wilderness English · revision 15192

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1200|origins=ang wilddēor}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈwɪl.də.nəs/, US /ˈwɪl.dɚ.nəs/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|wildernesse]], formed from [[m|enm|wildern|t=wild, savage]] and [[m|enm|-nesse]] (see [[-ness]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) Wildern is [[inh|ang|wilddēoren|t=of or like wild beasts]], from [[m|ang|wilddēor|t=wild beast]], a compound of [[m|ang|wilde|t=wild]] and [[m|ang|dēor|t=animal]] (see [[wild]] and [[deer]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) Hoad suggests an unrecorded [[ang|*wilddēornes]], comparing [[nl|wildernis]] and [[de|Wildernis]],^(Hoad 1986) and the NODE gives it as [[m|ang|wildēornes]], land inhabited only by wild animals.^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Wild or uncultivated land, a tract inhabited only by wild beasts: about 1200, in the Trinity Homilies.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A particular wild region, with an article (''the wilderness''), is from before 1225,^(OED 1989) and a figurative wilderness, something pictured as wild or desolate, from before 1340.^(OED 1989) A waste of any kind, such as the open sea, is from 1588,^(OED 1989) a part of a large garden planted in a wild style from before 1644,^(OED 1989) and the political sense, out of favour or influence (''in the wilderness''), from 1930.^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023) The AHD notes that the word may preserve the older general sense “beast” of [[m|ang|dēor]], which [[deer]] has lost.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – wild, uncultivated land.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1225 – a wild region.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1340 – a figurative wilderness.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1588 – any waste region, the open sea.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1644 – a wild part of a garden.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1930 – out of favour.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An unsettled, uncultivated region left in its natural state.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A barren or empty area, such as a [[desert]] or an ocean; a [[waste]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A confused mass or collection.^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''in the wilderness'': no longer having influence or recognition.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[wild]]

+ * [[deer]]

+ * [[bewilder]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}