Wild a. and sb. World English Historical Dictionary

Wild a. and sb. World English Historical Dictionary Dictionary Biographies Literary Criticism Welcome Terms of Service ⧏ Previous Next ⧐ Contents Slice Contents Key Bibliographic Record Murray’s New English Dictionary. 1928, rev. 2024. Wild a. and sb. Forms: 1–7 wilde, (3 wuilde), 3–6 wylde, 4–7 wyld, (4 wiylde, wijlde, whilde, wyled, 4–6 wield(e, 4–7 Sc. vylde, 5 wiilde, wyelde, wyyld(e, Sc. wulde, 6 wylld, Sc. vild, vyld, vyild, wyild, 7 weild), 3– wild. [Com. Teut.: OE. wilde = OFris. wilde, MDu. wilde, wilt, (LG., Du. wild), OHG. wildi (MHG. wilde, wild, G. wild), ON. villr bewildered, astray, whence WILL a. (Norw. vill wild, Sw. vill confused, giddy, Sw., Da. vild wild), Goth. wilþeis:—OTeut. *wilþijaz. The sb., OE. *wild, *wildor (cf. wildorlic adj.), pl. wildru (later wildéor, wildedéor WILD DEER), OHG. wild, pl. wildir wild beast, is app. a derivative (*wilþaz-, -iz-) with s-stem from the same root (cf. lamb).

1   The problem of the ulterior relations of this word is complicated by uncertainty as to its primary meaning. The possible analogy of sense-development in L. silvestris, silvāticus (whence F. sauvage wild, etc.), f. silva wood, has suggested connection with OTeut. *walþus forest (OE. weald, wald WOLD). But it is more probable that OTeut. *wilþijaz represents a pre-Teut. *ghweltijos, the root of which is found in OWelsh gwyllt, Ir. geilt wild, and may have a parallel form in ghwēr-, the base of L. ferus, Gr. θήρ, Lith. zvèrìs, OSl. zvĕrъ wild beast (for a similar phonological development of ghw- cf. WARM a.).]

2   A.  adj.

3   I.  1. Of an animal: Living in a state of nature; not tame, not domesticated: opp. to TAME a. 1.

4   Freq. in names of particular species or varieties, for which see the sbs.: see also Special Collocations (16), and WILD CAT, FOWL, GOOSE in the main series.

5   In later use often hyphened to the following sb., esp. in names of particular species, or in verse to indicate rhythmic stress on the adj.

6 c. 725.  Corpus Gloss. (Hessels), I 427. Indomitus, wilde.

7 c. 825.  Vesp. Psalter, ciii[i]. 11. Drencað ða alle wilddeor wuda; bidað wilde assan in ðurs[t] heara.

8 c. 893.  K. Ælfred, Oros., I. i. § 17. Ða beoð swyðe dyre mid Finnum, for ðæm hy foð þa wildan hranas mid.

9 c. 1000.  Sax. Leechd., III. 180. On .xv. nihte monan hys god to fixianne & huntum heortas to secanne & wilde swin.

10 c. 1050.  [see WILD GOOSE 1].

11 c. 1205.  Lay., 1781. Wind stod on willen, ploȝede þe wilde fisc.

12 c. 1386.  Chaucer, Monk’s T., 267. To wode she went And many a wilde hertes blood she shedde With arwes brode.

13 a. 1400[?].  Morte Arth., 3232. Woluez, and whilde swynne, and wykkyde bestez.

14 1529.  Burgh Rec. Edin. (1871), II. 9. Ony maner of wyld foule or tayme.

15 1538.  Nottingham Rec., III. 378. He kyllyd ij. wyld duckes with a crosbow.

16 1606.  Shaks., Ant. & Cl., II. ii. 183. Eight Wilde-Boares rosted whole.

17 1676.  Grew, Musæum, Anat. Stomach & Guts, viii. 33. The Wild-Duck and Teal also, I suppose all of this kind, and most other Birds, are without a Crop.

18 1778.  Pennant, Brit. Zool., II. 447. The goose, in its wild state always retains the same marks.

19 1793.  Coleridge, Songs of Pixies, iv. The murmuring throng Of wild-bees hum their drowsy song.

20 1808.  Scott, Marm., II. Introd. And mark the wild swans [later edd. wild-swans] mount the gale.

21 1827.  P. Cunningham, N. S. Wales, xvii. I. 321. Our wild turkeys … consist of two varieties, the dusky and the blue-feathered.

22 1847.  Tennyson, Princess, IV. 414. The leader wildswan.

23 1849.  Macaulay, Hist. Eng., iii. I. 312. Wild animals of large size were then far more numerous than at present.

24   fig.  c. 1645.  Howell, Lett., I. v. xxvii. Twas a tough task believe it, thus to tame A wilde and wealthy language.

25   absol.  c. 1205.  Lay., 112. Heo wenden vt i wide sæ, þa wilde wurðen itemede.

26 c. 1375.  Sc. Leg. Saints, xviii. (Egipciane), 1037. To þis day saw I nane,… Of vylde, na tame, na kind beste.

27 c. 1480.  Henryson, Lion & Mouse, 192. He … slew baith tayme and wyld.

28   2.  Of a plant (or flower): Growing in a state of nature; not cultivated.

29   Freq. in names (unlimited in number) of particular species or varieties, for which see the sbs. To sow one’s wild oats (fig.); see OAT sb. 4.

30   Often hyphened as in 1 (and regularly in phrases used attrib.) or (chiefly in early use) combined with the following sb. as one word.

31 c. 725.  Corpus Gloss., A 396. Agre[s]tis, wilde.

32 c. 1000.  Sax. Leechd., il. 90. Oleastrum þæt is wilde elebeam.

33 1382.  Wyclif, Rom. xi. 24. The kyndely wylde [later vers. wielde] olyue tre.

34 14[?].  Voc., in Wr.-Wülcker, 569/2. Brionia, wyldenepe.

35 c. 1440.  Promp. Parv., 528/1. Wyylde malowe, or holyhokke.

36 c. 1489.  Caxton, Sonnes of Aymon, xviii. 401. Suche wylde herbes as grewe in the woode.

37 1549.  Compl. Scot., i. 20. Al the grond … is ouergane vitht gyrse ande vild scroggis.

38 1590.  Shaks., Mids. N., II. i. 249. I know a banke where the wilde time blowes.

39 1665.  Boyle, Occas. Refl., I. 63. The Husbandman uses onely to prune the Trees of his Garden, not those that grow wild in his Woods.

40 1781.  Cowper, Retirem., 420. Her hedge-row shrubs … With woodbine and wild roses mantled o’er.

41 1810.  Scott, Lady of L., I. viii. Cold dews and wild flowers [later edd. wild flowers] on his head.

42 1842.  Loudon, Suburban Hort., 444. Plants in a wild state.

