WISHING

wish, wishing, want

(noun) a specific feeling of desire; “he got his wish”; “he was above all wishing and desire”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Verb

wishing

present participle of wish

Noun

wishing (plural wishings)

The act of making a wish.

Source: Wiktionary


Wish"ing,

Definition: a. & n. from Wish, v. t. Wishing bone. See Wishbone.

– Wishing cap, a cap fabled to give one whatever he wishes for when wearing it.

WISH

Wish, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Wished; p. pr. & vb. n. Wishing.] Etym: [OE. wischen, weschen, wuschen, AS. w; akin to D. wenschen, G. wünschen, Icel. æeskja, Dan. önske, Sw. önska; from AS. w a wish; akin to OD. & G. wunsch, OHG. wunsc, Icel. , Skr. va a wish, va to wish; also to Skr. van to like, to wish. Winsome, Win, v. t., and cf. Wistful.]

1. To have a desire or yearning; to long; to hanker. They cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day. Acts xxvii. 29. This is as good an argument as an antiquary could wish for. Arbuthnot.

Wish, v. t.

1. To desire; to long for; to hanker after; to have a mind or disposition toward. I would not wish Any companion in the world but you. Shak. I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper. 3. John 2.

2. To frame or express desires concerning; to invoke in favor of, or against, any one; to attribute, or cal down, in desire; to invoke; to imprecate. I would not wish them to a fairer death. Shak. I wish it may not prove some ominous foretoken of misfortune to have met with such a miser as I am. Sir P. Sidney. Let them be driven backward, and put to shame, that wish me evil. Ps. xl. 14.

3. To recommend; to seek confidence or favor in behalf of. [Obs.] Shak. I would be glad to thrive, sir, And I was wished to your worship by a gentleman. B. Jonson.

Syn.

– See Desire.

Wish, n.

1. Desire; eager desire; longing. Behold, I am according to thy wish in God a stead. Job xxxiii. 6.

2. Expression of desire; request; petition; hence, invocation or imprecation. Blistered be thy tongue for such a wish. Shak.

3. A thing desired; an object of desire. Will he, wise, let loose at once his ire . . . To give his enemies their wish! Milton.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

12 May 2025

UNSEASONED

(adjective) not tried or tested by experience; “unseasoned artillery volunteers”; “still untested in battle”; “an illustrator untried in mural painting”; “a young hand at plowing”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the largest collection of coffee pots belongs to Robert Dahl (Germany) and consists of 27,390 coffee pots as of 2 November 2012, in Rövershagen, Germany.

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