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Could it be from Old English or Old German? In Danish, the -vis ending turns a noun, verb or adjective into an adverb, like "ly" in English. So, "letter" in Danish is "bogstav" and to follow something literally is to follow it "bogstavvis". "Unlucky" is "uheldig" and "unluckily" is "uheldigvis".
I see a lot of common roots and cognates between Danish and English, which indicate to my untrained little brain that they both branched off the older Germanic languages around the same time. "-vis" could have become "-wise" during the split.
Is there a similar thing in German? That should help confirm or debunk.
The OED has a lot to say on this usage of wise, with examples going way, way back. If you have access to a copy, look at the entry for "wise, n.(1)"
Can't reproduce the whole thing, but here's an excerpt:
"II. OE. wÃse manner, fashion, like the cognate forms in other Germanic languages (see the respective sections below), was used in various kinds of advb. expressions meaning ‘in such-and-such a manner, way, or respect', in which it was qualified by an adj. or a n. with or without a governing preposition."
from the definition, shall we say that it is ok to use the word as mentioned? Maybe it's become addicting, same as the word "like" when people of all ages would say it in between other words in a sentence.
I found another definition for the word: price-wise/time-wise etc.informal/ used for saying which feature of a situation you are referring to:
Time-wise we're not doing too badly.
EmmettRedd said:
Isn't "otherwise" the same sort of thing but so common that the hyphen has been dropped?
Emmett
There are a few other likely candidates (not a complete list):
clockwise (counterclockwise / contraclockwise / anticlockwise)
contrariwise
edgewise
lengthwise (breadthwise / broadwise / widthwise)
likewise
pairwise
stepwise
If you are looking for a great film with some very unwise -wise expressions thrown in, Billy Wilder's "The Apartment" (1960) is a very worthy investment of your time. Lemmon will tickle you with some running gags, including -wise expressions such as: "That's the way it crumbles… cookie-wise." And you won't believe your ears when you hear Lemmon utter "I mean, decency-wise and otherwise-wise."
My advice is to go for the wide-screen version aspect-ratio-wise.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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