Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adv. Archaic Certainly; assuredly.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Certainly; surely; truly; to wit. This word, very common in Middle English, lost somewhat of its literal force, and became in later use a term of slight emphasis, often meaningless. In the later ballads, and hence archaically in modern use, it is thrown in parenthetically, often as a metrical expletive, and is commonly printed as two words, I wis, taken to mean ‘I think’ or ‘I guess.’ See the etymology.
- n. Certainty: used in the adverbial phrases mid iwisse, or to iwisse, for certain, certainly.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- adv. obsolete Indeed; truly. See ywis.
Etymologies
- From Middle English iwis, ywis ("certain, sure"), from Old English ġewiss ("certain, sure"), from Proto-Germanic *gawissaz (“known, certain, sure”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to know”). Cognate with Dutch gewis ("sure"), German gewiss ("certain"), Danish vis ("sure"). More at wit, wis. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Old English gewis, certain; see weid- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“In whom I thinke Nature iwis, hath wrought all that she can,”
The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation
“_ Mi fleis is wis mete. ⁊ mi blod iwis dri {n} ke ⁊ aft {er} þ̵ {150} he seið.”
Selections from early Middle English, 1130-1250 Part I: Texts
“Þa þe godes milce secheð {;} he iwis mei ha ifi {n} den.”
Selections from early Middle English, 1130-1250 Part I: Texts
“Nis hit ðe no wurðscipe þ̵ þe deouel me to {} drawe. ȝif þu wult hit iðauien iwis he wule ðurchut fawe. vor he nolde neu {er} re þ̵ þu hefedest wurðschipe.”
Selections from early Middle English, 1130-1250 Part I: Texts
“++Wite ðu to soðe ðat þese teares ðe we embe speke {ð} hie bieð iwis godes ȝiue. ⁊ swiðe niedfulle to ðan inede þat iherd sculen”
Selections from early Middle English, 1130-1250 Part I: Texts
“Þa þe burh we {s} al ȝare {;} þa scop he hire nome. he hæhte heo ful iwis {;} KaeR {} Carrai an Bruttisc.”
Selections from early Middle English, 1130-1250 Part I: Texts
“Who erst so valiant prou'd iwis, they gladly, shout and crie:”
“Negligent, disobedient and foulmouthed, iwis, And reckless and witless and mannerless: and therewithal he has some other petty vices, which”
“⁊ ðenkeð iuel on his mod. fox he is ⁊ fend iwis. ðe boc ne legeð nogt of ðis.”
Selections from early Middle English, 1130-1250 Part I: Texts
“& of drauȝtes as me draweþ in poudre: & in numbre iwis. [[10a]] p.xviii. l.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘iwis’.
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Anglish
Words that can replace Latinates.
frosent, gainsay, fremd, inrush, frain, huru, wordbook, wordstock, byspel, elfshine, infaru, glam and 98 more...
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phrontistery - i
from phrontistery.info
iamb, ianthine, ibidem, iceblink, ichneumous, ichnite, ichnogram, ichnography, ictus, idolum, idoneous, ilke and 510 more...
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Anglo-Saxon/Old English
Anglo-Saxon rootwords
mote, huru, byspel, elfshine, infaru, snotor, dern, upspring, meed, lof, queem, hof and 83 more...
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wit
with wit mess (between less & ness)
wit, wot, wote, wost, wist, weeting, sense, wite, witticism, insulse, wittiness, wittiness witness and 31 more...
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Lexicomaniac
cicatrix, ingeminate, durcheinander, crêpe, soporific, papaverous, archaic, enucleate, falchion, gravitic, pseudorandom, thorp and 10 more...
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Eocene (Eosin) (Eoscene) (Eoseen) Eng...
Dawn Words in English
swefnum, swefna, secgan, goste, wealhstod, wald-swathu, hearpan, hwaet, leothcraeft, beorhtost, wyrd, dustsceawung and 131 more...
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5-0
Hecko, words! I’m so happy I’ve found you. I want to keep you all and never want to lose you again. I hope you like it here.
amscray, thistledown, tine, tinsel, pungent, snarl, wail, lanky, viscid, dawdle, luminous, stow and 2719 more...
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W.E.L.D.E.R.
réchauffé, gast, dere, heller, arête, wair, tut, shad, tipi, emeu, codon, unco and 65 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for iwis.
fbharjo iwis = surely amen. is it an adverb? Dec 28, 2006