different between wish vs pish

English

Etymology

From Middle English wisshen, wischen, wüschen, from Old English w?s?an (“to wish”), from Proto-West Germanic *wunskijan, from Proto-Germanic *wunskijan? (“to wish”), from Proto-Indo-European *wun-, *wenh?- (“to wish, love”).

Cognate with Scots wis (“to wish”), Saterland Frisian wonskje (“to wish”), West Frisian winskje (“to wish”), Dutch wensen (“to wish”), German wünschen (“to wish”), Danish ønske (“to wish”), Icelandic æskja, óska (“to wish”), Latin Venus, veneror (“venerate, honour, love”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: w?sh, IPA^(key): /w??/
• Rhymes: -??
• Homophone: whish (in accents with the wine-whine merger)

Noun

wish (plural wishes)

1. A desire, hope, or longing for something or for something to happen.
2. An expression of such a desire, often connected with ideas of magic and supernatural power.
3. The thing desired or longed for.
   • 1901, W. W. Jacobs, The Monkey's Paw

     "I suppose all old soldiers are the same," said Mrs White. "The idea of our listening to such nonsense! How could wishes be granted in these days? And if they could, how could two hundred pounds hurt you, father?" / "Might drop on his head from the sky," said the frivolous Herbert.

4. (Sussex) A water meadow.

Usage notes

• Collocates with make for the common expression make a wish. See Appendix:Collocations of do, have, make, and take

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• precatory
• velleity

Verb

wish (third-person singular simple present wishes, present participle wishing, simple past and past participle wished)

1. (transitive) To desire; to want.
   • 1716, Jonathan Swift, Phyllis, or the Progress of Love

     Now John the butler must be sent
     To learn the road that Phyllis went:
     The groom was wished to saddle Crop;
     For John must neither light nor stop,
     But find her, wheresoe'er she fled,
     And bring her back alive or dead.
2. (transitive, now rare) To hope (+ object clause with may or in present subjunctive).
   • 1748, Samuel Richardson, Clarissa, Letter 84:

     I wish he mean me well, that he takes so much pains!

   • 1808, Jane Austen, letter, 1 October:

     She hears that Miss Bigg is to be married in a fortnight. I wish it may be so.

3. (intransitive, followed by for) To hope (for a particular outcome).
   • 1727, John Arbuthnot, Tables of Ancient Coins, Weights and Measures

     This is as good an argument as an antiquary could wish for.

   • 1901, W. W. Jacobs, The Monkey's Paw

     Mr. White took the paw from his pocket and eyed it dubiously. "I don't know what to wish for, and that's a fact," he said slowly. "It seems to me I've got all I want."

4. (ditransitive) To bestow (a thought or gesture) towards (someone or something).
   • Let them be driven backward, and put to shame, that wish me evil.

5. (intransitive, followed by to and an infinitive) To request or desire to do an activity.
6. (transitive) To recommend; to seek confidence or favour on behalf of.
   • 1610, Ben Jonson, The Alchemist

     I was wished to your worship by a gentleman.

Usage notes

• In sense 4, this is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Derived terms

Translations

References

• wish at OneLook Dictionary Search
• wish in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p??/

Interjection

pish

1. Expressing disdain.

Synonyms

• pht, feh, meh, pooh, pshaw, bah, poh; see also Thesaurus:bah

Noun

pish (plural pishes)

1. A sibilant noise (e.g. "psshh") made by birders and ornithologists to attract small birds.

Verb

pish (third-person singular simple present pishes, present participle pishing, simple past and past participle pished)

1. To try to attract birds by making a sibilant noise (e.g. "psshh").
2. To express contempt.

Adjective

pish (comparative more pish, superlative most pish)

1. (vulgar, colloquial, chiefly Scotland) Of poor quality; very bad.

Usage notes

• Most commonly found in the gerund or present participle pishing.

References

• pish in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• Dunne, Peter (2006). The Art of Pishing: How to Attract Birds by Mimicking Their Calls. ?ISBN.
• Langham, G. M.; Contreras, T. A. & Sieving, K. E. (2006). Why pishing works: Titmouse (Paridae) scolds elicit a generalized response in bird communities. Ecoscience 13 (4): 485–496. doi:10.2980/1195-6860(2006)13[485:WPWTPS]2.0.CO;2

Anagrams

• -ship, HIPs, hiPS, hips, phis, ship

Chinook Jargon

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English fish, or possibly French pêche.

Noun

pish

1. fish

Etymology 2

From Chinook opitshka.

Noun

pish

1. fire

Synonyms

• piah

Mohegan-Pequot

Alternative forms

• beesh (obsolete orthography)

Etymology

From English peas.

Noun

pish

1. peas

References

• A Vocabulary of Mohegan-Pequot (John D. Prince, Frank G. Speck)

Scots

Etymology

From late Middle English pyshe, variant of pisse.

Pronunciation

• enPR: p?sh, IPA^(key): /p??/
• Rhymes: -??

Noun

pish (uncountable)

1. (vulgar) Urine, piss.
2. (vulgar) Crust on a scabbing wound.

Verb

pish (third-person singular present pishes, present participle pishin, past pished, past participle pished)

1. To urinate, to piss.

Derived terms

• reekin o pish

Adjective

pish (comparative mair pish, superlative maist pish)

1. (vulgar) Not very good, in fact quite bad.

Interjection

pish

1. An expression of disdain.

References

• “pish” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.

Western Apache

Etymology

From English fish.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [p????]

Noun

pish

1. fish