*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of wish

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-sḱéti Proto-Indo-European *wnh₁sḱétider. Proto-Indo-European *(ó)-os Proto-Germanic *-az Proto-Germanic *wunskaz Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Germanic

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

A desire, hope, or longing for something or for something to happen. · An expression of such a desire, often connected with ideas of magic and supernatural power. · The thing desired or longed for. · A water meadow.

verb

To desire; to want. · To hope (+ object clause with may or in present subjunctive). · To hope (for a particular outcome), even if that outcome is unlikely to occur or cannot occur. · To bestow (a thought or gesture) towards (someone or something).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-sḱéti Proto-Indo-European *wnh₁sḱétider. Proto-Indo-European *(ó)-os Proto-Germanic *-az Proto-Germanic *wunskaz Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Germanic *-janą Proto-Germanic *wunskijaną Proto-West Germanic *wunskijan Old English wȳsċan Middle English wischen English wish 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 and Norwegian Bokmål ønske (“to wish”), Faroese ynskja (“to wish, to desire”), Icelandic æskja, óska (“to wish”), Norwegian Nynorsk ønskja, ønskje, ønska, ønske, ynskja, ynskje (“to wish, to desire”), Swedish önska (“to wish”). Via PIE cognate with Latin Venus, veneror (“venerate, honour, love”), English wonder.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 2 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:wischen",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *wenh₁-\nProto-Indo-European *-sḱéti\nProto-Indo-European *wnh₁sḱétider.\nProto-Indo-European *(ó)-os\nProto-Germanic *-az\nProto-Germanic *wunskaz\nProto-Indo-European *-yéti\nProto-Germanic *-janą\nProto-Germanic *wunskijaną\nProto-West Germanic *wunskijan\nOld English wȳsċan\nMiddle English wischen\nEnglish wish\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*wnh₁sḱéti\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*wenh₁-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-sḱéti\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" }, { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"a-stem noun\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*(ó)-os\", \"id\" : \"thematic\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-os\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-az\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*wunskaz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"denominative\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"intransitive verbs\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-yéti\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-janą\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*wunskijaną\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*wunskijan\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"wȳsċan\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"wischen\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"wish\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"wish\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "wisshen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English wisshen"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "wȳsċan",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to wish"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English wȳsċan (“to wish”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*wunskijan"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *wunskijan"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*wunskijaną",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to wish"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *wunskijaną (“to wish”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*wenh₁-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to wish, love"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to wish, love”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "wis",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to wish"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots wis (“to wish”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "wonskje",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to wish"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian wonskje (“to wish”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "winskje",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to wish"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian winskje (“to wish”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "wensen",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to wish"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch wensen (“to wish”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "wünschen",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to wish"
      },
      "expansion": "German wünschen (“to wish”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lb",
        "2": "wënschen",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to wish"
      },
      "expansion": "Luxembourgish wënschen (“to wish”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "yi",
        "2": "ווינטשן",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to wish"
      },
      "expansion": "Yiddish ווינטשן (vintshn, “to wish”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da,nb",
        "2": "ønske",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to wish"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish and Norwegian Bokmål ønske (“to wish”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo",
        "2": "ynskja",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to wish, to desire"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese ynskja (“to wish, to desire”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "æskja"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic æskja"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "ønskja"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk ønskja"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "önska",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to wish"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish önska (“to wish”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "Venus"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin Venus"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "wonder"
      },
      "expansion": "English wonder"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:wischen",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *wenh₁-\nProto-Indo-European *-sḱéti\nProto-Indo-European *wnh₁sḱétider.\nProto-Indo-European *(ó)-os\nProto-Germanic *-az\nProto-Germanic *wunskaz\nProto-Indo-European *-yéti\nProto-Germanic *-janą\nProto-Germanic *wunskijaną\nProto-West Germanic *wunskijan\nOld English wȳsċan\nMiddle English wischen\nEnglish wish"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*wenh₁-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/wenh₁-"
    ],
    [
      "*-sḱéti",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-sḱéti"
    ],
    [
      "*(ó)-os",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-os#Proto-Indo-European:_thematic"
    ],
    [
      "*-az",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-az#Proto-Germanic:_a-stem_noun"
    ],
    [
      "*wunskaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/wunskaz"
    ],
    [
      "*-yéti",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-yéti#Proto-Indo-European:_intransitive_verbs"
    ],
    [
      "*-janą",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-janą#Proto-Germanic:_denominative"
    ],
    [
      "*wunskijaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/wunskijaną"
    ],
    [
      "*wunskijan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/wunskijan"
    ],
    [
      "wȳsċan",
      "wyscan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "wischen",
      "wischen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wisshen",
      "wisshen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wischen",
      "wischen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wüschen",
      "wuschen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wȳsċan",
      "wyscan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*wunskijan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/wunskijan"
    ],
    [
      "*wunskijaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/wunskijaną"
    ],
    [
      "*wenh₁-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/wenh₁-"
    ],
    [
      "wis",
      "wis#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "wonskje",
      "wonskje#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "winskje",
      "winskje#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "wensen",
      "wensen#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "wünschen",
      "wünschen#German"
    ],
    [
      "wënschen",
      "wënschen#Luxembourgish"
    ],
    [
      "ווינטשן",
      "ווינטשן#Yiddish"
    ],
    [
      "Danish",
      "ønske#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "ønske",
      "ønske#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "ynskja",
      "ynskja#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "æskja",
      "æskja#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "óska",
      "óska#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "ønskja",
      "ønskja#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "ønskje",
      "ønskje#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "ønska",
      "ønska#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "ønske",
      "ønske#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "ynskja",
      "ynskja#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "ynskje",
      "ynskje#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "önska",
      "önska#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "Venus",
      "Venus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "veneror",
      "veneror#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "venerate",
      "venerate"
    ],
    [
      "wonder",
      "wonder#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A desire, hope, or longing for something or for something to happen.",
        "An expression of such a desire, often connected with ideas of magic and supernatural power.",
        "The thing desired or longed for.",
        "A water meadow."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "12b3beaa6a3712f948f8bef28de23c932ba72722aff855a4e7bca84e6fe1b15b",
      "rawRecordSha256": "0cea61f117b4f7603ef643929853f4d617a2becb39afca9c6ea3f8d70aa6b0bb",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 222672
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To desire; to want.",
        "To hope (+ object clause with may or in present subjunctive).",
        "To hope (for a particular outcome), even if that outcome is unlikely to occur or cannot occur.",
        "To bestow (a thought or gesture) towards (someone or something)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive",
        "archaic",
        "intransitive",
        "ditransitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "fd74b115c40d198a9912386e6e514062d24d664cce1069ccb211db0d738172bb",
      "rawRecordSha256": "51c7a8cfcd0232ca662dfb32cc79e353a55b24d94ecf83bde490f31f6c604b9b",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 222673
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 2,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for wish →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
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Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-d2lzaA