Etymograph

English

iwis

Iwis comes from Middle English iwis ‘certain, sure’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *weyd- ‘to know’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyd-1‘to know’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gawissaz1‘known, certain, sure’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*gawiss1‘certain, sure’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150ġewiss1‘certain, sure’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500iwis1‘certain, sure’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1842iwis1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English iwis
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1842, Thomas Macaulay: “Iwis, in all the Senate There was no heart…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyd-Wiktionary, English iwis‘to know’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gawissazWiktionary, English iwis‘known, certain, sure’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*gawissWiktionary, English iwis‘certain, sure’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150ġewissWiktionary, English iwis‘certain, sure’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500iwisWiktionary, English iwis‘certain, sure’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1842iwisWiktionary, English iwis. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1842, Thomas Macaulay: “Iwis, in all the Senate There was no heart…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *weyd- ‘to know’

story, video, guy, idea, provide, evidence, review, advice, interview, guide, visit, vision, witness, historic, evident, idol, invisible, advise, visa, wise, wisdom, historian, wizard, visibility, wit, prudent, vista, steroid, tabloid, envious, witty, revise, guise, prudence, revue, druid, vide, purview, improvise, voyeur, 119 more

through Old English ġewiss ‘certain, sure’

wis

Today it means

adv Certainly, surely, indeed.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “iwis”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *weyd- / iwis

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