Standard Lemma guide

wist

verb · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /wɪst/
  • rhymes with -ɪst
  • homophone: whist (wine–whine merger)
  • CMU ARPABET: W IH1 S T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

verb

Meaning 1

simple past and past participle of wit.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, form-of, participle, past

Examples

  • a'''1796, Robert Burns, "Bonie Jean: A Ballad", in Poems and Songs, P.F. Collier & Son (1909–14), Bartleby.com (2001), http://www.bartleby.com/6/419.html, And lang ere witless Jeanie wist, / Her heart was tint, her peace was stown!

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To know, be aware of.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: nonstandard

Qualifier: pseudo-archaic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

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.

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