guise

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈɡaɪz/ UK /ˈɡaɪz/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
an external appearance or pretence concealing the truth

The spy entered the palace in the guise of a merchant.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an external appearance or... pretense appearance semblance disguise facade mask pretext aspect

Word family

Related forms disguise

Simplified etymology

Guise entered Middle English through French from a Germanic root meaning “characteristic, manner, or custom,” related to wise. It later became part of disguise, whose earliest sense referred to changing one’s usual style of dress.

Etymology

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').

guise Old French *wīsa Frankish

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# guise

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈɡaɪz/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɡaɪz/

## Meanings
1. an external appearance or pretence concealing the truth

## Examples
- The spy entered the palace in the guise of a merchant.

## Synonyms
- pretense
- appearance
- semblance
- disguise
- facade
- mask
- pretext
- aspect

## Related Forms
- disguise

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: guise
- Root: *wīsa

## Etymology
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').

## AI Etymology
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.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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