Definition of a Wish

In fiction a wish is a supernatural gift granting the recipient's unlimited request. The wish is usually a template for a morality tale, "be careful what you wish for" writ large.

The template for most fictional wishes is The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, specifically the tale of Aladdin. Although in the tale of Aladdin the actual wishes were only part of the tale and his demands, while outrageous per se, were mainly variations on wealth (which is still often taken as the most 'common' request).

Classically the wish provider is typically a spirit, jinni or similar entity. The entity is bound or constrained within a commonplace object (Aladdin's oil lamp for example) or a container closed with Solomon's seal. Releasing the entity from its constraint, usually by some simple action, allows the object's possessor to 'make a wish', that is present their demands to the entity.

The subservience of the, by necessity, extraordinarily powerful entity to the wishee is explained in a number of ways. The entity may be grateful to be 'free' of its constraint