43 1855.  Tennyson, Maud, II. I. 3. Plucking the harmless wild-flower on the hill.

44 1797.  Scott, To a Lady, ii. Wild flower wreaths for Beauty’s hair. Ibid. (1810), Lady of L., IV. ii. The wild-rose spray.

45 1890.  ‘R. Boldrewood,’ Col. Reformer, xxii. A young lady with a wild-rose complexion.

46   3.  Produced or yielded by wild animals or plants; produced naturally without cultivation; sometimes, having the characteristic (usually inferior) quality of such productions (cf. b).

47   With ‘wild meat’ cf. OS. wildflêsc, etc.; with ‘wild leather’ cf. MSw. wilskin.

48 c. 1200.  Ormin, 3213. Hiss drinnch wass waterr … Hiss mete wilde rotess.

49 c. 1200.  [see HONEY sb. 1 b].

50 1519.  Registr. Aberdon. (Maitland), II. 177. The kiching witht … ij pair of raxis. Item iij spyttis ane grit ane less and ane for wild met.

51 1528.  Burgh Rec. Edin. (1871), 3. All maner of persouns that takis wylde meitt.

52 1528.  Paynell, Salerne’s Regim. (1541), R iv b. There be also prunes called wylde prunes, ye whiche growe in the woddes.

53 1560.  Bible (Geneva), Isa. v. 2. He loked yt it shulde bring forthe grapes: but it broght forthe wilde grapes.

54 1582.  N. Lichefield, trans. Castanheda’s Conq. E. Ind., 75. These ships … are sowed together with ropes made of Cairo, & pitched ouer with wild incense.

55 1600.  J. Pory, trans. Leo’s Africa, IX. 340. Their flesh is hot and vnsauorie, and hath a wilde tast.

56 1612.  Sc. Bk. Rates, in Halyburton’s Ledger (1867), 338. Leather called wyld lether the daker, xx s.

57 1614.  in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm., App. I. 43. Lett not my leadie our mother trubll hirself in bying much vylde meitt to your sons bapttisme.

58 1777.  Anburey, Trav. (1789), I. 214. A dinner entirely of wild-meats.

59 1866.  Rogers, Agric. & Prices, I. xviii. 418. It is very rare in the present day that honey is found wild.

60 1883.  R. Haldane, Workshop Rec., Ser. II. 40/1. The wild or Tussah silk.

61   b.  Mining. Applied to impure or inferior minerals or ores. (Cf. G. wilderz.)

62 1778.  Pryce, Min. Cornub., 93. A Black-jack or Mock-lead Lode…. This Wild-lead is commonly found with Stones of Copper and Lead intermixed with it.

63 1883.  Gresley, Gloss. Coal-mining, Wild Ground, Wild Measures, Wild Stuff.

64 1886.  J. Barrowman, Sc. Mining Terms, Wild-coal, a thin seam of inferior coal.

65   4.  Of a place or region: Uncultivated or uninhabited; hence, waste, desert, desolate. (Often with special reference to the character or aspect of such places.)

66 c. 893.  K. Ælfred, Oros., I. i. § 18. Licgað wilde moras … emnlange þæm bynum lande.

67 a. 1122.  O. E. Chron. (Laud MS.), an. 1010. On þa wildan fennas.

68 c. 1200.  Ormin, 17408. A wilde wesste.

69 1297.  R. Glouc. (Rolls), 2751. Me may hem ofte an erþe in wilde studes yse.

70 c. 1375.  Sc. Leg. Saints, xl. (Ninian), 430. Quhare now þe corne is beste, Þat tyme wes wilde foreste.

71 c. 1385.  Chaucer, L. G. W., 2163, Ariadne. In an yle amyd the wilde se.

72 a. 1533.  Ld. Berners, Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546), K vj b. The erthe that is vntylled, and waxen wyld.

73 1593.  Shaks., Rich. II., II. iii. 4. These high wilde hilles, and rough vneeuen waies.

74 1617.  Moryson, Itin., I. 36. Fenny and woody wild grounds.

75 1644.  Manwayring, Sea-mans Dict., 85. A wild Roade, is a Roade where there is little Land on any side, but lies all open to the sea.

76 1703.  Rowe, Ulysses, II. i. Some fair Field … That … left unheeded, like a barren Moor, Lies fenceless, wild, uncultivate, and waste.

77 1817.  J. Bradbury, Trav. Amer., 297. They are well aware that, by undertaking to bring wild land into a state of cultivation, they must undergo some hardships.

78 1849.  Lever, Con Cregan, xxv. The scenery was wild without being grand.

79 1851.  Mayne Reid, Scalp Hunters, i. (1852), 7. The Wild West.

80 1883.  Engl. Illustr. Mag., Nov., 72/1. The wild beauty of Wicken Fen is in striking contrast with the cultivated land lying around it.

81 1885.  [W. H. White], M. Rutherford’s Deliv., iii. 51. The garden was large and half-wild.

82   b.  transf. Belonging to or characteristic of a wild region; of or in a wilderness.

83 1690.  C. Nesse, O. & N. Test., I. 298. Neither God nor good men take any pleasure in a … wild retiredness.

84 1817.  Moore, Lalla Rookh, 131. The glories of Nature and her wild, fragrant airs, playing freshly over the current of youthful spirits.

85   5.  Of persons (or their attributes): Uncivilized, savage; uncultured, rude; also, not accepting, or resisting, the constituted government; rebellious. (Sometimes with implication of sense 8.) See also wild Irish in 16.

86 a. 1300.  Cursor M., 24747. For þof mi [MS. in] wijt war neuer sa wild … Þat giues me lust of hir to rede.

87 a. 1352.  Minot, Poems (ed. Hall), i. 60. Þare was crakked many a crowne Of wild Scottes and alls of tame.

88 c. 1450.  Holland, Howlat, 616. The rouch Wodwyss wyld.

89 1471.  Caxton, Recuyell (Sommer), 59. She was euyl clothid and half wilde and sauage.

90 1500–20.  Dunbar, Poems, I. 25. Was never vyld Robeine wnder bewch,… So bauld a bairne as he.

91 a. 1548.  Hall, Chron., Hen. IV., 23. The prince … had tamed … the furious rage of the wild and sauage Welshemen.

92 1561.  T. Hoby, trans. Castiglione’s Courtyer, II. M iij b. A man at armes in fourm of a wield shepehearde.

93 1586.  Holinshed, Chron., I. Hist. Scot., 358/2. After the example of one … Robert Hood a wild or vplandish man.

94 1670.  Dryden, 1st Pt. Conq. Granada, I. (1672), 7. When wild in woods the noble Savage ran.

95 1700.  Prior, Carmen Sec., xxxvii. Nations yet wild by Precept to reclaim, And teach ’em Arms, and Arts.

