Wisht
In Appalachian and Southern speech, "wisht" is the dialect form of "wished," the past tense of "wish." It’s a natural, long-standing feature of the region’s everyday talk.
Hillbilly Dude Says...
"I wisht I’d stayed home instead of goin’ to that meetin’." Hillbilly Dude Says...
"I wisht I’d stayed home instead of goin’ to that meetin’." Pronunciation
[WISHT] (rhymes with "fished")
Meaning & Usage
- Past tense of "wish" - to regret or desire something differently (dialect verb)
Mae:
How’d it go?
How’d it go?
Earl:
I wisht I’d stayed home.
I wisht I’d stayed home.variations: wished
★ "Wisht" is a hallmark of Southern/Appalachian speech. It’s not a mistake - it’s an older English form that survived in rural dialects, showing Scots-Irish influence. ★
Origin and Etymology
Found in Appalachian dialect studies, "wisht" appears in 19th-century American literature as a common vernacular spelling of "wished," showing its long history in rural Southern speech.
Usage Notes
Still used in rural Southern/Appalachian communities. Outside the region it’s rare and may be recognized mainly from dialect writing or literature.
Say It Like a Southerner
Said plain: "wisht." Often in sentences like "I wisht I never"" or "He wisht he hadn’t""