Meaning

adverb on end or upright

adverb in or toward the direction of the ends; lengthwise

adverb with the end forward or toward the observer

originEtymology tree English end Proto-Indo-European *weyd- Proto-Indo-European *weyd-s-ós Proto-Germanic *wīsaz Proto-Germanic *-wīsaz Proto-West Germanic *-wīs Old English -wīs Middle English -wis English -wise English endwise From end + -wise.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0