96 1709.  Mrs. Manley, Secret Mem. (1720), 303. A Party of the Goths and wild Russes.

97 1822.  Scott, Nigel, v. It’s ill taking the breeks aff a wild Highlandman.

98 1850.  Tennyson, In Mem., xxxvi. 15. Those wild eyes that watch the wave In roarings round the coral reef.

99 1901.  Scotsman, 29 Nov., 6/1. These men … are up to all the ‘slim’ ways of the wild Boer.

100   II.  6. Not under, or not submitting to, control or restraint; taking, or disposed to take, one’s own way; uncontrolled. Primarily of animals (cf. 1), and hence of persons (see also 7) and things, with various shades of meaning. a. Acting or moving freely without restraint; going at one’s own will; unconfined, unrestricted.

101 a. 1000.  Cædmon’s Gen., 1465. Ða was culufre eft of cofan sended … wilde seo wide fleah.

102 c. 1000.  Sax. Leechd., III. 202. Hors wilde yrnan.

103 a. 1310.  in Wright, Lyric P., xv. 48. Thar er wes wilde ase the ro, Nou y swyke.

104 1596.  Shaks., Merch. V., V. i. 71. A wilde and wanton heard … of youthful and vnhandled colts.

105 1599.  Shaks., etc., Pass. Pilgr., xii. 8. Youth is wild, and Age is tame.

106 1671.  Milton, Samson, 974. In his wild aerie flight.

107 1761.  Colman, Jealous Wife, III. That the wild little Thing shou’d take Wing, and fly away the Lord knows whither!

108 1817.  Byron, Manfred, III. iv. I have found our thoughts take wildest flight Even at the moment when they should array Themselves in pensive order.

109 1820.  Shelley, Prometh. Unb., III. iii. 136. The dark linked ivy tangling wild.

110 1836.  Dickens, Sk. Boz, Medit. Monmouth-St. The children wild in the streets, the mother a destitute widow.

111 1865.  P’cess Alice, Mem. (1884), 101. Victoria is very wild, and speaks more German than English.

112   b.  Resisting control or restraint, unruly, restive; flighty, thoughtless; reckless, careless; fig. not according to rule, irregular; erratic; unsteady. (Cf. 15.)

113 c. 1350.  Libeaus Desc. (Kaluza), 188. A child Þat is witles and wilde.

114 1450.  Paston Lett., I. 159. But if the day of the oyer and termyner stonde, it wole be full harde, by cause the peple is so wylde.

115 1594.  Nashe, Unfort. Trav., I 3 b. Like the trauaile wherein smithes put wilde horses when they shoo them.

116 1597.  Morley, Introd. Mus., 81. Your fift, sixt, and seuenth notes be wilde and vnformall.

117 1628.  Shirley, Witty Fair One, II. ii. You are too wild and aery to be constant to that affection.

118 1748.  H. Walpole, Lett. (1846), II. 256. I meant nothing in the world by wild, but the thoughtlessness of a boy of nineteen.

119 1831.  Scott, Ct. Robt., xviii. Depriving Cupid’s wing of some wild feathers.

120 1857.  Hughes, Tom Brown, II. viii. Johnson the young bowler is getting wild, and bowls a ball almost wide to the off.

121 1867.  Smyth, Sailor’s Word-bk., Wild, a ship’s motion when she steers badly, or is badly steered.

122 1879.  Harlan, Eyesight, ii. 25. The new lashes sometimes take a wrong direction, and turn their points against the eyeball. They are then popularly called wild hairs.

123   c.  Shy; esp. of game, afraid of or avoiding the pursuer (opp. to TAME a. 3); transf. having a timid expression like a wild animal.

124 1594.  Willobie, Avisa, xlvii. Though coy at first she seeme and wielde.

125 1599.  Shaks., Much Ado, III. i. 35. She is too disdainfull, I know her spirits are as coy and wilde, As Haggerds of the rocke.

126 1813.  Col. Hawker, Diary (1893), I. 76. The birds were so extremely wild that it was almost impossible to get near them.

127 1877.  March. Dufferin, Canad. Jrnl. (1891), 362. They did not bring back a great deal—the birds were so wild.

128 1887.  Rider Haggard, Allan Quatermain, xi. The woman had a sweet face, wild and shy.

129   d.  Phr. to run wild: (a) of an animal or plant (combining senses 1 or 2 and 6), to live in, or revert to, a state of nature, not under domestication or cultivation; (b) of a person (or thing personified), with various shades of meaning (see above), sometimes passing into other senses (e.g., 7, 11, 12).

130 1549–62.  [see RUN v. 2 b].

131 1774.  Goldsm., Nat. Hist. (1776), II. 347. Of all countries … where the horse runs wild, Arabia produces the most beautiful breed.

132 1799.  Wordsw., Matthew, 3. That every hour thy heart runs wild, Yet never once doth go astray.

133 1838.  [see RUN v. 2 b].

134 1853.  Dickens, Bleak Ho., lv. He had a bold spirit, and he ran a little wild, and went for a soldier.

135 1892.  E. W. Hornung, in Longman’s Mag., XIX. 614. The boy had run wild since his young mother’s death.

136   7.  spec. Not submitting to moral control; taking one’s own way in defiance of moral obligation or authority; unruly, insubordinate; wayward, self-willed.

137   Often scarcely distinguishable from 6 a or b, but implying blame or reproach.

138 a. 1000.  Sal. & Sat., 377. He ʓeong færeð, hafað wilde mod.

139 c. 1175.  Lamb. Hom., 5. Ne beo þu þereuore prud ne wilde ne sterc.

140   c. 1200.  Ormin, 6191. Ȝiff þatt ȝho iss gætelæs, & eȝȝelæs & wilde.

141 c. 1205.  Lay., 785. Þat nan ne beo so wilde nan swa unwitti, Þat word talie … ær he ihere minne horn.

142 a. 1300.  Cursor M., 9307. Quarfor er yee o will sa wild?

143 c. 1380.  Wyclif, Sel. Wks., III. 431. Somme men ben beterid bi bynding to þise chargis, þat ellis wolden be wylde.

144 c. 1450.  Mirk’s Festial, 67. Mannys flesche ys so wyld and lusty to synne.

145 1535.  Coverdale, 2 Macc. xi. 4. Not consideringe the power of God, but was wylde in his mynde.

146 1567.  Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.), 151. Man was sa wylde and nyce, And rageing in all vyce.

147 1579.  Lyly, Euphues, R iv b. The wildest child is as soone corrected with a word as with a weapon.

148 1700.  Prior, Carmen Sec., 66. Valour grown wild by Pride, and Pow’r by Rage.

149 1797–1812.  Jane Austen, Pride & Prej., xliii. ‘He is now gone into the army,’ she added, ‘but I am afraid he has turned out very wild.’

