"be of the opinion, have the notion" (archaic), Old English wenan "to fancy, imagine, believe; expect, hope," from Proto-Germanic *wenjan "to hope" (cognates: Old Saxon wanian, Old Norse væna, Old Frisian wena, Old High German wanen, German wähnen, Gothic wenjan "to expect, suppose, think"), from *woeniz "expectation," from PIE root *wen- (1) "to wish, desire, strive for" (see Venus). Archaic since 17c.