Jacob, touché !
Mark - I think the explanation regarding the translation of the German 'Weise' into 'wise', is that it is closer to the German, as you can see. It is the England-English original equivalent as opposed to the American-English translation. That use of the word "wise" irked me as well, for a while until I got used to it. Think of likewise. You can place 'wise' on to the end of almost any word, ie .. word-wise, athletically-wise, musically-wise, politically-wise, etc ... So if you say - "Athletically-wise, she was very talented" or "politically-wise, he leans to the far right", etc .. Iow, in athletic ways, she was very talented; or politically speaking, he leans to the far right, etc ..
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http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Wise
wise 2 (wz)
n.
Method or manner of doing; way: in no wise; in any wise.
[Middle English, from Old English wse; see weid- in Indo-European roots.]
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wise2
n
Archaic way, manner, fashion, or respect (esp in the phrases any wise, in no wise)
[Old English wīse manner; related to Old Saxon wise, German Weise, Old Norse visa verse, Latin visus face]
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wise2 (waiz)
n.
way of proceeding or considering; manner; fashion (usu. used in combination or in certain phrases): otherwise; in no wise.
[before 900; Middle English; Old English wise way, manner, melody, c. Old Saxon wisa, Old High German wis(a), Old Norse visa; akin to Greek eîdos form, shape, and to wit2]
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-wise
a suffixal use of wise2 in adverbs denoting manner, position, direction, reference, etc.: clockwise; edgewise; marketwise; timewise.
usage: The suffix -wise is old in the language in adverbs referring to manner, direction, etc.: crosswise; lengthwise. Coinages like marketwise, saleswise, and weatherwise are often criticized, perhaps because of their association with the news and entertainment media: Moneywise, as they were already saying in the motion-picture industry, Hollywood was at its peak. This suffix should not be confused with the adjective wise1, which appears in such compounds as streetwise and worldly-wise.