150 1836.  Marryat, Japhet, xxvii. When a curate, he had had an only son, very wild, who would go to sea in spite of his remonstrances.

151 1898.  ‘H. S. Merriman,’ Roden’s Corner, xii. 128. It was about that time … that I took seriously to my work. Before, I had been a little wild.

152   b.  Giving way to sexual passion; also, more widely, licentious, dissolute, loose.

153 c. 1250.  Gen. & Ex., 2013. His wif wurð wilde, and nam in ðoȝt Vn-riȝt-wis luue.

154 13[?].  St. Paula, 87, in Horstm., Altengl. Leg. (1878), 5. Whon þe ȝonge in hote blood Bigonne to waxe wylde of mod.

155 13[?].  St. Theodora, 221, ibid. 38. His monk was waxen to wyld Þat hedde igeten him such a child.

156 13[?].  Gaw. & Gr. Knt., 2367. Bot þat was for no wylyde werke, ne wowyng nauþer.

157 c. 1460.  Towneley Myst., xix. 167. Ther was neuer man neghyd hyr nere, In word ne wark she was neuer wylde.

158 1522.  World & Child, A ij. Dalyaunce,… It is a name that is ryght wylde.

159 1550.  Crowley, Last Trumpet, 1505. If thou se hir wanton and wilde.

160 1598.  Shaks., Merry W., III. ii. 74. Hee kept companie with the wilde Prince, and Pointz.

161 1614.  D. Dyke, Myst. Self-Deceiv., 328. Wild and wanton widowes.

162 1778.  (13 May) Johnson, in Boswell. If a young man is wild, and must run after women and bad company.

163 1849.  Macaulay, Hist. Eng., vi. II. 50. The wildest of libertines.

164   8.  Fierce, savage, ferocious; furious, violent, destructive, cruel. (In later use passing into other senses: cf. 5, 9, 11. See also wild beast, wild horse, in 16.)

165 1297.  R. Glouc. (Rolls), 1322. Þe prinse … Þat in time of worre as a lomb is boþe mek & milde & in time of pes as leon boþe cruel & wilde.

166 13[?].  K. Horn, 1045 (Harl. MS.). Y come … from brudale wylde of maide remenylde.

167 c. 1330.  R. Brunne, Chron. Wace (Rolls), 13796. Was neuere … wilde wolf ne dragoun, Þat was so wod, beste to byte, As Wawayn was Romayns to smyte.

168 c. 1385.  Chaucer, L. G. W., 805, Thisbe. Allas there comyth a wilde lyones.

169 c. 1400.  Destr. Troy, 1463. A man witty & wise, wight, wildist in Armes.

170 c. 1425.  Wyntoun, Cron., V. xiii. 4384. Wolwis wulde þan weryit men.

171 c. 1435.  Chron. London (Kingsford, 1905), 52. He wole be as wilde a Tyraunte to holy Cherche as euer was eny.

172 1526.  Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W., 1531), 38 b. Brynge to me ye wyldest bull that is.

173 1530.  Palsgr., 329/2. Wylde or sharpe prickyng as a nettyll is, griasche.

174 1595.  Shaks., John, IV. iii. 48. This is the bloodiest shame, The wildest Sauagery.

175   9.  Of the sea, a stream, the weather, etc.: Violently agitated, rough, stormy, tempestuous, ‘raging’; hence fig. or gen. Full of disturbance or confusion, tumultuous, turbulent, disorderly.

176 c. 1205.  Lay., 6226. We habbeð ihaued … moni walc moni wind bi wilde þisse watere.

177 a. 1250.  Owl & Night., 946. Wraþþe meynþ þe heorte blod Þat hit floweþ so wilde flod.

178 1381.  in Knighton’s Chron. (Rolls), II. 139. Synne fareth as wilde flode.

179 c. 1420.  Sir Amadace (Camden), xli. Thay were drounet on the see, With wild waturs slone.

180 1590.  Shaks., Com. Err., II. i. 21. Man … Lord of the wide world, and wilde watry seas. Ibid. (1597), 2 Hen. IV., I. i. 9. The Times are wilde: Contention … madly hath broke loose. Ibid. (1605), Lear, II. iv. 311. ’Tis a wild night … come out oth’ storme.

181 1610.  Holland, Camden’s Brit., I. 566. Wilde Brookes meeting together make a broad poole.

182 1629.  Milton, Hymn Nativ., i. It was the Winter wilde, While the Heav’n-born-childe, All meanly wrapt in the rude manger lies.

183 1673.  [R. Leigh], Transp. Reh., 112. Your state of conscience leads to a wilder anarchy.

184 1697.  Dryden, Virg. Georg., III. 386. The … Bear … In Woods and Fields a wild destruction makes. Ibid., Past., IX. 59. Let the wild Surges vainly beat the Shore.

185 1713.  Addison, Cato, III. ii. His passions and his virtues … mixt together in so wild a tumult, That [etc.].

186 1769.  Gray, Installat. Ode, 89. Thro’ the wild waves as they roar.

187 1818.  Byron, Mazeppa, xiv. The wild horse swims the wilder stream!

188 1842.  Dickens, Amer. Notes, ii. On a bad winter’s night in the wild Atlantic.

189 1864.  Lowell, Study Wind. (1886), 110. He is still in wild water.

190 1883.  ‘Ouida,’ Wanda, i. ‘I think we shall have wild weather,’ said the Princess.

191   † b.  In imprecations or intensive expressions.

192 a. 1352.  Minot, Poems (ed. Hall), v. 30. In þe wilde waniand was þaire hertes light.

193 c. 1440.  York Myst., xxx. 545. Now in þe wilde vengeaunce ye walke with þat wight.

194 a. 1530.  Heywood, Wether, 430 (Brandl). A myschyefe vpon them and a wylde thunder.

195 c. 1580.  Bugbears, IV. iv. 11. Now a wild wannion on it.

196   c.  Of vocal sounds: Loud and unrestrained.

197 1549.  Compl. Scot., vi. 39. The herrons gaif ane vyild skrech.

198 1667.  Milton, P. L., III. 710. Confusion heard his voice, and wilde uproar Stood rul’d.

199 1742.  Gray, Adversity, 19. Wild Laughter, Noise, and thoughtless Joy.

200 1831.  G. P. R. James, Philip Aug., iii. Filling the air with his long wild neighings.

201 1891.  Farrar, Darkn. & Dawn, xxxix. Those who should be left dead … indifferent for ever to those wild shouts.

202   10.  Of feelings or their expression: Highly excited or agitated; passionately vehement or impetuous.

203 1594.  Shaks., Rich. III., IV. iv. 229. But that still vse of greefe, makes wilde greefe tame, My tongue should to thy eares not name my Boyes, Till that my Nayles were anchor’d in thine eyes.

