wild English · revision 2960

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=gem-pro *wilþijaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /waɪld/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|wilde]], [[inh|ang|wilde|t=in the natural state, uncultivated, untamed]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*wilþijaz]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) the source also of Old Saxon wildi, Dutch and German wild, Old Norse villr and Gothic wilþeis.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) Its origin is uncertain:^(Etymonline) Watkins and Barnhart connect it with [[ine-pro|*welt-|t=woodlands, wild]], the root of [[wold]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) while Boutkan gives it no Indo-European etymology and finds its only cognate in Welsh gwyllt “wild”,^(Etymonline) which Hoad and Merriam-Webster also compare.^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of animals, untamed, and of plants, uncultivated: about 725 in the OED,^(OED 1989) before 800 in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of places, uncultivated or uninhabited, it is from about 893.^(OED 1989) Of people, “self-willed, lacking restraint”, is late Old English,^(Etymonline) and “uncivilized, savage” from before 1300.^(OED 1989) Of wind and weather it is from about 1200,^(Etymonline) and “sexually loose” from the mid-13th century.^(Etymonline) “Distracted with excitement, crazy” is from the 1590s,^(Etymonline) and the American slang sense “exciting, excellent” from 1955.^(Etymonline) The noun meant a wild animal probably before 1200, in Layamon,^(Barnhart 1988) and an uncultivated region from 1637, though ''the wilds'' is in Shakespeare's ''Merchant of Venice'' (1596).^(Barnhart 1988) ''Run wild'' is by the 16th century,^(Etymonline) ''wildest dreams'' from 1717, and ''Wild West'' by 1826.^(Etymonline) ''Wildfire'' is from 1032^(Barnhart 1988) and [[wilderness]] goes back to Old English wild dēor, “wild animal”.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – untamed; uncultivated.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 893 – of places, uninhabited.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1200 – noun, a wild animal.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – of weather.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-13th century – sexually loose.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1590s – crazy, frantic.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1596 – ''the wilds''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1826 – ''Wild West''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1955 – exciting (slang).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Living or growing in a natural state, not [[tame|alt=tamed]] or cultivated.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Of land, not inhabited or farmed.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Without restraint or control; [[unruly]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Of weather or the sea, violent and stormy.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Very excited or enthusiastic: ''wild about jazz''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Far from the mark; reckless: ''a wild guess''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''the wild'': a natural state, or a natural setting.^(AHD)^(Cresswell 2021)

+ # ''the wilds'': a remote, uninhabited region.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # In a wild way: ''run wild''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[wildly]]

+ * [[wildness]]

+ * [[wildish]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[wilderness]]

+ * [[bewilder]]

+ * [[wildfire]]

+ * [[wildcat]]

+ * [[wildlife]]

+ * [[wold]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}