▪ I. wish, n.1
(wɪʃ)
[f. wish v., q.v. for forms.]
1. a. An instance of wishing; a feeling in the mind directed towards something which one believes would give satisfaction if attained, possessed, or realized. (With const. as in wish v. 1 (b), (c), (d).)
Most commonly denoting a desire for something not attainable by one's own effort, felt in the mind but not impelling to action; a passive or inactive desire.
The ordinary word for this affection of the mind; less emphatic than craving, longing, or yearning, but including these as particular cases.
| 1390 Gower Conf. III. 254 Bot if mi wisshes myhte availe, I wolde it were a groundles pet. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 535/1 Wusche, or wuschynge, exoptacio. c 1480 Henryson Prais of Aige 6 My wys Of al þis warld to mak me lord & kyng. 1530 Palsgr. 289/2 Wysshe desyre, souhait. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. i. iii. 62 As one relying on your Lordships will, And not depending on his friendly wish. 1597 ― 2 Hen. IV, iv. v. 93 Thy wish was Father (Harry) to that thought. 1600 Dekker Old Fortunatus D 2 b, This Hat..clapt vpon my head, I (onely with a wish) am through the ayre, Transported in a moment ouer Seas. 1648 Fanshawe Il Pastor Fido ii. iv. 64 Fortune beyond my wish hath favoured me. 1694 Atterbury Serm., Prov. xiv. 6 (1726) I. 191 He comes with strong Wishes that he may find it all a Mistake. 1750 Gray Elegy 74 Their sober wishes never learn'd to stray. 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 178 ¶12 The whole world is put in motion by the wish for riches, and the dread of poverty. 1825 Scott Betrothed v, Form but a wish for her advantage, and it shall be fulfilled. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. lv. 1 The wish, that of the living whole No life may fail beyond the grave. Ibid. xc. 24, I find not yet one lonely thought That cries against my wish for thee. 1850 G. C. Lewis Lett. (1870) 223 He..has no wish to be a Church dignitary. 1876 Mozley Univ. Serm. xi. 213 The power of prayer..is..the power of strong wishes. |
| Proverbs. 1665 Wither Lord's Prayer 50 If (as the Proverb is) wishes were Thrushes, we might all eat Birds. 1670 Ray Prov. 157 If wishes would bide, beggers would ride. 1721 Kelly Sc. Prov. 178 If Wishes were Horses, Beggars would ride. 1880 Meredith Tragic Com. (1881) 89 He had a saying: Two wishes make a will. |
† b. in generalized use: Desire. Obs. rare.
| c 1430 Hymns Virgin (1867) 62 Pride..ȝeueþ but woo & wyssche to wage. a 1716 South Serm., Matt. xxvi. 41 (1717) VI. 416 Prayer..was never designed to supply the room of Watchfulness, or to make Wish instead of Endeavour. |
c. In phrases with prepositions. † with or upon one's wish or wishes, † at wish, according to one's wish, just as one wishes; in readiness for one as one wishes, at one's disposal (= at will, will n.1 15 b, c). † at high wish, at the height of the fulfilment of one's wishes. to (one's) wish (rarely wishes), as one wishes; esp. to the full extent of one's desire, as much as one wishes. (Now rare or Obs.) to a wish (Sc.), † till a wish, just as one would wish, perfectly, exactly.
| 13.. Cursor M. 23412 All þat wit-standand þe es Thoru sal þou thril it wit þi wiss [Gött. Thoru sal þou thril wid þi suiftnes]. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 330, I have ben ofte moeved so, That with my wisshes if I myhte,..I hadde storven in a day. Ibid. II. 39 He ne wol no travail take To ryde for his ladi sake, Bot liveth al upon his wisshes. c 1450 Holland Howlat 847 All thus thir hathillis in hall heirly remanit, With all welthis at wiss. c 1489 Caxton Blanchardyn ix. 37 Well syttyng on horsbacke, and tyl a wysshe wel shapen of alle membres. a 1542 Wyatt Poems, ‘Unstable Dream’ 13 Where it was at wysshe it could not remain. a 1568 R. Ascham Scholem. (Arb.) 40 Though a child haue all the giftes of nature at wishe. 1586 Whitney Choice Emblems 144 [He] to his wishe, of pilottes made his choise. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. iii. ii. 271 He comes vpon a wish. 1607 ― Timon iv. iii. 245 The one is filling still, neuer compleat; The other, at high wish. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 423 When to his wish, Beyond his hope, Eve separate he spies. a 1674 Clarendon Hist. Reb. viii. §153 Though the relief of Banbury succeeded to wish, yet the King paid dear for it soon after. 1779 Forrest Voy. N. Guinea 56 The people, who assisted us so opportunely, were rewarded to their wish. 1787 [J. Beattie] Scoticisms 106 Every thing succeeds to a wish. 1823 Byron Juan xv. lxviii, A dish Of which perhaps the cookery rather varies, So every one may dress it to his wish. |
2. a. A desire expressed in words, or the expression of such; sometimes nearly = ‘request’: = desire n. 4. (Cf. wish v. 3–5.)
