guise comes from Old French guise ('manner, way, fashion'), of Germanic origin, from Frankish *wīsa ('manner, wise'), akin to Old English wīse ('manner') and English wise (as in 'likewise'). The path is chiefly one of transmission: the word passes through the named languages and forms, with each stage preserving part of the modern shape. In present English, the noun sense is "an external appearance or pretence concealing the truth", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as disguise. Its semantic neighborhood includes pretense, appearance, semblance, and disguise, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Old French guise and Frankish *wīsa.