Wish

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

Wish, v. i. [OE. wischen, weschen, wuschen, AS. wscan; akin to D. wenschen, G. wÜnschen, Icel. æeskja, Dan. önske, Sw. önska; from AS. wsc a wish; akin to OD. & G. wunsch, OHG. wunsc, Icel. sk, Skr. vāchā a wish, vāch to wish; also to Skr. van to like, to wish. . See Winsome, Win, v. t., and cf. Wistful.].

 To have a desire or yearning; to long; to hanker.  [1913 Webster]
"They cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day."  [1913 Webster]
"This is as good an argument as an antiquary could wish for."  [1913 Webster]

Wish, v. t. 

•  To desire; to long for; to hanker after; to have a mind or disposition toward.  [1913 Webster]

  "I would not wish
  Any companion in the world but you."  [1913 Webster]

  "I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper."  [1913 Webster]
•  To frame or express desires concerning; to invoke in favor of, or against, any one; to attribute, or cal down, in desire; to invoke; to imprecate.  [1913 Webster]

  "I would not wish them to a fairer death."  [1913 Webster]

  "I wish it may not prove some ominous foretoken of misfortune to have met with such a miser as I am."  [1913 Webster]

  "Let them be driven backward, and put to shame, that wish me evil."  [1913 Webster]
•  To recommend; to seek confidence or favor in behalf of.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]

  "I would be glad to thrive, sir,
  And I was wished to your worship by a gentleman."  [1913 Webster]

Syn. -- See Desire.

Wish, n. 

•  Desire; eager desire; longing.  [1913 Webster]

  "Behold, I am according to thy wish in God a stead."  [1913 Webster]
•  Expression of desire; request; petition; hence, invocation or imprecation.  [1913 Webster]

  "Blistered be thy tongue for such a wish."  [1913 Webster]
•  A thing desired; an object of desire.  [1913 Webster]

  "Will he, wise, let loose at once his ire . . .
  To give his enemies their wish!"  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Wish, v. & n.
--v.
1 intr. (often foll. by for) have or express a desire or aspiration for (wish for happiness).
2 tr. (often foll. by that + clause, usu. with that omitted) have as a desire or aspiration (I wish I could sing; I wished that I was dead).
3 tr. want or demand, usu. so as to bring about what is wanted (I wish to go; I wish you to do it; I wish it done).
4 tr. express one's hopes for (we wish you well; wish them no harm; wished us a pleasant journey).
5 tr. (foll. by on, upon) colloq. foist on a person.
--n.
1 a a desire, request, or aspiration. b an expression of this.
2 a thing desired (got my wish).

Idiom

best (or good) wishes hopes felt or expressed for another's happiness etc. wish-fulfilment a tendency for subconscious desire to be satisfied in fantasy. wishing-well a well into which coins are dropped and a wish is made. the wish is father to the thought we believe a thing because we wish it true.

Derivative

wisher n. (in sense 4 of v.); (also in comb.).

Etymology

OE wyscan, OHG wunsken f. Gmc, ult. rel. to WEEN, WONT

ROGET THESAURUS

Wish

Will

N will, volition, conation, velleity, liberum arbitrium, will and pleasure, free will, freedom, discretion, option, voluntariness, spontaneity, spontaneousness, originality, pleasure, wish, mind, desire, frame of mind, intention, predetermination, selfcontrol, determination, force of will, voluntary, volitional, willful, free, optional, discretional, discretionary, volitient, volitive, minded, prepense, intended, autocratic, unbidden &c (bid), spontaneous, original, unconstrained, voluntarily, at will, at pleasure, a volonte, a discretion, al piacere, ad libitum, ad arbitrium, as one thinks proper, as it seems good to, a beneplacito, of one's won accord, of one's own free will, proprio motu, suo motu, ex meromotu, out of one's won head, by choice, purposely, deliberately, stet pro ratione voluntas, sic volo sic jubeo, a vostro beneplacito, beneficium accipere libertatem est vendere, Deus vult, was man nicht kann meiden muss man willig leiden.