204 1718.  Pope, Iliad, III. 512. Too deep my anguish, and too wild my woe. Ibid. (1730), Ode St. Cecilia, Addit. Stanza. Amphion thus bade wild dissension cease.

205 1813.  Scott, Rokeby, IV. x. The child Renew’d again his moaning wild.

206 1828.  Carlyle, Ess., Burns (1840), I. 370. Wild Desires and wild Repentance alternately oppress him.

207 1885.  ‘Mrs. Alexander,’ At Bay, x. She clung to him and burst into a fit of wild weeping.

208 1890.  Hall Caine, Bondman, III. i. ‘The sweep!’ ‘the thief!’ ‘the wastrel!’ ‘the gomerstang!’ they called him, with wilder names beside.

209   11.  Of persons: Violently excited. a. Extremely irritated or vexed; angry, ‘furious.’

210 1653.  Holcroft, Procopius, III. Goth. Wars, 103. Artabanes was wild at this misfortune [orig. Quam rem cum calamitatis loco Artabanes duceret, & ægerrime ferret].

211 a. 1839.  Praed, County Ball, xviii. He makes a College Fellow wild By asking for his wife and child.

212 1873.  March. Dufferin, Canad. Jrnl. (1891), 79. Dent, my precious maid, wild about her boxes, and giving warning on the spot.

213 1889.  J. K. Jerome, Three Men in Boat, xi. It made me awfully wild, especially as George burst out laughing.

214   b.  Passionately or excitedly desirous to do something.

215 1797.  Jane Austen, Sense & Sens., xxvi. Mrs. Palmer … was wild to buy all, could determine on none. Ibid. (1797–1812), Pride & Prej., xlvi. She was wild to be at home.

216 1847.  Tennyson, Princess, I. 149. All wild to found an University For maidens.

217 1894.  Fenn, Real Gold, ii. 30. He is wild to go.

218   c.  Elated, enthusiastic, ‘raving.’

219 1868.  Whyte-Melville, White Rose, xxviii. He was wild about … the town, and the castle, and the Black Forest.

220 1889.  ‘J. S. Winter,’ Mrs. Bob, xi. She was quite wild about it, when I went to tell her the news.

221 1891.  C. James, Rom. Rigmarole, 180. She had accepted me, and I was wild with joy.

222   12.  Not having control of one’s mental faculties; demented, out of one’s wits; distracted; hence in weakened sense, Extremely foolish or unreasonable; holding absurd or fantastic views (cf. 13).

223 a. 1300.  K. Horn, 252 (Camb.). Heo louede so horn child Þat neȝ heo gan wexe wild. Ibid., 296. Anon upon Aþulf child Rymenhild gan wexe wild.

224 13[?].  in Horstm., Altengl. Leg. (1881), 14. Furth scho went als woman wilde, To se þe lordes, and left hir childe.

225 c. 1400.  Ywaine & Gaw., 1650. For wa he wex al wilde and wode.

226 1630.  Randolph, Aristippus, 7. I am the Wilde-man, and I will be wilde: is this an age to be in a mans right wits?

227 1769.  Burke, Late St. Nat., 25. Is this writer wild enough to imagine [etc.]?

228 1796.  Mrs. M. Robinson, Angelina, II. 291. I am really almost wild with affliction!

229 1835.  Dickens, Sk. Boz, Parish, v. Her misery had actually drove her wild.

230 1841.  Helps, Ess., Man of Business (1842), 82. Else he may be driven wild by any great pressure of business.

231 1849.  Macaulay, Hist. Eng., vi. II. 6. When the fictions of Oates had driven the nation wild.

232   advb.  1613.  Shaks., Hen. VIII., I. iv. 26. If I chance to talke a little wilde, forgiue me: I had it from my Father. An. Bul. Was he mad Sir?

233   b.  Of the eyes or look: Having an expression of distraction.

234 1592.  Shaks., Rom. & Jul., V. i. 28. Your lookes are pale and wild, and do import Some misaduenture.

235 a. 1658.  Cleveland, Ruins of St. Pauls, 28. Now its Face appears like whither’d Care, Or wilder than the Looks of Fevers are.

236 1843.  R. J. Graves, Syst. Clin. Med., xiv. 158. His face being flushed, eyes wild, and head aching.

237 1878.  J. P. Hopps, Jesus, iv. 17. Poor mad people … recovered their senses when he looked into their wild eyes.

238   † c.  Bewildered, perplexed; = WILL a. 2 b, 3 b.

239 c. 1440.  Bone Flor., 35. Whan the emperys was dedd, The emperowre was wylde of redd.

240 1456.  Sir G. Haye, Law Arms (S.T.S.), 33. All the warld is in a wylde thocht, unstedefast.

241   13.  Of undertakings, actions, notions, statements, etc.: Going beyond prudent or reasonable limits; rashly or inconsiderately venturesome; going to extremes of extravagance or absurdity; fantastically unreasonable.

242 1515.  Burgh Rec. Edin. (1869), I. 158. Gif it sall happin the toun to hald the commoun mylnis and proffeittis thairof and the wild aventouris into thair awin handis.

243 1591.  Shaks., 1 Hen. VI., IV. iv. 7. This vnheedfull, desperate, wilde aduenture. Ibid. (1602), Ham., I. v. 133 (Qo. 1). These are but wild and wherling words, my Lord. Ibid. (1604), Oth., II. i. 62. He hath atchieu’d a Maid That paragons description, and wilde Fame.

244 1654.  R. Whitlock, Ζωοτομια, 509. A wild Reformation; to reforme Hierarchy by Anarchy, a Remedy worse then the Disease.

245 1667.  Milton, P. L., V. 112. Mimic Fansie … misjoyning shapes, Wilde work produces oft.

246 1699.  Bentley, Phal., 427. The wild Question that the Examiner puts to me.

247 a. 1728.  Woodward, Nat. Hist. Fossils (1729), I. I. 84. ’Twas not a very wild Name, Ludus, to be given, to a Dye, or Talus lusorius; considering how humourous a Writer Paracelsus was.

248 1732.  Berkeley, Alciphr., IV. § 16. How came you to entertain so wild a Notion?

249 1829.  Scott, Anne of G., xi. I should make wild work were I to attempt a description of such an animal.

250 1849.  Macaulay, Hist. Eng., iv. I. 442. We cannot … wonder that wild stories … were … believed by the common people. Ibid., viii. II. 308. To cherish a wild hope.

251 1887.  Saintsbury, Hist. Elizab. Lit., 247. Serious arguments are mixed up with the wildest buffoonery.

252 1894.  Hall Caine, Manxman, V. ii. Two long weeks he spent in this wild quest.

253   † b.  Used as a nickname for the extreme Evangelical party in the Church of Scotland, as opp. to moderate: see MODERATE B. b. Obs.