| 1513 Douglas æneis viii. ix. 31 The wyssis and avowis..By women and the matronys doublit were. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lxxxiv. 264 He sayd ‘I wysshe them here on this table’. He had no sooner made his wysshe but they were set on the table. 1598 J. Melvill Autob. & Diary (Wodrow Soc.) 443 My opinioun and wis was, ther sould be na generall meittings. 1714 Pope Let. to Jervas 27 Aug., I admire your whig principles of resistance exceedingly, in the spirit of the Barcelonians; I join in your wish for them. 1819 Shelley Cenci i. iii. 27 One supplication, one desire, one hope, That he would grant a wish for his two sons. 1908 R. Bagot A. Cuthbert xxvi. 339 At Anthony's wish she wore the Cuthbert diamonds. |
b. spec. An expression of desire for another's welfare: often as a farewell greeting. Usually, now always, in pl.
| 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, i. iii. 94 Take from my mouth, the wish of happy yeares. 1601 ― All's Well i. i. 68 Maddam I desire your holie wishes. 1627 J. Taylor (Water P.) Armado Ep. Ded., With my best wishes for the perpetuity of your..felicity. 1753 Pope Let. Sept., Wks. 1741 II. 148 Pray tell him my best wishes for his health and long life. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xxv. 177 We quitted Chamouni, bearing with us the good wishes of a portion of its inhabitants. 1833 D. C. Murray Hearts v, I know nothing about it, Tom,..but you have my best wishes. |
c. An imprecation, a malediction. Obs. or dial.
| 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iii. ii. 91 Blister'd be thy tongue For such a wish, he was not borne to shame. 1594 ― Rich. III, iv. i. 72 This was my Wish: Be thou (quoth I) accurst. 1820 Marmaiden of Clyde x. in Edin. Mag. VI. 423, I flang the renyie on his neck With a wiss that sould nae been. 1854 A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss. s.v., ‘He took a many wishes’, was an expression used by a witness in the Sessions Court at Northampton. |
3. transf. An object of desire; what one wishes or wishes for: = desire n. 5.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 10406 Þai þat stad er in þair blis, Witvten want has alle þair wis. c 1400 Mandeville xvii. [xiii.] (1919) 97 Þat faire lady schal ȝeuen him..the first wyssche þat he wil wyssche of erthely thinges. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iv. ii. 93 Sil. What's your will? Pro. That I may compasse yours. Sil. You haue your wish. 1611 ― Cymb. iii. v. 20 Your valiant Britaines haue their wishes in it. 1667 Milton P.L. viii. 451 Thy fit help, thy other self, Thy wish, exactly to thy hearts desire. 1713 Addison Cato iv. iii. 80 My joy! my best belov'd! my only wish! [1761 Foote Lyar i. ii. (1786) 15 Surely, the wish of every decent woman is to be unnotic'd in public. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 566 The wish of the government was that he should be executed in England.] |
4. Comb.: wish book N. Amer. slang, a mail-order catalogue; wish card rare, in fortune-telling, a card which predicts the attainment of a desired end; wish-dream [cf. G. Wunschtraum], a dream or fantasy that reflects some hidden wish; also attrib.; wish list, a list of desired objects or occurrences; wish-thinking = wishful thinking s.v. wishful a. 2 a; wish-wife [after ON. óskmær (see wishmay)], a light woman.
