wilen.
/wʌɪl/, U.S. /waɪl/ 1.
a. A crafty, cunning, or deceitful trick; a sly, insidious, or underhand artifice; a stratagem, ruse. Formerly sometimes in somewhat wider sense: A piece of deception, a deceit, a delusion. Chiefly plural (in singular now archaic or poetic).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > [noun] > a trick, deception
wrenchc888
swikec893
braida1000
craftOE
wile1154
crookc1175
trokingc1175
guile?c1225
hocket1276
blink1303
errorc1320
guileryc1330
sleightc1340
knackc1369
deceitc1380
japec1380
gaudc1386
syllogism1387
mazec1390
mowa1393
train?a1400
trantc1400
abusionc1405
creekc1405
trickc1412
trayc1430
lirtc1440
quaint?a1450
touch1481
pawka1522
false point?1528
practice1533
crink1534
flim-flamc1538
bobc1540
fetcha1547
abuse1551
block1553
wrinklec1555
far-fetch?a1562
blirre1570
slampant1577
ruse1581
forgery1582
crank1588
plait1589
crossbite1591
cozenage1592
lock1598
quiblin1605
foist1607
junt1608
firk1611
overreach?1615
fob1622
ludification1623
knick-knacka1625
flam1632
dodge1638
gimcrack1639
fourbe1654
juggle1664
strategy1672
jilt1683
disingenuity1691
fun1699
jugglementa1708
spring1753
shavie1767
rig?1775
deception1794
Yorkshire bite1795
fakement1811
fake1829
practical1833
deceptivity1843
tread-behind1844
fly1861
schlenter1864
Sinonism1864
racket1869
have1885
ficelle1890
wheeze1903
fast one1912
roughie1914
spun-yarn trick1916
fastie1931
phoney baloney1933
fake-out1955
okey-doke1964
mind-fuck1971
1154 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) ann. 1128 He hit dide forði þæt he wolde þurh his micele wiles ðær beon wær it tweolf monð oððe mare.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 6635 All þatt badd he þurrh swikedom. & all þurrh ille wiless.
c1220 Bestiary 385 A wilde der is ðat is ful of fele wiles, fox is hire to name.
c1220 Bestiary 541 Ðis deuel is mikel wið wil and maȝt.
1303 R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne 361 Manyon trowyn on here wylys, And many tymes þe pye hem gylys.
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 539 Hereþ now of a quynte wyle, How eche of þo þoughte oþer gyle.
1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 1360 Þe world..ledes a man with wrenkes and wyles.
c1350 Ipomadon 6674 Imayne hathe an while fonde And thought hym to haue begyld.
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 129 With suche wiles as thei caste.
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 130 Thei schope among hem such a wyle, The king was ded withinne a whyle.
c1400 Rom. Rose 4293 She knewe eche wrenche and euery gise Of love and euery wile.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 177 To conquest landis and heritagis fra cristin folk with wylis and falshede.
c1485 Digby Myst. iii. 377 With wrath or wyhylles we xal hyrre wynne.
a1561 G. Cavendish Metrical Visions (1980) 165 Whilest I was workyng, witty whiles in Fraunce I was at home supplanted.
1573 J. Davidson Breif Commendatioun Vprichtnes xl. 50 Bot sum, perchance, that winks mair wylelie, Will say thay wait ane wyle that I na wist.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) iv. iii. 10 Sure these are but imaginarie wiles, And lapland Sorcerers inhabite here. View more context for this quotation
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan i. xiii. 61 By force, or wiles, to master the persons of all men he can.
1654 T. Gataker Disc. Apol. 36 He by a wile drew me to Preach one Afternoon on the Week Lecture day there.
1782 W. Cowper Hope in Poems 173 This..Rejects all treaty, penetrates all wiles.
1825 W. Scott Talisman vi, in Tales Crusaders IV. 122 That Richard would burst through the flimsy wiles you pitch for him.
