Ywis

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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]
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           "Ywis," quod he, "it is full dear, I say." --Chaucer.
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           She answered me, "I-wisse, all their sport in the park
           is but a shadow to that pleasure that I find in Plato."
                                                    --Ascham.
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           A right good knight, and true of word ywis. --Spenser.
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     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.
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                 Our ship, I wis,
                 Shall be of another form than this. --Longfellow.
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