1  definition  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Ywis  \Y*wis"\,  adv  [OE.  ywis,  iwis,  AS  gewis  certain;  akin  to 
  D.  gewis,  G.  gewiss  and  E.  wit  to  know  See  {Wit}  to  know 
  and  {Y-}.] 
  Certainly;  most  likely;  truly;  probably.  [Obs.  or  Archaic] 
 
  ``Ywis,''  quod  he  ``it  is  full  dear,  I  say.'' 
  --Chaucer. 
 
  She  answered  me  ``I-wisse,  all  their  sport  in  the  park 
  is  but  a  shadow  to  that  pleasure  that  I  find  in 
  Plato.''  --Ascham. 
 
  A  right  good  knight,  and  true  of  word  ywis.  --Spenser. 
 
  Note:  The  common  form  iwis  was  often  written  with  the  prefix 
  apart  from  the  rest  of  the  word  and  capitalized,  as  I 
  wis,  I  wisse,  etc  The  prefix  was  mistaken  for  the 
  pronoun,  I  and  wis,  wisse,  for  a  form  of  the  verb  wit 
  to  know  See  {Wis},  and  cf  {Wit},  to  know 
 
  Our  ship,  I  wis,  Shall  be  of  another  form  than 
  this  --Longfellow. 

browse words by letter
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
or search   thesauri dictionary search words