| 1933 Amer. Speech VIII. 32/1 *Wishbook, a mail-order catalogue. 1971 Alberta Hist. Rev. Summer 25/1 That was when we would look at our ‘Wish Book’, the mail order catalogue, until it was out of date, and then tear the pages out in the ‘House of Parliament’. |
| 1922 Joyce Ulysses 761 I'll throw them the 1st thing in the morning till I see if the *wishcard comes out. |
| 1934 R. Campbell Broken Record i. 9 *Wish-dreams might account for this desire to ‘headlong-hall’ me into the next world. 1945 Koestler Yogi & Commissar i. iii. 31 She is not necessarily the wishdream-girl of suburban circulating libraries. 1953 Encounter Nov. 25/2 The wish-dream world of the Stockholm peace campaigner. 1966 New Scientist 28 July 222/1 Black gold in the back lot must be the standard rags-to-riches wishdream in the United States. |
| 1972 Times 30 May 19/2 It had a presently confidential ‘*wish list’ of programmes it would like to see abandoned. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 10 July 9/3 Wholesale replacement of the nation's taxi fleet is hardly at the top of operators' wish lists. |
| 1930 J. Jastrow Piloting your Life 170 It would take not a chapter but a volume to describe all the varieties of impediments of thought. If reduced to a schedule they might read like this:..*Wish Thinking, believing what you hope or want to be true; [etc.]. 1945 R. Knox God & Atom viii. 115 Most people who are capable of thinking, and are not deceived by wish-thinking, agree that the world is in ferment. 1958 J. Lodwick Bid Soldiers Shoot viii. 268 In matters of wish-thinking..the Victor of the Pacific, MacArthur, had met his match. |
| 1886 Corbett Fall of Asgard I. 227 Her wouldst thou profane as though she were some *wish-wife. |
▪ II. wish, n.2 local (now Sussex).
(wɪʃ)
[OE. wisc, corresp. to OLG. wisc (in place-names), (M)LG. wisch(e, wisk(e, repr. OTeut. *wīsko-, f. wais-: wī̆s-, whence OE. wás ooze, G. wiese meadow.]
A piece of meadow, now of marshy meadow; a piece of flat ground lying in the bend of a river and thus liable to be flooded.
| 898 in Birch Cart. Sax. II. 219 Concedo..terram..in loco qui dicitur Fearnleaᵹ & an miclan wisce vi æceres mæde. c 1150 in Kemble Cod. Dipl. III. 175 To stucan wisc æt ðæne mearcbeorh. 1516–17 Ledger Bk. Battle Abbey in Trans. Philol. Soc. 1895–8 542 Menewyssh..Borderswyssh..Hodisdaliswyssh. a 1600 in Sussex Archæol. Collect. (1851) IV. 306 A true & certeine note how y⊇ Drinker dooth faule to every⁓mans lande or yard wishe in the parishe of Kingston, nigh Lewis, at y⊇ time of trading of y⊇ wishe. 1651 Ibid. (1872) XXIV. 282 Lands settled vpon her by the name of Marshland, called Castle Wish als Colbrands lying within the parish of Westham. 1696–7 Ibid. (1849) II. 121 Y⊇ two acres croppe in y⊇ Northwish. 1850 Ibid. IV. 305 In both these parishes [sc. Lewes and Southease] were particular brooks [i.e. marshes] called Wishes, and in each also there was a small piece of brookland called the Drinker. 1857 Ibid. IX. 156 ‘The Wish’ in East Bourn, close to the sea. |
▪ III. wish, a.
(dial.): see wisht.
▪ IV. wish, v.
(wɪʃ)
Pa. tense and pple. wished (wɪʃt). Forms: α. 1 wyscan, wiscan, 3–5 wusshe, 4–5 wysche, (7 Sc.) wische, 4–6 wisshe, 5–6 wys(s)he, (3 wusse, wisse, 4 wussche, whusshe, wiche, wesche, wesse, 5 wusche, wiesshe, wosshe, weesshe, 6 wys(c)h, wishe, whysshe, wyszhe), 6– wish. β. Sc. (and north.) 4–6 wisse, wis, 4–9 wiss, 6 wys(s, whiss, 6–7 viss, 7 wosse, 9 wuss. pa. tense 1 wyscte, wiscte, 5 wyst, weste, 6 (9) wisht; 3 wissede, etc., 4–6 wisshed, 5–6 Sc. wissit, etc., 6– wished. pa. pple. 3 iwist, 6 wysht, 6–8 wisht; 4–6 wisshed, etc., 6– wished.
[OE. w{yacu}scan = OHG. wunsken (MHG., G. wünschen), ON. œskja (MSw. yskia, Sw. önska, Da. önske):—OTeut. *wunskjan, f. *wunska-, -skô- (represented by OE. w{uacu}sc, OHG. wunsc, MHG., G. wunsch, ON. ósk); cf. Skr. vāñchā:—*wānskā-: f. base wen- to hold dear, love, desire, whence also wine n.2, win n.2, ween n. and v., wone.
Another form of the stem appears in (M)Du. wensch: see winze2.]
1. a. trans. To have or feel a wish for; to desire.
The ordinary word for this; now always less emphatic than the synonyms covet, crave, long (for), yearn (for); in earlier use occas. in the sense of these. Sometimes softened by could or should (would): cf. can v.1 7, shall v. 19 c, will v.1 40 b; or strengthened before a dependent clause (b, c) by such phrases as to God, to goodness, to heaven.
