*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of wist

Past indicative of wit: from Old English witan, from Proto-Germanic *witaną, from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“see, know”). Cognate with Dutch weten, German wissen, Swedish veta, and Latin videō (“to see”). Compare guide

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
verb

simple past and past participle of wit.

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

Past indicative of wit: from Old English witan, from Proto-Germanic *witaną, from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“see, know”). Cognate with Dutch weten, German wissen, Swedish veta, and Latin videō (“to see”). Compare guide.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "witan"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English witan"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*witaną"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *witaną"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*weyd-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "see, know"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“see, know”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "weten"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch weten"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "wissen"
      },
      "expansion": "German wissen"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "veta"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish veta"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "videō",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to see"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin videō (“to see”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "wit",
      "wit#English"
    ],
    [
      "witan",
      "witan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*witaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/witaną"
    ],
    [
      "*weyd-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/weyd-"
    ],
    [
      "weten",
      "weten#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "wissen",
      "wissen#German"
    ],
    [
      "veta",
      "veta#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "videō",
      "video#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "guide",
      "guide#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "simple past and past participle of wit."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "form-of",
        "participle",
        "past"
      ],
      "recordId": "51cccdb6c1b6b9a8d37a7b83c75077583f9d45f3f5ffe20b888713fb9cfb04a4",
      "rawRecordSha256": "c0f3cb92de870877aea561ae2db9913822d677abf4d8fad86611c345ebb2c579",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 527482
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To know, be aware of.

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

A misunderstanding, or a joking use of the past indicative of wit; see Etymology 1.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "wit",
      "wit#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To know, be aware of."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "nonstandard"
      ],
      "recordId": "0251767c07709b1cac41a7ac6516b9a4ea57ee2a9826f1a8c624bd931fc83ee5",
      "rawRecordSha256": "7260de06eb38753dd86bea85eea71e4e76001ec0ec16f7974f6f7c08fb6e8bab",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 527483
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "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 wist →

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
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-d2lzdA