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Knew vs Wist - What's the difference?

knew | wist |

As verbs the difference between knew and wist

is that knew is (know) while wist is (archaic) (wit) or wist can be (nonstandard|pseudo-archaic) to know, be aware of.

knew

English

Verb

(head)
  • (know)
  • wist

    English

    Etymology 1

    Past indicative of (m): from (etyl) (m), from (etyl) . Compare (m).

    Verb

    (head)
  • (archaic) (wit)
  • * a''1796 , , "Bonie Jean: A Ballad", in ''Poems and Songs , P.F. Collier & Son (1909–14), Bartleby.com (2001), [http://www.bartleby.com/6/419.html],
  • And lang ere witless Jeanie wist , / Her heart was tint, her peace was stown!

    Etymology 2

    A misunderstanding, or a joking use of the past indicative of (m): from (etyl) (m), from (etyl) . Compare (m).

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (nonstandard, pseudo-archaic) To know, be aware of.
  • Usage notes
    * (rft-sense) This use of wist was never a part of the regular English language; rather, it resulted from the erroneous attempted use of archaisms.