Intention

N intent, intention, intentionality, purpose, quo animo, project, undertaking, predetermination, design, ambition, contemplation, mind, animus, view, purview, proposal, study, look out, final cause, raison d'etre, cui bono, object, aim, end, the be all and the end all, drift, tendency, destination, mark, point, butt, goal, target, bull's-eye, quintain, prey, quarry, game, decision, determination, resolve, fixed set purpose, settled purpose, ultimatum, resolution, wish, arriere pensee, motive, teleology, intended, intentional, advised, express, determinate, prepense, bound for, intending, minded, bent upon, at stake, on the anvil, on the tapis, in view, in prospect, in the breast of, in petto, teleological, intentionally, advisedly, wittingly, knowingly, designedly, purposely, on purpose, by design, studiously, pointedly, with intent, deliberately, with one's eyes open, in cold blood, for, with a view, with an eye to, in order to, in order that, to the end that, with the intent that, for the purpose of, with the view of, in contemplation of, on account of, in pursuance of, pursuant to, quo animo, to all intents and purposes, The road to hell is paved with good intentions, sublimi feriam sidera vertice.

Desire

N desire, wish, fancy, fantasy, want, need, exigency, mind, inclination, leaning, bent, animus, partiality, penchant, predilection, propensity, willingness, liking, love, fondness, relish, longing, hankering, inkling, solicitude, anxiety, yearning, coveting, aspiration, ambition, vaulting ambition, eagerness, zeal, ardor, empressement, breathless impatience, overanxiety, impetuosity, appetite, appetition, appetence, appetency, sharp appetite, keenness, hunger, stomach, twist, thirst, thirstiness, drouth, mouthwatering, itch, itching, prurience, cacoethes, cupidity, lust, concupiscence, edge of appetite, edge of hunger, torment of Tantalus, sweet tooth, lickerish tooth, itching palm, longing eye, wistful eye, sheep's eye, greed, voracity, passion, rage, furore, mania, manie, inextinguishable desire, dipsomania, kleptomania, lover, amateur, votary, devotee, aspirant, solicitant, candidate, applicant, supplicant, cormorant, desideratum, want, a consummation devoutly to be wished, attraction, magnet, allurement, fancy, temptation, seduction, fascination, prestige, height of one's ambition, idol, whim, whimsy, whimsey, maggot, hobby, hobby-horse, Fortunatus's cap, wishing cap, wishing stone, wishing well, desirous, desiring, inclined, partial to, fain, wishful, optative, anxious, wistful, curious, at a loss for, sedulous, solicitous, craving, hungry, sharp-set, peckish, ravening, with an empty stomach, esurient, lickerish, thirsty, athirst, parched with thirst, pinched with hunger, famished, dry, drouthy, hungry as a hunter, hungry as a hawk, hungry as a horse, hungry as a church mouse, hungry as a bear, greedy, unsatisfied, unsated, unslaked, unsaturated, eager, avid, keen, burning, fervent, ardent, agog, all agog, breathless, impatient, bent on, intent on, set on, bent upon, intent upon, set upon, mad after, enrage, rabid, dying for, devoured by desire, aspiring, ambitious, vaulting, skyaspiring, high-reaching, desirable, desired, in demand, pleasing, appetizing, appetible, tantalizing, wistfully, fain, Int, would that, would that it were!, O for!, esto perpetual, the wish being father to the thought, sua cuique voluptas, hoc erat in votis, the mouth watering, the fingers itching, aut Caesar aut nullus, Cassius has a lean and hungry look, hungry as the grave, I was born to other things, not what we wish but what we want, such joy ambition finds, the sea hath bounds but deep desire hath none, ubi mel ibi apes.

VB desire, wish, wish for, be desirous, have a longing, hope, care for, affect, like, list, take to, cling to, take a fancy to, fancy, prefer, have an eye, have a mind to, find it in one's heart, have a fancy for, set one's eyes upon, cast a sheep's eye upon, look sweet upon, take into one's head, have at heart, be bent upon, set one's cap at, set one's heart upon, set one's mind upon, covet, want, miss, need, feel the want of, would fain have, would fain do, would be glad of, be hungry, have a good appetite, play a good knife and fork, hunger after, thirst after, crave after, lust after, itch after, hanker after, run mad after, raven for, die for, burn to, desiderate, sigh for, cry for, gape for, gasp for, pine for, pant for, languish for, yearn for, long, be on thorns for, hope for, aspire after, catch at, grasp at, jump at, woo, court, solicit, fish for, spell for, whistle for, put up for, ogle, cause desire, create desire, raise desire, excite desire, provoke desire, whet the appetite, appetize, titillate, allure, attract, take one's fancy, tempt, hold out temptation, hold out allurement, tantalize, make one's mouth water, faire venir l'eau a la bouche, gratify desire.