1876 A. C. Swinburne Erechtheus 216 By the fraud of a two-fold wile.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. II. lxx. 549 The wiles by which its members are lured or driven to their goal.
b. Without implication of deceit: A subtle contrivance; a skilful device or scheme; an artifice, ‘dodge’. Obsolete or merged in preceding sense.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > [noun] > a wile or cunning device
wrenchc888
craftOE
turnc1225
ginc1275
play?a1300
enginec1300
wrenkc1325
forsetc1330
sleightc1340
knackc1369
cautel138.
subtletya1393
wilea1400
tramc1400
wrinkle1402
artc1405
policy?1406
subtilityc1410
subtiltyc1440
jeopardy1487
jouk1513
pawka1522
frask1524
false point?1528
conveyance1534
compass1540
fineness1546
far-fetch?a1562
stratagem1561
finesse1562
entrapping1564
convoyance1578
lift1592
imagine1594
agitation1600
subtleship1614
artifice1620
navation1628
wimple1638
rig1640
lapwing stratagem1676
feint1679
undercraft1691
fly-flap1726
management1736
fakement1811
old tricka1822
fake1829
trickeration1940
swiftie1945
shrewdie1961
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [noun] > (a) means > available means or a resource > a device, contrivance, or expedient
costOE
craftOE
custc1275
ginc1275
devicec1290
enginec1300
quaintisec1300
contrevurec1330
castc1340
knackc1369
findinga1382
wilea1400
conject14..
skiftc1400
policy?1406
subtilityc1410
policec1450
conjecturea1464
industry1477
invention1516
cunning1526
shift1530
compass1540
chevisance1548
trade1550
tour1558
fashion1562
invent?1567
expediment1571
trick1573
ingeny1588
machine1595
lock1598
contrival1602
contrivement1611
artifice1620
recipea1643
ingenuity1651
expedient1653
contrivance1661
excogitation1664
mechanism1669
expediency1683
stroke1699
spell1728
management1736
manoeuvre1769
move1794
wrinkle1817
dodge1842
jigamaree1847
quiff1881
kink1889
lurk1916
gadget1920
fastie1931
ploy1940
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 4153 Bot sin he algat sal be ded Do it þan wit suilk a wile þat yee your handes ne þer-wit file.
a1400–50 Wars Alex. 1148 For wele wist þai þam nane to wyn to þe cite.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xxxiii. 149 Þai vse anoþer wyle for to get þis gold with.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) x. l. 482 Wattir fra thaim forsuth can nocht be set. Sum wthyr wyill ws worthis for to get.
1508 W. Dunbar Goldyn Targe (Chepman & Myllar) in Poems (1998) I. 191 I coud eschew hir presence be no wyle.
a1628 J. Preston New Covenant (1634) 21 We think God not able to doe it, except we help him with wyles and tricks..of our own.
1830 A. Cunningham Lives Brit. Painters (ed. 2) I. 235 He became acquainted with all the wiles and stratagems of position and light and shade.
c. In lighter sense: An amorous or playful trick; a piece of sportive cunning or artfulness.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > [noun] > a wile or cunning device > playful or amorous
wilec1600
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > mischievous or practical joking > [noun] > instance of
jest1578
jig1592
wilec1600
waggery1604
pleasance1668
quiz1795
practical joke1804
skite1804
skit1815
galliardise1842
leg-pull1893
rannygazoo1896
c1600 J. Lane in C. M. Ingleby & L. T. Smith Shakespeare's Cent. Prayse (1879) 32 Venus straight courted him with many a wile.
1645 J. Milton L'Allegro in Poems 31 Haste thee nymph, and bring with thee..Quips and Cranks, and wanton Wiles, Nods, and Becks, and Wreathed Smiles.
a1721 M. Prior Songs xiii Victoria shews me all her wiles, Which yet I dare not shun.
1770 O. Goldsmith Deserted Village 183 E'en children followed with endearing wile.
a1839 W. M. Praed Charades ix And telling of Love's wiles To ears that listen.
1847 R. W. Emerson Shakespeare in Wks. (1906) I. 362 He read the hearts of men and women,..and their second thought, and wiles; the wiles of innocence.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. ii. 10 Lady Tippins's winning wiles are contagious.
