Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Wistful

Wistful , adjective

[For wishful; perhaps influenced by wistly, which is probably corrupted from Old English wisly certainly (from Icelandic viss certain, akin to English wit). See Wish.]

1.
Longing; wishful; desirous.
Lifting up one of my sashes, I cast many a wistful, melancholy look towards the sea. — Swift
2.
Full of thought; eagerly attentive; meditative; musing; pensive; contemplative.
That he who there at such an hour hath been, Will wistful linger on that hallowed spot. — Byron