Word Study
wis
CIDE DICTIONARY
wis, adv. [Aphetic form of iwis, ywis; or fr. Icel. viss certain. See Ywis.].
Certainly; really; indeed. Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
wis, v. t. [Due to mistaking OE. iwis certain, AS. gewiss, for I wis. See Ywis.].
To think; to suppose; to imagine; -- used chiefly in the first person sing. present tense, I wis. See the Note under Ywis. R. Browning. [1913 Webster]
"Nor do I know how long it is
(For I have lain entranced, I wis)." [1913 Webster]
(For I have lain entranced, I wis)." [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
wis, v.intr. archaic know well.
Etymology
orig. I wis = obs. iwis 'certainly' f. OE gewis, erron. taken as 'I know' and as pres. tense of wist (WIT(2))
ROGET THESAURUS
wis
Supposition
VB suppose, conjecture, surmise, suspect, guess, divine, theorize, presume, presurmise, presuppose, assume, fancy, wis, take it, give a guess, speculate, believe, dare say, take it into one's head, take for granted, imagine, put forth, propound, propose, start, put a case, submit, move, make a motion, hazard out, throw out a suggestion, put forward a suggestion, put forward conjecture, allude to, suggest, hint, put it into one's head, suggest itself, run in the head, marvel if, wonder if, wonder whether.For further exploring for "wis" in Webster Dictionary Online