(a) with simple obj. (in OE. usually in the genitive). Now dial.; superseded in standard English by wish for (see 2), or colloq. in certain contexts by want (want v. 5).
| c 897 ælfred Gregory's Past. C. i. 29 Ne cuæð he ðæt forðdyðe he æneᵹum men ðæs wyscte oððe wilnode. 971 Blickl. Hom. 103 [Hie] his tocymes wyscton. c 1000 ælfric Hom. I. 594 Ic sceal his rode siᵹor swiðor wiscan ðonne ondrædan. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 165 Ðe sune wussheð þe fader deað, ar his dai cume. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 14 Ofte haf I wayted wyschande þat wele. c 1470 Henry Wallace ix. 1413 Sum wald haiff had Boyd at the suerdis lenth; Sum wyst [ed. 1570 wissit] Lundy. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xxiii. 496 Now have I that I desired and wysshed soo longe. a 1510 Douglas K. Hart ii. 3 [He] wantis nocht in warld, that he wald wis. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 9 Thy nychtbouris wyfe..Thow couet not to the, nor wis His hors, his oxe, [etc.] 1597 Morley Introd. Mus. 116 Causing you thinke the night long and wish the daylight. 1610 Shakes. Temp. iii. i. 54, I would not wish Any Companion in the world but you. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxvii. 159 Not as wishing liberty of private revenges. 1748 Richardson Clarissa VI. lxxxiii. 305, I charge you,..as you wish my peace, not to say any-thing of a letter you have from me. 1816 Scott Bl. Dwarf i, ‘Wussing your health, sirs,’ said the shepherd. 1819 Shelley Cenci i. ii. 40 You know My zeal for all you wish, sweet Beatrice. 1854 Dickens Hard T. ii. i, Would you wish a little more hot water, ma'am? 1901 W. R. H. Trowbridge Lett. her Mother to Eliz. xxix. 144 [The maid] flew into a rage, and wanted to know if I wished a month's notice. |
(b) with obj. clause with may or (formerly) pres. subj., occas. indic.: expressing a desire that the event may happen or that the fact may prove to be so, and often implying some want of confidence or fear of the opposite (now commonly expressed by hope: see hope v. 3 b). Also expressing a request (see 5).
| a 1000 Deor 25 Secg moniᵹ..wyscte ᵹeneahhe þæt þæs cynerices ofercumen wære. c 1000 ælfric Gen. xvii. 18 Ic wisce þæt Ismahel lybbe ætforan ðe. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia ii. x. (1912) 208, I wish that it may not prove ominous foretoken of misfortune. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iv. iii. 41, I wish all good befortune you. 1649 in Spalding Club Misc. (1852) V. 381, I heartellie wosse that anie that lowes religione..keepe themselwes free of anie accessione..to swche wnhape men. 1661 P. Henry Diaries & Lett. (1882) 86, I wish I suffer no prejudice by it. 1691 Shadwell Scowrers iv, I wish the house is not robb'd. 1715 Addison Drummer ii. i, He say's he's a Conjurer, but he looks very suspicious; I wish he ben't a Jesuit. 1756 Monitor No. 35. I. 325 He is certainly bewitched: I wish the old hag upon the green has done him no mischief. 1808 Jane Austen Lett. (1884) II. 6 She hears that Miss Bigg is to be married in a fortnight. I wish it may be so. 1823 Scott Quentin D. xxi, I wish we have not got King Stork, instead of King Log. 1860 E. Eden Semi-attached Couple xii, Mrs. Tomkinson wished to goodness there might soon be..‘a little staying company’ in the house. 1872 Geo. Eliot in J. W. Cross Life (1885) III. 157, I wish that you may happen to know her. |
(c) with obj. clause with past subj. (or indic., e.g. was for were): expressing an unrealized or unrealizable desire (see also will v.1 46), or in mod. use sometimes a mild request (cf. 5). to wish to God: to wish intensely.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 93 Hie..wyscaþ þæt hie næfre næron acennede from fæder ne from meder. c 1000 ælfric Deut. xxxii. 29 Ic wisce ðæt hi wiston & underᵹeaton..hyra ende [Vulg. utinam saperent]. 1340 Ayenb. 56 Hi wesseþ þet hi hedden nykken of crane and wombe of cou. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. v. 92 Þenne I wussche hit weore myn. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 755 Thisbe, Thys wall they woldyn threte And wysshe to god hyt were doun ybete. 1476 Stonor Papers (Camden) II. 11 Wherfore I wyst fulle hertly dyuerse tymez þat ȝe hadde ben here. a 1562 G. Cavendish Poems (1825) II. 40 Therfor my frayltie I may both curse and ban, Whissyng to God I had never known man. 1579 Lyly Euphues 31, I wish my wish were as effectually ended as it is heartely looked for. 1605 Shakes. Macb. i. v. 26 That which rather thou do'st feare to doe, Then wishest should be vndone. 1624 Ussher Lett. (1686) 315, I could wish that Mr. Lisle would take some pains in translating the Saxon Annals into our English Tongue. 1681 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. i. 133, I haiue gotten a tasch upon me that I wisch from my hart it was well of my handes to your satisfaction. 1711 I could wish [see can v.1 7]. 1817 Byron Let. to Moore 25 Mar., Heigh ho! I wish I was drunk—but I have nothing but this damned barley-water before me. 1833 Tennyson May Queen, New-Year's Eve iv, I wish the snow would melt... I long to see a flower so. 1885 ‘F. Anstey’ Tinted Venus ii. 24, ‘I wish to heaven I did,’ cried the manager. 1890 [see goodness 5]. 1932 ‘N. Shute’ Lonely Road vii. 178, I wish to God we'd gone back to the boat. 1941 L. A. G. Strong Bay 7, I wish to God I knew how to begin. 1976 Daily Mirror 11 Mar. 7/2 Christopher..has been sent to Borstal... His mother said: ‘I wish to God we had checked up on him.’ |
(d) with inf. as obj. (usually, now always, with to).