254 1778.  D. Loch, Tour Scotl., 49. The people here are very wild with regard to religious principles, there being no less than three large seceding meeting-houses, and but one small kirk of the established religion.

255 1820.  Alex. Stewart, in Mem., 352. [I] am settled minister of what is called the First Charge of Canongate Parish (where seldom has wild man been placed before).

256 a. 1830.  H. Cockburn, Mem. (1856), 234. Except Sir Harry Moncrieff, the Wild (as the Evangelical party is called) have never had an established head.

257   14.  Artless, free, unconventional, fanciful or romantic in style; having a somewhat barbaric character (usually in good sense, as a pleasing quality).

258 1632.  Milton, L’Allegro, 134. If … sweetest Shakespear fancies childe, Warble his native Wood-notes wilde.

259 a. 1700.  Evelyn, Diary, 27 Feb. 1644. We then saw a large and very rare grotto of shell-worke, in the shape of satyres and other wild fancys.

260 1802.  Leyden, Mermaid, xxv. Say, heard’st thou not these wild notes swell?

261 1813.  Byron, Corsair, II. ii. While dance the Almas to wild minstrelsy.

262 1859.  Jephson, Brittany, xvii. 284. A wild ballad, still sung in Cornouaille, to an equally wild tune.

263 a. 1864.  Bryant, Sella, 4. When man to man gave willing faith, and loved A tale the better that ’twas wild and strange.

264 1891.  Rider Haggard, Nada, Pref. The setting out of a wild tale of savage life.

265   b.  Of strange aspect; fantastic in appearance.

266 1605.  Shaks., Macb., I. iii. 40. These,… so wilde in their attyre, That looke not like th’ Inhabitants o’ th’ Earth.

267 1784.  Cowper, Task, V. 118. There, embossed and fretted wild, The growing wonder takes a thousand shapes Capricious.

268 1844.  Mrs. Browning, Lay of Brawn Rosary, I. iv. To dilate and assume a wild shape in the mist.

269   15.  (fig. from 6.) Aimed wide of the mark, or at random; random: usually advb. at random, astray.

270 a. 1810.  Shelley, M. Nicholson Fragm., 14. Wild flew the meteors o’er the maddened main.

271 1831.  G. P. R. James, Phil. Augustus, xxvii. The soldier who fronted him, struck wild, reeled, staggered.

272 1890.  W. Camp, in St. Nicholas, Aug., 831/1. He [the catcher] must begin by a resolution to try for everything, and to consider no ball beyond his reach, no matter how wild.

273 1895.  Edin. Rev., July, 149. At Wei-hai-wei the Chinese shells found in the abandoned forts ‘went wild’ when the Japanese gunners tried to fire them.

274   III.  16. Special Collocations (sometimes hyphened as in 1 and 2, esp. in verse to indicate stress, and regularly in attrib. use): wild beast, orig. in sense 1, now always with mixture of sense 8 (see BEAST sb. 2 c); also fig. (cf. BEAST sb. 1 c, 5); wild berry, the berry of a wild plant; app. applied locally to particular kinds; wild boar (in early use also as one word): see BOAR sb. 1 c; wild dog, any wild species of dog, or of the dog tribe, as the HYENA-DOG of S. Africa (HUNTING-DOG 2 a), the Dhole of India (HUNTING-DOG 2 b), the Dingo of Australia, etc.; wild goat, any wild species of goat, as the ibex, or (loosely) a goat-like antelope, as the chamois; wild horse, a horse not domesticated or broken in; esp. in phrases referring to a mode of punishment or torture (cf. quots. s.v. DRAW v. 5), and hence humorously with negative (see quots.); in quot. 1834 (with hyphen) rendering Du. wildepaard as a name for the zebra; Wild Huntsman, a phantom huntsman of Teutonic legend, fabled to ride at night through the fields and woods with shouts and baying of hounds; wild Irish (see IRISH B. 1 a); wild Irishman (see IRISHMAN b); also a name for a spiny rhamnaceous shrub of New Zealand and Australia, of the genus Discaria; wild mare: see MARE1 2 b; also attrib. in wild mare hunch (hinch, hitch), a name for string-halt; wild wind, a violent wind, whirlwind, hurricane (obs. or dial.); † wild worm, a fantastic notion, whim. See also WILD CAT, WILDFIRE, etc.

275 1297–1833.  *Wild beast [see BEAST sb. 2 c].

276   fig.  1847.  Tennyson, Princess, V. 256. I…, when first I heard War-music, felt the blind wildbeast of force … Stir in me.

277 1886.  P. Gillmore, Hunter’s Arcadia, Pref. p. vii. There are some bastard descendants of Europeans knocking about, and this weapon is better than argument with such wild beasts.

278   attrib.  1801.  Marvellous Love-Story, II. 198. Raree-shows, and wild-beast exhibitions.

279 1834.  Lytton, Pompeii, I. iii. When is our next wild-beast fight?

280 1879.  Browning, Halbert & Hob, 10. The genuine wild-beast breed.

281 1855.  Leifchild, Cornwall, 67. For fruits you have only furze and *wild-berries.

282 1918.  H. Bindloss, Agatha’s Fortune, xxi. She liked the acid wild-berries he brought on a bark tray.

283   attrib.  a. 1850.  Mrs. Browning, Confessions, ix. Then, at least, have the Human shared with thee their wild berry-wine?

284 1918.  H. Bindloss, Agatha’s Fortune, xxvii. He tried to creep round the opening, but fell among a clump of wild-berry canes.

285 c. 1205–1863.  *Wild boar [see BOAR sb. 1 c].

286 1484.  Caxton, Fables of Æsop, I. xvi. A wyldbore … with his teeth rent … a grete pyece of his body.

287 1813.  Scott, Rokeby, IV. xii. How the grim wild-boar fought and fell.

288   attrib.  1776.  Mickle, trans. Camoens’ Lusiad, III. 89. Dextrous in the wild-boar chace.

289 1818.  Keats, Teignmouth, ii. No wild-boar tushes and no Mermaid’s toes.

290 1842.  Dumfries Herald, Oct. That fine flavour … in the wild-boar ham.

291 1866.  Treas. Bot., Wild-boar’s tree, a San Domingo name for Hedwigia balsamifera.

292 1786.  trans. Sparrman’s Voy., I. 157. These *wild dogs are some of the most pernicious beasts of prey.

293 1816.  Byron, Siege of Corinth, xvi. The scalps were in the wild dog’s maw.

294 1844.  E. Warburton, Crescent & Cross, v. A beggar devouring his crust, but religiously leaving a portion of it in some clean spot for the wild dogs.

295 1877.  Encycl. Brit., VII. 324/2. The wild dog of the Falkland Islands (Canis antarcticus).

