wis

¹

[wis]

verb (used with or without object)

Archaic.

1. to know.

Wis.

²

Or Wisc

abbreviation

1. Wisconsin.

Wis.

¹

abbreviation

1. Wisconsin

wis

²

/ wɪs /

verb

1. archaic,  to know or suppose (something)

Word History and Origins

Origin of wis¹

1500–10; by false analysis of iwis as I wis I know; wit ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of wis¹

C17: a form derived from _iwis , mistakenly interpreted as I wis I know, as if from Old English witan to know

Example Sentences

Amtrak’s new Borealis route runs daily between Chicago and Minneapolis, stopping in La Crosse, Wis., an easy gateway to the region.

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Some are grown near Hancock, Wis., a small village smack in the middle of a state best known for its cheese.

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Born in 1906, Gein was raised on an isolated farm in Plainfield, Wis., by an alcoholic father and an ultrareligious mother, whom he adored and defended until her death in 1945.

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Mike was born in Baraboo, Wis., long-time home of the Ringling Bros. of circus fame, amidst the depths of the Great Depression, and grew up there during World War II. The family moved to Waukesha after the war, Mike graduating from Catholic Memorial High School there, then earning a journalism degree at Marquette University in Milwaukee.

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Calls for reprisal from members of Congress like Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R‑Wis., have ranged from investigations under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, and deplatforming and prosecuting “those responsible,” to more extreme suggestions of crackdowns on the left.

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