Occas. with admixture of the idea of intention or request for permission (cf. 5), as ‘I wish to say a few words’.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1060 He wisten him bergen fro ðe dead. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 149 Sche wissheth forto ben unbore. c 1450 Merlin vii. 113 So that the moste hardy of hem..sholde wiesshe to be at home in his owne contree. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems liii. 33, I wissitt to be The grytast erle, or duik, in France. 1513 Douglas æneis xii. xiv. 17 Wys now to fle vp to the starnis on hycht. 1560 Bible (Geneva) Jonah iv. 8 Ionah fainted, and wished in his heart to dye. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. ii. i. 123, I neuer wish'd to see you sorry, now I trust I shall. 1630 Milton On Shakespear 16 Kings for such a Tomb would wish to die. 1776 Trial of Nundocomar 23/2 Any body that wishes to see him may. 1850 Miss Mulock Olive xxv, I wish to talk to you. 1876 Mozley Univ. Serm. xi. 213 If men really wish to be good, they will become good. 1893 Law Times XCV. 305/2 If she wished to be sure of her income she should of all things avoid dabbling in the shares of new companies. |
(e) with acc. and inf., or in pass. with inf. (usually, now always, with to).
Sometimes expressing a request: see 5 b.
| 1538 Starkey England ii. i. (1878) 176 Aftur a maner..the wych I wold wysch to be put in vse wyth vs. c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xv. 39 Away I went,..Wissing all luvaris leill to haif sic chance. ? 1567 [M. Parker] Whole Psalter cx. vii, Pursued to death, and wysht to sinke. a 1586 Sidney Astr. & Stella x, I rather wish thee climbe the Muses hill. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. iv. iii. 138 If you can pace your wisdome, In that good path that I would wish it go. 1657 J. Sergeant Schism Dispach't 406, I love the Presbyterians so well as not to wish them renounce their reason. 1753–4 Richardson Grandison I. xix. 130 [He said that] every man who saw me must wish me to be his. 1891 Farrar Darkn. & Dawn xv, Nero..wished Junia Silana and Calvia Crispinilla to be of the party. |
(f) with obj. and compl. (n., adj., pple., advb. phrase): now chiefly in imprecations or the like.
| 14.. How Plowman learned Paternoster 152 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 215 He wysshed them at the devyll therfore. 1477 Stonor Papers (Camden) II. 22, I thank you hertely þat hyt plesyd you to wyshe me with you. c 1520 Skelton Magnyf. 2306, I se well there is no better rede, But sygh, and sorowe, and wysshe my selfe dede. 1532 Tindale Exp. Matt. v–vii vii. (? 1550) 88 b, Who is so wel beloued..but that ther be ynow..that woulde, for hys good, wishe him to hel? a 1533 [see wish n.1 2]. 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 70, I wyshed my selfe heere. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. i. i. 14 Wish me partaker in thy happinesse, When thou do'st meet good hap. 1605 ― Macb. v. viii. 49 Had I as many Sonnes, as I haue haires, I would not wish them to a fairer death. 1621 [see further adv. 4 b]. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 27 ¶2 We every day wish ourselves disengaged from its allurements. 1724 Ramsay Vision ix, Mailpayers wiss it to the devil. 1797 Jane Austen Sense & Sens. xxxvii, We all wish her extremely happy. 1819 Crabbe T. of Hall xvii. 364 Perch that were wish'd to salmon for her sake. 1823 Lamb Let. to Southey 21 Nov., I wished both magazine and review at the bottom of the sea. 1848 Dickens Dombey xxii, Let us remember James by name, and wish him happy. 1902 ‘Violet Jacob’ Sheep-Stealers xi, She could only move uneasily on her seat, and wish him miles away. |
(g) after as or than: often ellipt. (so also with rel.) for various constructions, esp. (c), (d), (e).
