souhaiter

Meaning

to wish (for); to hope (for)
to wish someone well, particularly in a complimentary or polite way
to desire someone's presence

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/swɛ.te/

Etymology

Inherited from Old French sohaidier, ultimately from Gallo-Roman Vulgar Latin *subhaitare (“vow with little commitment (lit. 'under-promise')”), a hybrid of Latin subtus "under" + Frankish *haitan (“to order, promise”), from Proto-Germanic *haitaną. Compare Picard souhédhier, and for the latter etymon see Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (haitan, “to address, call”), Old High German heizzan, Old English hātan (“to call, order”) (thence see dialectal English hight and hote) and Old Norse heita (“to call, name”).