Lifting up one of my sashes, I cast many a wistful, melancholy look
towards the sea.
Swift.
2. Full of thought; eagerly attentive; meditative; musing; pensive;
contemplative.
That he who there at such an hour hath been, Will wistful linger on
that hallowed spot.
Byron.
— Wist"ful*ly, adv. — Wist"ful*ness, n.
Wis"tit, n. [Prob. from native name: cf. F. ouistiti.] (Zoöl.) A small
South American monkey; a marmoset. [Written also wistiti, and
ouistiti.]
Wist"ly (?), adv. [See Wistful.] Attentively; observingly. [Obs.] Shak.
Wis"ton*wish (?), n. (Zoöl.) See Wishtonwish.
Wit (?), v. t. & i. [inf. (To) Wit; pres. sing. Wot; pl. Wite; imp.
Wist(e); p. p. Wist; p. pr. & vb. n. Wit(t)ing. See the Note below.]
[OE. witen, pres. ich wot, wat, I know (wot), imp. wiste, AS. witan,
pres. wt, imp. wiste, wisse; akin to OFries. wita, OS. witan, D. weten,
G. wissen, OHG. wizzan, Icel. vita, Sw. veta, Dan. vide, Goth. witan to
observe, wait I know, Russ. vidiete to see, L. videre, Gr. &?;, Skr.
vid to know, learn; cf. Skr. vid to find. &?;&?;&?;&?;. Cf. History,
Idea, Idol, -oid, Twit, Veda, Vision, Wise, a. & n., Wot.] To know; to
learn. "I wot and wist alway." Chaucer.
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The present tense was inflected as follows; sing. 1st pers. wot; 2d
pers. wost, or wot(t)est; 3d pers. wot, or wot(t)eth; pl. witen, or
wite. The following variant forms also occur; pres. sing. 1st & 3d
pers. wat, woot; pres. pl. wyten, or wyte, weete, wote, wot; imp. wuste
(Southern dialect); p. pr. wotting. Later, other variant or corrupt
forms are found, as, in Shakespeare, 3d pers. sing. pres. wots.
Brethren, we do you to wit [make you to know] of the grace of God
bestowed on the churches of Macedonia.