| 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. clxiv. 83/1 The aduentures of amours and of war, are more fortunate and maruelous, than any man canne thynke or wysshe. 1530 Palsgr. 783/1, I am as well nowe, I thanke God, as I coulde wysshe. 1560 Bible (Geneva) Ps. lxxiii. 7 They haue more then heart can wish. 1698 Collier Immor. Stage 227 He..goes off as like a Town Spark as you would wish. 1750 Gray Elegy Ep. 8 He gain'd from Heav'n ('twas all he wish'd) a friend. 1866 Geo. Eliot F. Holt i, Nothing had come just as she had wished. 1868 L. M. Alcott Little Women xiii, You should do just what your grandfather wishes. |
(h) in passive: esp. in predicative phr. to be wished = desirable.
| 1531 Elyot Gov. ii. ix, It is to be wisshed, that they, whiche..haue any autoritie, maye be like to the lawes, whiche in correctynge be ladde only by equitie. 1597 Morley Introd. Mus. Ded., More to be wished and much more durable. 1602 Shakes. Ham. iii. i. 64 'Tis a consummation Deuoutly to be wish'd. 1697 De Foe Ess. Projects 232 'Twere to be wish'd our Gentry were so much Lovers of Learning, that Birth might always be join'd with Capacity. 1788 C. Reeve Exiles II. 124 At length the day so long wished and expected came. 1876 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 2 June 708/1 The returns from the Cheltenham district were not so complete as might be wished. 1918 Pall Mall Gaz. 29 June 8/1 The first venture..was not, perhaps, as successful as could have been wished. |
† b. fig. of a thing: To ‘require’: = desire v. 3.
| 1600 Abbot Jonah 599, I do not find that expositors speake so fully to the matter of this wind, as me seemeth this text doth wish. |
2. intr. To have or feel a wish; in early use often, to long, yearn. a. with after (obs.), for: = 1 (a); also indir. pass. = 1 (h).
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 3 Men..wisten ȝerne after ure lauerd ihesu cristes tocume. Ibid. 135 Þu hauest longe iwist after strene, and god haueð herd þine bede. 13.. Cursor M. 23548 (Edinb.) Ilk man sal haf til his, Al þat he wil eftir wis. 1481 Caxton Myrr. 107 The deth wold they haue and weesshe after it incessantly. 1526 Tindale Acts xxvii. 29 They cast iiij. ancres out of the sterne: and wysshed for the daye. 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 69 By so much the more you are welcome, by how much the more you were wished for. 1740 Richardson Pamela II. 163, I can only wish for more worthiness. 1757 E. Griffith Lett. Henry & Frances (1767) I. 84, I wished for you..in vain all night, the life-long night. 1834 Dickens Sk. Boz, Boarding-ho. ii, Having nothing to do and nothing to wish for, she naturally imagined she must be very ill. 1867 Spedding Publ. & Authors 75 Buy the volumes as they come out, if you wish for them. |
b. absol.
| 1546 J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 50 Better to haue then wishe. 1570 Satir. Poems Reform. xii. 185 Than war I fane, bot all in vane, To wis and will nocht be. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 228 Quha can wiss aboue thir thrie? 1601 Shakes. All's Well i. iii. 218 If your selfe..Did euer, in so true a flame of liking, Wish chastly, and loue dearely. 1850 Miss Mulock Olive xxi, It had been one of her childish superstitions always ‘to wish at the new moon’. 1904 W. W. Jacobs Dialstone Lane iii. 37, ‘I could see it at any time I wished’, she said sharply. ‘Well, wish now’, entreated Mr. Tredgold. |
c. trans. with cognate obj.
| c 1400 [see wish n.1 3]. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. ii. i. 179 Thy own wish wish I thee, in euery place. 1849 Mrs. Gaskell Lizzie Leigh, etc. (1913) 426 Wishing all manner of idle wishes. 1914 ‘Ian Hay’ Knt. on Wheels xi, If you wish a wish and then feel in my pocket, old lady, you may find something. |
3. trans. To express a wish for; to say that one wishes{ddd}(with various const. as in 1); spec. to imprecate, invoke (an evil or curse).