296 1398.  Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., XVIII. xxii. (1495), bb iiij. The *wylde gote hyghte Caprea.

297 1530.  Palsgr., 289/1. Wylde goote, cheuereul.

298 1688.  R. Holme, Armoury, II. 162/1. The Aspian wild Goat … some term … a Shamois.

299 1744.  Mason, Musæus, 253. Nor did the wild goat brouze the shrubby rocks.

300 1813.  Scott, Rokeby, II. xiv. Now, like the wild goat, must he dare An unsupported leap in air.

301 c. 897.  K. Ælfred, Gregory’s Past. C., xli. 303. Swa swa *wildu hors, ðonne we hie æresð ʓefangnu habbað, we hie ðacciað & straciað.

302 c. 995.  in Kemble, Cod. Dipl., VI. 133. Hio becwið Cynelufe hyre dæl ðera wildera horsa ðe mid Eadmere synt.

303 a. 1250.  Owl & Night., 1062. Þu naddest non oþer dom ne laȝe, Bute mid wilde horse were todraȝe.

304 c. 1375.  Sc. Leg. Saints, xxix. (Placidas), 318. Wyld hors & tayme.

305 a. 1400–50.  [see HORSE sb. 1 e].

306 c. 1400.  Melayne, 57. He sall be hangede or oþer morne And with wylde horse be drawen.

307 1424.  in Wills & Inv. N. C. (Surtees, 1835), 71. iiij Wildehorsez, ad tunc nuper tractos vel in stabulo.

308 c. 1546.  in Suss. Star Chamber Proc. (1913), 36. Or ells they wolde draw hym fourth with wylde horses.

309 1834.  Pringle, Afr. Sk., 14.        The countless springboks are my flock,   Spread o’er the unbounded plain; The buffalo bendeth to my yoke,   The wild-horse to my rein.

310 1883.  D. C. Murray, Hearts, xii. After that wild horses would not have drawn him to an exculpation of himself.

311 1890.  [see HORSE sb. 1 e].

312 1796.  Scott (title of poem), The *Wild Huntsman. Ibid. (1829), Anne of G., xxii. Sailed to the mountains of the Brockenberg, where witches hold their sabbath, or gone on a hunting-party with the Wild Huntsman.

313 1399.  Langl., Rich. Redeles, Prol. 10. Whyle he werrid be west on þe *wilde yrisshe.

314 1547.  Boorde, Introd. Knowl., iii. (1870), 132. Irland … is deuyded in ii. partes, one is the Englysh pale, & the other, the wyld Irysh.

315 1622.  Bacon, Hen. VII., 138. The Wild-Irish fled into the Woods and Bogges.

316 1684.  Bunyan, Pilgr., II. Introd. Highlanders, and Wild-Irish can agree My Pilgrim should familiar with them be.

317 1857.  G. A. Lawrence, Guy Livingstone, iv. The low-browed rooms where the wild Irish sat howling and wrangling over their liquor.

318 1401.  Close Roll 2 Hen. IV., I. m. 6 (P.R.O.). Si Nicholaus Hogonona capellanus per suggestionem quod ipse fuit *Wildehirissheman Hibernicus et inimicus noster in prisona … detentus existat.

319 c. 1450.  Brut, II. 357. Þese rebellis of Ireland bith callid ‘wilde Irisch men.’

320 1608.  Dekker, Lanth. & Candle-light, iii. D. No wild-Irishman could out-runne him.

321 1862.  J. Von Haast, Geol. Canterbury & Westland, N.Z., 25 (Morris). Groves of large specimens of Discaria toumatoo, the Wild Irishman of the settlers, were growing.

322 1597.  Shaks., 2 Hen. IV., II. iv. 268. Hee playes at Quoits well,… and rides the *wilde-Mare with the Boyes.

323 1622.  Wither, Faire-Virtue, etc., O 4 b. The Boyes are come to catch the Owles, The Wild-mare in is bringing.

324 1661.  M. Stevenson, Twelve Moneths, 4. And the ventrous youth show their agility in shooing the Wild-Mare.

325   attrib.  1703.  Lond. Gaz., No. 3966/4. Stolen or strayed…, two Mares, one a white-grey,… has the *Wild Mare Hunch with the far hind Leg.

326 1824.  Carr, Craven Gloss., Wild-mare-hinch or hitch, string-halt.

327 a. 1661.  Fuller, Worthies, Essex (1662), I. 319. In the year of our Lord 1639 in November here happened an Hirecano or *wild wind.

328 1821.  Clare, Vill. Minstr. (1823), I. 79. The frighted wild-wind trembles to a breeze.

329 a. 1548.  Hall, Chron. Rich. III., 42. The *wilde worme of vengaunce wauerynge in his hed. Ibid., Hen. V., 44. Some priuate Scorpion in your heartes, or some wild worme in your heades.

330   17.  Combinations. a. with pples., in adverbial relation (= ‘wildly’), as wild-billowing, -booming, -flying, -fought, -made, -staring, -warring, -woven adjs.; or in complemental relation, as wild-born, -bred, -grown, -looking adjs. b. parasynthetic, as wild-blooded, -brained, -eyed, -haired, -headed, -spirited, -winged, -witted adjs. c. with sbs., forming descriptive appellations corresponding to the adjs. in b, as wild-blood (a wild-blooded person), wild-brain, wild-head (a wild-brained or wild-headed person, a harebrain).

331 1837.  Carlyle, Fr. Rev., III. VII. viii. One red sea of Fire, *wild-billowing, enwraps the World.

332 1820.  Scott, Abbot, xix. Even in the Castle of Avenel thou wert a *wild-blood enough.

333 1837.  Carlyle, Fr. Rev., III. V. ii. So … whirls and spins this immeasurable tormentum of a Revolution; *wild-booming.

334 1816.  Byron, Ch. Har., III. xv. A *wild-born falcon with clipt wing.

335 1580.  Hollyband, Treas. Fr. Tong, Testu, a headstrong fellow, a *wildebrayne.

336 1608.  Middleton, Mad World, I. i. I must … turne wilde-braine, lay my wits vpo’ th’ Tenters.

337 1885.  Rider Haggard, K. Sol. Mines, vi. We knew what a wonderful instinct these *wild-bred men possess.

338 1888.  Pall Mall Gaz., 20 Sept., 3/1. Wild-bred pheasants appear to have done fairly well.

339 1817.  Shelley, Rev. Islam, IV. xx. The *wild-eyed women.

340 1890.  ‘R. Boldrewood,’ Col. Reformer, xx. The fierce and wild-eyed bullocks.

341 1617.  Fletcher, Valentinian, I. ii. His *wild flying courses.

342 1902.  S. Phillips, Ulysses, I. ii. The wild-flying cloud.

343 1795.  Fawcett, Art of War, 18. Their *wild-fought field.