1880 L. Morris Ode of Life 17 I treasure up each baby wile.
d. spec. A cunning turn or other trick of the hare to escape the hunters.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > thing hunted or game > action of game > [noun]
rusec1425
rusingc1425
trasoning1575
turn1575
wile1692
1692 J. Ray Wisdom of God (ed. 2) i. 128 The wiles and ruses, which these timid Creatures make use of to save themselves.
1733 Ess. Hunting 49 The Wiles of the Hare have been all along the Study of my leisure Hours.
1735 W. Somervile Chace ii. 202 The puzling Pack unravel Wile by Wile, Maze within Maze.
2. Deceit or deceitfulness; craft, cunning, subtlety, guile. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > [noun]
listOE
wiþercraftc1175
wilta1230
craftc1275
sleightc1275
engine?a1300
quaintisec1300
vaidiec1325
wilec1374
cautelc1375
sophistryc1385
quaintnessc1390
voisdie1390
havilon?a1400
foxeryc1400
subtletyc1400
undercraftc1400
practic?a1439
callidityc1450
policec1450
wilinessc1450
craftiness1484
gin1543
cautility1554
cunning1582
cautelousness1584
panurgy1586
policy1587
foxshipa1616
cunningnessa1625
subdolousness1635
dexterity1656
insidiousnessa1677
versuteness1685
pawkiness1687
sleight-hand1792
pawkery1820
vulpinism1851
downiness1865
foxiness1875
slimness1899
slypussness1908
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > [noun]
swikec893
swikedomc893
dwalec950
braida1000
falsec1000
flerdc1000
swikelnessa1023
fakenOE
chuffingc1175
fikenungc1175
bipechingc1200
treachery?c1225
falseshipc1230
guilec1230
telingc1230
swikeheada1250
craftc1275
felony1297
wrench1297
deceitc1300
gabc1300
guiling13..
guilery1303
quaintisec1325
wrenk1338
beswiking1340
falsehood1340
abetc1350
wissing1357
wilec1374
faitery1377
faiting1377
tregetryc1380
fallacec1384
trainc1390
coverture1393
facrere1393
ficklenessc1397
falsagea1400
tregeta1400
abusionc1405
blearingc1405
deceptionc1430
mean?c1430
tricotc1430
obreption1465
fallacy1481
japery1496
gauderya1529
fallax1530
conveyance1531
legerdemain1532
dole1538
trompe1547
joukery1562
convoyance1578
forgery1582
abetment1586
outreaching1587
chicanery1589
falsery1594
falsity1603
fubbery1604
renaldry1612
supercherie1621
circumduction1623
fobbinga1627
dice-play1633
beguile1637
fallaxitya1641
ingannation1646
hocus1652
renardism1661
dodgerya1670
knapping1671
trap1681
joukery-pawkery1686
jugglery1699
take-in1772
tripotage1779
trickery1801
ruse1807
dupery1816
nailing1819
pawkery1820
hanky-panky1841
hokey-pokey1847
suck-in1856
phenakisma1863
skulduggery1867
sharp practice1869
dodginess1871
jiggery-pokery1893
flim-flammery1898
runaround1915
hanky1924
to give the go-around1925
Scandiknavery1927
the twist1933
hype1955
mamaguy1971
c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde i. 719 Þow wost I do it for no wyle.
1426 J. Lydgate tr. G. de Guileville Pilgrimage Life Man 1815 Sleythe, falshed, or any whyle.
c1460 (?c1400) Tale of Beryn l. 2239 Falshode, wrong & while.
c1480 (a1400) Prol. 8 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 1 Gret foly, quhile, & vantones.
1622 (?a1513) W. Dunbar Poems (Reidpeth) (1998) I. 175 That ȝe haue nether witt nor wyll, To win ȝourselff ane bettir name?