| c 1000 ælfric Hom. II. 308 Alexander ða wiscte: ‘Eala ᵹif ðu wære hund!’ 1476 Paston Lett. Suppl. (1901) 149, I wysshed to hym that he and I hadde been at Norwyche. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 7 Than he cryeth out and wyssheth that he neuer had had eyes to se. 1560 Bible (Geneva) Job xxxi. 30 Nether haue I suffred my mouth to sinne, by wishing a cursse vnto his soule. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, i. iii. 218 If Heauen haue any grieuous plague in store, Exceeding those that I can wish vpon thee. 1673 Cave Prim. Chr. iii. i. 221 He was consumed by such a disease as he had wished upon himself. 1715 Atterbury Serm., Matt. xxvii. 25 (1734) I. 134 The profane Folly..of wishing that Damnation to ourselves, which we otherways but too well deserve. 1724 Ramsay Vision xxvii, He..wischt I happyness micht bruke. 1781 in Jrnl. Friends Hist. Soc. (1918) 72 She was senceable to the last..often wished she might be like her..D[ea]r Grandmother. |
4. spec. (with to or simple object) To desire (something, usually good) for or on behalf of a person, etc.: esp. in formulæ of greeting or expressions of goodwill; hence as in 3, to express such a wish for, esp. as a formal greeting:
e.g. to wish (one) good morning, good-bye (= bid v.1 9), a merry Christmas, a happy New Year, many happy returns of the day (see return n. 2 b), etc.; also intr. in to wish (one) well (see well adv. 2 d), and intr. or trans. (usually with neg.) in to wish (one) ill (where ill may be taken as adv. or n.). to wish (one) joy of: see joy n. 9 d.
| c 900 Laws Alfred Introd. xlix. §3 Ða apostolas & þa eldran broðor hælo eow wyscað. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus ii. 406, I bidde wisshe yow no more sorwe. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xx. 328 Þer ne is syk ne sory..Þat he ne may..boþe wusshen and wylnen Alle manere of men mercy and for-ȝeuenesse. 1516 State Papers Hen. VIII, VI. 50 Not to thintent he schulde have hys parte off thys intolerable troble.., for I wolde not wysche itt to a dogge. 1535 Coverdale Ps. cxxix. 8 We wish you good lucke in the name of the Lorde. ― Job xxxi. 30, I neuer suffred my mouth to do soch a sinne, as to wysh him euell. 1552 Huloet, Wyshe ille to any thinge, fascino. 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 97, I would neither wish thee a greater plague, nor him a deadlyer poyson. a 1586 Sidney Apol. Poetrie (Arb.) 72, I will not wish vnto you..to be rimed to death. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. x. (S.T.S.) II. 359 To salute thame baith, wisse thame gude morne. 1610 Shakes. Temp. v. i. 215 Let griefe and sorrow still embrace his heart, That doth not wish you ioy. 1623 Heminge & Condell Shaks. Wks. To Rdrs., And such Readers we wish him. c 1720 De Foe Mem. Cavalier i. 39 They wished the Swedes Success. 1816 Jane Austen Emma x, I wish Jane Fairfax very well; but she tires me to death. 1821 Scott Kenilw. vii, I have been prayed for, and wished well to, in your congregations. 1885 Law Times LXXIX. 345/2 [He] wished the officials good night, and left the room. |
b. To desire, or express a desire for, the welfare or misfortune of (a person); only in evil wished, ill-wish v., well-wished.
| 1577 Hellowes Gueuara's Chron. 325 All three were so euil wished in the Common wealth, that the least euill which they would them..was but death. 1604 Bodley in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 48, I leave you both as well wished, as if you were to enjoy the best wishes bestowed this new year's day in England. |
5. In expressions of desire for something to be done by another, thus conveying a request; hence, to request, entreat; formerly sometimes, to bid, command: a. a thing or action (with various const. as in 1): cf. desire v. 5.
| a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lxxxiii. 259 He came to Huon & wysshyd y⊇ fetters fro all there fete [orig. soubhaita leurs fers hors de leurs iambes]. 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. 38 To wishe of God to purge oure hartes from all filthines and vngodlie dealinge. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. ix. (S.T.S.) II. 236, I wisse rather..that in hope of barnes he take Margaret rather than Magdalen for his bedfallow. 1596 Bacon Max. Com. Law ix. (1636) 36 The Statute of 27. H. 8. of uses, that wisheth that the cestui que use shall have the possession in quality and degree as hee had the use. 1671 Milton Samson 1414 Brethren farewel, your company along I will not wish. a 1674 Clarendon Hist. Reb. viii. §272 To confer with lord Digby, who..should find the best way to make the earl of Antrim to communicate the affair to him, and to wish his assistance. 1842 Dickens Amer. Notes xiv, Whatever we wished done was done with great civility and readiness. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 429, I wish that you would tell me about his death. |
b. a person to do something: cf. desire v. 6.