344 1885.  W. K. Parker, Mammal. Desc., vi. 153. The perichondrial … bone … takes on a very remarkable form; it becomes *wild-grown so to speak.

345 1896.  Howells, Impressions & Exp., 24. The *wildest-haired Comeouter.

346 1583.  Stubbes, Anat. Abus., I. (1879), 147. All the *wilde-heds of the Parish, conuenting togither.

347 c. 1590.  Trag. Rich. II. (1870), 13. A wild-head, yett a kingly gentleman.

348 a. 1400–50.  Wars Alex., 12. Sum … þat ere *wild-hedid.

349 1583.  Golding, Calvin on Deut. iv. 1. If they that neuer were taught Gods trueth bee wildeheaded.

350 1617.  Moryson, Itin., I. 259. A wild-headed Turke tooke my hat from my head.

351 1702.  Calamy, Abridgm. Baxter’s Life, vi. 108. Wild-headed Sectaries.

352 1814.  Scott, Diary, 16 Aug., in Lockhart. The hogs are … queer wild-looking creatures.

353 15[?].  Sir Andrew Barton, xvii. in Surtees Misc. (1890), 69. Before Ile leave off my serving God, My *wild maide oeth may brooken be.

354 1856.  Miss Yonge, Daisy Chain, I. xxvii. His warm-hearted, *wild-spirited son.

355 1608.  Sylvester, Du Bartas, II. iv. III. Schism, 863. *Wilde-staring Hag.

356 1727.  Somerville, Occas. Poems, Offic. Messenger, 261. Wild-staring, thunder-struck, and dumb.

357 1748.  Thomson, Cast. Indol., I. xli. *Wild-warbling nature.

358 1777.  Potter, Æschylus, 64. With vollied thunders and *wild warring winds.

359 c. 1611.  Chapman, Iliad, XV. 637. Floods that nourish *wild-wing’d fowles.

360 1614.  J. Cooke, Greene’s Tu Quoque, D 1 b. *Wilde witted sister, I haue preuented you.

361 1839.  Darley, Beaum. & Fl. Wks., I. Introd. p. xlix. A wild-witted, mercurial comedy.

362 1800.  Campbell, Exile of Erin, ii. The *wild-woven flowers.

363   B.  sb.

364   † 1.  A wild animal, or wild animals collectively; spec. a beast, or beasts, of the chase; a hunted animal or animals; game. Obs.

365   OE. *wild (see etym. above) is recorded only in gen. sing. wildres, nom, pl. wildru, gen. wildra, dat. wildrum.

366 c. 1205.  Lay., 1129. Þa Troinisce men tuhten to þon deoren & duden of þan wilden al heora iwilla.

367 13[?].  Gaw. & Gr. Knt., 1150. At þe fyrst quethe of þe quest quaked þe wylde.

368 a. 1340.  Hampole, Psalter, xlix. [l.] 11. All þe wilde of wodis.

369 a. 1400[?].  Morte Arth., 657. That nane werreye my wylde, botte Waynour hir seluene.

370 c. 1465.  Chevy Chase, vi. Then the wyld thorowe the woodes went, on euery syde shear.

371 c. 1480.  Henryson, Lion & Mouse, xxviii. The lioun … slew baith tayme and wyld.

372 1599.  Alex. Hume, Poems (S.T.S.), Hymn, ii. 181. All venneson, and vther wilde they serue him at his neid.

373   † 2.  Phr. at wild, on wild: ? bewildered, distracted. Obs. rare.

374 c. 1430.  Syr Tryam., 801. Some were wery and on wylde.

375 1477.  Paston Lett., III. 179. Trust hym never the more for the bylle that I sent yow by hym, but as a man at wylde, for every thyng that he told me is not trewe.

376   3.  A wild or waste place; a region or tract of uncultivated and uninhabited land; a waste, a wilderness. Now mostly rhet. or poet.

377 1637.  Heylin, Answ. Burton, 191. As if wee lived in the wild of Africke.

378 1667.  Milton, P. L., I. 407. The wild Of Southmost Abarim.

379 1709.  Prior, Henry & Emma, 395. Nor Wild, nor Deep our common Way divide.

380 1722.  Tickell, Kens. Garden, 1. A snow of blossoms, and a wilde of flowers.

381 1732.  Pope, Ess. Man, I. 7. A wild, where weeds and flow’rs promiscuous shoot.

382 1847.  Tennyson, Princess, III. 230. You young savage of the Northern wild!

383 1849.  Macaulay, Hist. Eng., iii. I. 313. Turned from a wild into a garden.

384 1905.  D. Wallace, Lure of Labrador Wild, iv. 55, chap. title. The plunge into the wild.

385   (b)  pl. (Chiefly in the wilds of a specified region.)

386 1596.  Shaks., Merch. V., II. vii. 41. The Hircanion deserts, and the vaste wildes Of wide Arabia.

387 1612.  Drayton, Poly-olb., v. 312. The sandie Wyldes of spicefull Barbarie.

388 1634.  Milton, Comus, 424. Huge Forests … and sandy perilous wildes.

389 1726–31.  Waldron, Descr. Isle of Man (1744), 53. They call them the good People, and say they live in Wilds and Forests.

390 1827.  J. F. Cooper, Prairie, i. The … resolute forester who first penetrated the wilds.

391 1842.  Dickens, Amer. Notes, viii. Among the wilds and forests of the west.

392 1868.  Nettleship, Ess. Browning, ii. 63. A northern principality … which kept its rough simple traditions in its own wilds.

393   b.  transf. of air, water, etc.

394 1712.  Pope, Rape Lock, I. 107. The crystal wilds of air.

395 1795.  Wolcot (P. Pindar), Frogmore Fête, Wks. 1812, III. 308. As soon might lift old Ocean from his bed And dash his wild of waters to the skies.

396 1813.  Shelley, Q. Mab, VIII. 57. A lighthouse o’er the wild of dreary waves.

397   c.  fig.

398 1596.  Shaks., Merch. V., III. ii. 184. Where euery something being blent together, Turnes to a wilde of nothing, saue of ioy Exprest, and not exprest.

399 1599.  Nashe, Lenten Stuffe, 66. To this wild of sorrowes and excruciament she was confined.

400 1651.  Biggs, New Disp., ¶ 73. [To] confine themselves to a mediocrity in opinioning, and not ramble over the whole wild of Fancy.

401 a. 1704.  T. Brown, 1st Sat. Persius imit., Wks. 1730, I. 52. His tagg’d nonsense, t’other’s wilds of wit.

402 a. 1832.  Bentham, Princ. Legisl., xviii. § 27, note. Striving to cut a new road through the wilds of jurisprudence.

403 1855.  Tennyson, Maud, I. XVI. i. To save My yet young life in the wilds of Time.

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