wish

A2 Topic:Actions & Processes

Also spelled wishin and wisht

US /wɪʃ/ See IPA manual

Homophones

whish /wɪʃ/

Minimal pairs

Sounds like which /tʃ/ vs /ʃ/ Sounds like wis /s/ vs /ʃ/

Freq #439

Meanings

1

verb
To want something to be true, especially something unlikely.

I wish I could speak five languages.
2

noun
A desire or hope for something.

It is my wish that the money go to charity.
3

verb
To express a hope for someone's happiness or success.

I wish you a wonderful evening.
4

verb
To want or hope for something.

They wished for good weather on their wedding day.

Verb forms

wish, wished, wished

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · a desire or hope for... want

Word family

Related forms precatoryvelleity

Appears in

Phrases (8)

See all

best wishes
a polite expression of hope for someone's happiness or success

Adjective + noun
make a wish
to express a desire or hope, especially as a ritual gesture

Verb + noun
wish someone luck
to express hope that someone will succeed or have good fortune

Verb + noun
grant a wish
to make someone's desire come true

Verb + noun
express a wish
to state or communicate a desire formally

Verb + noun
dying wish
a final desire expressed by someone close to death

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (5)

See all

Etymology

From Middle English wisshen, wischen, wüschen, from Old English wȳsċan (“to wish”), from Proto-West Germanic *wunskijan, from Proto-Germanic *wunskijaną (“to wish”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to wish, love”). Cognate with Scots wis (“to wish”), Saterland Frisian wonskje (“to wish”), West Frisian winskje (“to wish”), Dutch wensen (“to wish”), German wünschen (“to wish”), Luxembourgish wënschen (“to wish”), Yiddish ווינטשן (vintshn, “to wish”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål ønske (“to wish”), Faroese ynskja (“to wish, to desire”), Icelandic æskja, óska (“to wish”), Norwegian Nynorsk ønskja,…

wisshen Middle English wȳsċan Old English *wunskijan Proto-West Germanic *wunskijaną Proto-Germanic *wenh₁- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# wish

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /wɪʃ/
**Frequency rank:** 439

## Meanings
1. To want something to be true, especially something unlikely.
2. A desire or hope for something.
3. To express a hope for someone's happiness or success.
4. To want or hope for something.

## Examples
- I wish I could speak five languages.
- It is my wish that the money go to charity.
- I wish you a wonderful evening.
- They wished for good weather on their wedding day.

## Related Forms
- precatory
- velleity

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: wisshen
- Root: wȳsċan
- Root: *wunskijan
- Root: *wunskijaną
- Root: *wenh₁-

## Etymology
From Middle English wisshen, wischen, wüschen, from Old English wȳsċan (“to wish”), from Proto-West Germanic *wunskijan, from Proto-Germanic *wunskijaną (“to wish”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to wish, love”). Cognate with Scots wis (“to wish”), Saterland Frisian wonskje (“to wish”), West Frisian winskje (“to wish”), Dutch wensen (“to wish”), German wünschen (“to wish”), Luxembourgish wënschen (“to wish”), Yiddish ווינטשן (vintshn, “to wish”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål ønske (“to wish”), Faroese ynskja (“to wish, to desire”), Icelandic æskja, óska (“to wish”), Norwegian Nynorsk ønskja,…

## AI Etymology
Wish is from Middle English wisshen, wischen, wüschen, from Old English wȳsċan (“to wish”), from Proto-West Germanic *wunskijan, from Proto-Germanic *wunskijaną (“to wish”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to wish, love”). Important historical forms include Middle English wisshen, Old English wȳsċan, Proto-West Germanic *wunskijan, Proto-Germanic *wunskijaną, and Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁-. In present-day use, it can mean to want something to be true, especially something unlikely, or a desire or hope for something.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

markdown