| 1583 T. Stocker Civ. Warres Lowe C. iv. 55 [The] Captaine..wished them quietly departe, without thei liked to be saluted with Cannon shotte. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. v. i. 79 Duk. You were not bid to speake. Luc. No,..Nor wish'd to hold my peace. 1604 Dekker & Middleton Honest Wh. i. C 2 b, Hie to the Constable, And in all calme order wish him to attach them. 1716 Swift Poems, Phyllis 35 The Groom was wish'd to saddle Crop. 1854 Dickens Hard T. ii. i, Would you wish the gentleman to be shewn in, ma'am? 1859 Ruskin Two Paths i. §35 There is another thing I wish you to notice specially in these statues. |
† c. To invite, ‘bid’ (a person to a place). Obs. rare.
| a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lxxxiii. 259 He..causyd them to syt downe at his owne table that he had wysshyd thether [orig. eut fait venir]. |
6. To recommend (a person) to another, or to a place, etc. Obs. or dial.
orig. prob. belonging to wis v.1 2, to direct.
| 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. i. i. 113 If I can by any meanes light on a fit man to teach her that wherein she delights, I will wish him to her father. 1610 B. Jonson Alch. i. iii, I was wish'd to your worship, by a gentleman,..That say's you know mens planets. 1633 Rowley Match at Mid-n. iv. i, He sayes he was wisht to [a] very wealthy Widdow, but of you he has heard much Histories, that he will marry you. 1751 Eliza Heywood Betsy Thoughtless I. xvi. 196 Now I have been wished to several fine women, but my fancy gives the preference to you. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. xxiii, She passed that interval of time in the lodging of a woman, an acquaintance of that person who had wished her to that place. 1846 Brockett N.C. Gloss. (ed. 3) s.v., Can you wish me to a customer? |
7. To influence in a magical or occult way by wishing; to bewitch by a desire or imprecation. dial.
| 1848 Mrs. Gaskell Mary Barton vii, We mun get him away from his mother. He cannot die while she's wishing him. 1865 Tylor Early Hist. Man. vi. 134 When he hears that he has been ‘wished,’ he..takes to his bed at once. |
8. To foist or impose (something or someone) on (to) someone; to endow with at another's wish.
| 1915 N. L. McClung In Times like These x. 164 Women have never chosen the liquor business... It has been wished on them. 1926 Publishers' Weekly 22 May 1725/1 Mr. Remington..has not been able to be with us... That is why we are able to wish that good job on him. 1934 E. Waugh Handful of Dust i. 20 Who was the old girl you wished on me at that party last night? 1954 ‘N. Shute’ Slide Rule 1 An unwanted kitten that they had wished on to my children. 1962 Listener 5 July 14/2 The plan was to build a much larger school than was needed, at the same time ‘wishing’ additional housing on the village to justify it. 1971 Guardian 9 Jan. 13/2 We owed money everywhere... I wouldn't wish that on any of today's young housewives. 1983 M. Babson Fool for Murder xviii. 166 It really was most unfair of Uncle Wilmer to wish it on Wanda-Lu... He wasn't the one who'd have to keep the place tidy. |
¶ I wish, corrupt form of iwis: see wis v.2
▸ int. colloq. (orig. U.S.). you (or I) wish: (as a response suggesting, esp. with resignation, irony, or sarcasm, that the stated prospect, however desirable, is highly unlikely: you (or I) might wish it, but in vain; some hope; not a chance.
| 1989 R. A. Spears NTC's Dict. Amer. Slang (1991) 103/1 Don't you wish! and You wish! exclam. ‘I'm sure you wish it were true.’.. There's no school tomorrow? You wish! 1991 Z. Edgell In Times like These xxix. 172 ‘But I will be by then,’ Eric said. ‘You wish,’ Lisa laughed. 1991 R. P. MacIntyre Yuletide Blues xvii. 124 ‘Vodka?’ Dad says. ‘I wish,’ says Daphne. ‘It's sugar water or something.’ 1995 Just Seventeen 5 Apr. 21 But Ellen thinks I'm going out with Tom. Like, I wish. 1998M. Binchy in Irish Times (Electronic ed.) 17 Jan. Someone tells you you're looking great, you must have lost a stone and you answer ‘I wish’... Or else, you say..that you're going to de-clutter your house.., and someone says in a down-putting way ‘You wish’, meaning in your dreams you're going to do this. |
▪ V. wish
var. wis v.1 Obs.