast. Love 297 Wiþ-oute whom he ne mai His kindom wiþ pees wysen. a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 2988 Alexander..trottis him to þe trod-gate, as him þe torche wyssis [Dubl. vysys]. c 1400 Song Roland 303 ‘Now wise vs crist!’ quod Roulond. c 1460 Towneley Myst. ix. 122 Mahowne he wyse the on thi way. 1575 Turberv. Faulconrie 130 Alwayes wysing and making your hawke to leane in vpon you. 1594 Carew Tasso ii. xli, To be wizde what cause her thither drew. 1604 H. Broughton Advt. Corrupt. Relig. E 3 b, Tremelius might haue wised M. Liuely. 1606 N. Baxter Sidney's Ourania D 2, She [sc. the Moon] wizeth Surgeons when to ope a veine. 1610 H. Broughton Job xxxv. 11 Who doth teach us more than the beasts of the earth: and wiseth us above the foules of the heaven. 1657 Trapp Comm. Ezra viii. 16 Being themselves wise, and willing to wise others. a 1810 Tannahill Song, Dear Highland Laddie ii, The Laird's wys'd awa' by braw Highland laddie, O. 1821 Galt Ann. Parish xxxviii. 310 She..took me by the hand, and wised me to go back. 1825 Brockett N.C. Gloss., Wise, to shew or direct. ‘Wise him in.’ ‘Wise him out.’ |
2. To direct the course or movement of; to move in some direction or into some position; to convey, conduct; to turn (in various connexions: see quots.); also fig.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 21272 A..wain men wit four quelis wises. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 13698 His hors on hym [sc. Bokkus] his bridel wysed. c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. ii. 78 The forgh is best, ille humour out to wise. 1606 N. Baxter Sidney's Ourania C 3, Planets..Knowne to each Figure-flinger..That wize from thence many an vncouth-tale. 1816 Scott Antiq. vii, Now, weize yoursell a wee easel-ward—a wee mair yet to that ither stane. 1825 Brockett N.C. Gloss. s.v., Wise off that rope there. a 1827 in Scott Jrnl. 2 Aug., Stuff with moss, and clog with clay, And that will weize the water away. 1830 Galt Lawrie T. iv. x. (1849) 179 Mr. Bell quietly wised the conversation upon juvenile indiscretions. 1862 Smiles Engineers III. 113 Wise on the Hydrogen, Nichol! 1862 A. Hislop Prov. Scot. 58 Every miller wad weise the water to his ain mill. 1867 J. K. Hunter Retrospect Artist's Life xiv. (1912) 135 The little fish rushed to the shore before him, as he quietly wysed them shoreward. |
b. To direct, aim, ‘send’, shoot (a missile) (Sc.); † fig. to utter.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 24103 Quen i wend word to wise. 1721 Ramsay Ode to Ph― ii, Fowk wysing a Jee The Byass Bouls on Tamson's Green. 1814 Scott Wav. lviii, Mony o' them wadna mind a bawbee the weising a ball through the Prince himsell. |
c. intr. for refl. To direct one's course, make one's way, betake oneself, go.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 10956 Vnto þer contres he bad þem wyse. 1721 Ramsay Richy & Sandy 69 But see the Sheep are wysing to the Cleugh. |
3. trans. To show, point out (the way). † Also, to cause to be seen, show, reveal (obs.).
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 1135 A wounde ful wyde..con wyse An-ende hys hert þurȝ hyde to-rente. c 1400 Rule St. Benet (verse) 138 Wysand vs þe way to heuen. c 1450 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 226 The printe of a palsy wisith the thy way. 1818 Scott Rob Roy xxiii, I'll hae somebody waiting to weise ye the gate to the place. |
▪ V. wise, v.2
(waɪz)
[f. wise a. 3 b (b).]
1. to wise up (U.S. slang): to ‘get wise’; to ‘put wise’. Freq. const. on or to. Also refl.
| 1905 R. Beach Pardners iv. 113, I cast the bad eye on the boys to wise 'em up. 1919 J. Buchan Mr. Standfast iii. 70 You've got to wise up about Gresson with the whole forces of the British State arrayed officially against you. 1922 P. G. Wodehouse Girl on Boat i. 25 You won't wise him up that I threw a spanner into the machinery? 1925 F. Scott Fitzgerald Great Gatsby vii. 124, I just got wised up to something funny the last few days. 1929 Princeton Alumni Weekly 24 May 982/2 To stick out one's neck is to commit an unpardonable error, to lay oneself open to criticism... A persistent offender should wise up on himself. 1955 W. Gaddis Recognitions i. iv. 158 Yeah, you got to wise up to yourself, see? 1960 C. MacInnes Mr Love & Justice 26 That's..what I'm wising myself up on. 1971 Wall St. Jrnl. (Eastern ed.) 10 Mar. 1/4 Antique dealers are wising up to the growing demand for old radios. 1984 Listener 7 June 36/3 ‘Write a poem about it,’ he suggests. ‘Wise up, sir,’ the new generation tells him. |
2. to wise off (U.S. slang): to make wisecracks at someone.
| 1943 Yank 2 July 10 I'd love to have one of those acting noncoms wise off at me. 1981 ‘P. Mallory’ Killing Matter xiii. 136 He's a real meanie. I wouldn't be wising off at him if I were you. |
Hence wised-up ppl. a.
| 1926 J. Black You can't Win xx. 301, I could make a living without taking tough chances against wised-up city police. 1952 M. McCarthy Groves of Academe (1953) x. 205 His wised-up air was as irritating..as Donna's exaggerations. 1973 R. Parkes Guardians ix. 172 It's nasty. Very nasty. But at least I'm wised up now. |
▪ VI. wise
obs. f. vice n.1 and n.2, vise v.1