1637 J. Milton Comus 31 Through the force, and through the wile Of unblest inchanter vile.
1814 H. F. Cary tr. Dante Vision I. xx. 86 Michael Scot, Practis'd in ev'ry slight of magic wile.
1848 E. Bulwer-Lytton Harold II. v. iii. 32 This Godwin is a man of treachery and wile.
1904 Sat. Rev. 7 May 576/1 The humour but not the wile of the publisher stopped at this point.
3.
a. Applied to particular mechanical contrivances: see quots.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > equipment > trap or snare > [noun] > other devices
wile1677
bolas1843
throwing balls1882
killer1892
1677 N. Cox Gentleman's Recreation (ed. 2) i. 18 Engines that we take Deer withal, are called Wiles.
1824 J. Mactaggart Sc. Gallovidian Encycl. 446 Throok the wyle, the thawcrook, the twister.
1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. Wile, Wylie, an instrument for twisting straw ropes.
b. An ingenious or fanciful figure or device.Apparently an isolated use.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > pattern or design > [noun]
device1399
vicea1400
work?a1475
pattern1581
sleight1590
figure1609
design1670
wile1849
patterning1860
key band1881
maggot1925
1849 J. M. Neale Edom in Seatonian Poems xxvi Ivory, carved in thousand curious wiles.
Compounds
wile-weaving adj.
ΚΠ
1877 J. A. Symonds tr. Sappho in Stud. Greek Poets 1st Ser. (ed. 2) App. 439 Glittering-throned, undying Aphrodite, Wile-weaving daughter of high Zeus.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1924; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
wilev.
/wʌɪl/, U.S. /waɪl/ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > deceive [verb (transitive)]
aschrenchc885
blendc888
swikec950
belirtOE
beswike971
blencha1000
blenka1000
belieOE
becatchc1175
trokec1175
beguile?c1225
biwrench?c1225
guile?c1225
trechec1230
unordainc1300
blink1303
deceivec1320
feintc1330
trechetc1330
misusea1382
blind1382
forgo1382
beglose1393
troil1393
turnc1405
lirt?a1425
abuse?a1439
ludify1447
amuse1480
wilec1480
trump1487
delude?a1505
sile1508
betrumpa1522
blear1530
aveugle1543
mislippen1552
pot1560
disglose1565
oversile1568
blaze1570
blirre1570
bleck1573
overtake1581
fail1590
bafflea1592
blanch1592
geck?a1600
hallucinate1604
hoodwink1610
intrigue1612
guggle1617
nigglea1625
nose-wipe1628
cog1629
cheat1637
flam1637
nurse1639
jilt1660
top1663
chaldese1664
bilk1672
bejuggle1680
nuzzlec1680
snub1694
bite1709
nebus1712
fugle1719
to take in1740
have?1780
quirk1791
rum1812
rattlesnake1818
chicane1835
to suck in1842
mogue1854
blinker1865
to have on1867
mag1869
sleight1876
bumfuzzle1878
swop1890
wool1890
spruce1917
jive1928
shit1934
smokescreen1950
dick1964
c1480 (a1400) St. Theodora 311 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 108 Quhat, wenys þu I wald þe wile, gud douchtir?
2. figurative.1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess vii. 144 To wile the length from languorous hours and draw The sting from pain.† b. reflexive. To get away by stealth, steal away.
a. To bring, draw, or get by a wile (a person or animal to or from a place, course of action, etc., or a thing from a person); to lead, induce, or obtain by craft or cunning.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > treat cunningly [verb (transitive)] > lead, induce, bring, or get by cunning
wilea1400
wire-draw1622
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > treat fraudulently, cheat [verb (transitive)] > obtain fraudulently
wilea1400
lurch1530
fox1596
shirk1635
rook1647
trick1662
pigeon1675
sharp1699
cheat1712
fob1792
snakea1861
wangle1888
slip1890
finagle1926
skuldug1936
swizz1961
a1400 Pistill of Susan 213 Wylyliche heo wyled hir wenches a-way.
c1460 (?c1400) Tale of Beryn l. 2691 Ȝit som ageyn hym wyled A grete part of his pepill.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. viii. 79 Whence is yond warlow [sc. Moses] with his wand, That thus wold wyle oure folk away?
a1500 Coventry Corpus Christi Plays ii. 840 From vs no man wyll hym wyle.
c1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xxxiv. 26 The wysest woman þairout Wt wirdis may be wyllit To do þe deid.
