OT:"wizened" and "wise"

[Martin Olsen]

Michiel Prior wrote:

> Kriton: 
> > incorrectly associating the word "wizened" with the word "wise". 
> 
> But there must be an etymological connection, mustn't there? The 
> pronunciation may not be the same (alright: *isn't* the same) but 
> associating the two is maybe not such a mistake after all. "Wizard" also 
> has a short vowel. Ask Harry. No, the other one. (uh-huh, saw-ree)


There is no etymological connection between the words "wizened" and "wise" according to my Concise Oxford Dictionary, which confirms the pronunciation of "wizened" with a short "i". There are two alternative forms of this word listed: "wizen" and "weazen", and the latter form should be pronounced with a long vowel, I believe.
"wizened" comes from Old English "wisnian" which is the same word as Old Norse "visna" which lives in modern Danish as "vissen". The modern Danish word, which is also pronounced with a short "i" is used about dried up plants, leaves etc., and I believe this is the literal meaning of the word. 
"wise" is in fact two different words. As an adjective it comes from Old English "wis" with the Old Norse counterpart "viss". As a noun, it comes from Old English "wise" with the Old Norse counterpart "visa". The Danish language has the same word as the adjective "vis", which used to be spelled "viis" which indicates the long "i". We also have the noun "vis" which is also pronounced with a long "i". These words have the same basic meaning as the English counterparts.


Rob Klein wrote:

> I have never been exposed to the English verb Wizen (to 
> wither or shrivel). 

My Concise Oxford Dictionary (5th ed., 1969 printing) does not even list the verb "wizen", only the adjective "wizened". However, my Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed., 1950 printing) lists the verb as well as the adjective. The fact that the verb is left out of the concise dictionary suggests that it is not widely used.

Martin.