1572 (a1500) Taill of Rauf Coilȝear (1882) 712 Allace, that I was hidder wylit.
1572 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xxxviii. 36 As the fals fowler..Deuoiris the pure volatill he wylis to the net.
a1592 R. Greene Hist. Orlando Furioso (1594) sig. H When Iuno wild the trull.
1599 ‘T. Cutwode’ Caltha Poetarum (Roxb.) xxiii Wyelling fond louers sometime from their wits.
a1600 A. Montgomerie Misc. Poems xl. 13 My wofull hairt auay with thee thou wyld, Fra me to be exyld.
1790 R. Burns in J. Johnson Scots Musical Museum III. 304 She talk'd, she smil'd, my heart she wyl'd.
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian x, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. II. 248 He could wile the very flounders out o' the Firth.
1853 E. C. Gaskell Ruth II. v. 98 He's such winning ways he wiles one over to anything.
1879 R. L. Stevenson Lay Morals (1911) 297 She could neither be driven nor wiled into the parish kirk.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > stealthy action, stealth > stealthy movement > withdraw, steal away [verb (reflexive)]
stealc1386
wile?a1400
diskenc1460
convey1535
sneak1680
?a1400 Morte Arth. 3908 Whills he myghte wile hyme awaye, and wyne to hir speche.
3. (as a substitute for while v. 3) To divert attention pleasantly from (something painful or tedious); to charm away; esp. to cause (time) to pass away pleasantly or insensibly: = beguile v. 5.Cf. Latin decipere tempus, French tromper le temps.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > spending time > spend time or allow time to pass [verb (transitive)] > pleasantly
short1449
shorten1579
deceive1591
sport1593
delude1615
entreata1616
while1635
elude1660
divert1707
dangle1727
wile1796
smile1803
to round off1824
the mind > emotion > pleasure > action of making pleasant > make pleasant [verb (transitive)] > pleasantly divert attention from
beguile1594
to take one's mind off from1672
wile1796
1796 F. Burney Camilla II. iii. x. 208 He persuaded his sisters, therefore, to walk out with him, to wile away at once expectation and retrospection.
1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake ii. 57 Her smile..Wiled the old harper's mood away.
1817 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. II. xxiv. 379 Happy industry, that wiles the toils of labour with a song.
1838 C. Dickens Oliver Twist III. xliv. 166 I was reading a book to-night to wile the time away.
1840 E. E. Napier Scenes & Sports Foreign Lands II. v. 172 We..used to wile away the day with all manner of fun.
1880 ‘V. Lee’ Stud. 18th Cent. Italy ii. iii. 59 Foreigners who came to study art or to wile away a lazy existence.
Derivatives
wiling n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > [noun] > action or practice of deceiving
swikingc1000
blindfolding?c1225
deceivancec1330
trechettingc1330
jugglingc1380
beguilingc1400
deceivingc1400
fagec1400
delusionc1420
sophisticationc1450
circumvention1534
illudinga1547
cheateryc1555
cheatingc1555
crossing1592
tricking1595
wiling?a1600
circumventing1603
practice1622
cheat1641
deluding1645
underdealing1649
amusement1658
conveyancing1676
bubbling1700
jockeyshipa1763
overreachinga1774
jockeying1779
beguilement1805
gaggery1819
trickstering1821
Jewing1842
wool-pulling1843
rigging1846
hoodwinking1858
old soldierism1866
old soldiering1867
fiddling1884
gold-bricking1901
wangling1911
finagling1926
hyping1968
?a1600 ( R. Sempill Legend Bischop St. Androis in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xlv. 385 The vther..Concludit schortlie for to slea him, For vyling of his syluer fra him.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1924; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1154
v.a1400