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wild
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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See also: Wild
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English wild, wilde, from Old English wilde, from Proto-West Germanic *wilþī, from Proto-Germanic *wilþijaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- (“hair, wool, grass, ear (of corn), forest”).
Cognates
Adjective
wild (comparative wilder, superlative wildest)
- Untamed; not domesticated.
- Antonym: tame
- Especially, being of the wild type: being of an unbroken ancestral line of undomesticated animals, as opposed to being feral, being an undomesticated animal whose ancestors were domesticated.
- Coordinate term: feral
- Near-synonym: indigenous
- Przewalski's horses are the only remaining wild horses, although there are many feral horses throughout the world.
- In this region, the wild boars can be dangerous, but (perhaps counterintuitively) the feral hogs can be even worse.
- c. 1527–1542, Thomas Wyatt, “Who so list to hounte”, in Egerton MS 2711, page 7v:
- noli me tangere for Ceſars I ame
and wylde for to hold though I ſeme tame
- c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]:
- Winter's not gone yet, if the wild geese fly that way.
- 1637, John Milton, “Lycidas”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC, page 58:
- Thee Shepherd, thee the Woods, and deſert caves, / With wilde Thyme and the gadding Vine o'regrown,
- 1950 July, “Traveller's Joy”, in Railway Magazine, page ii (advertisement):
- Their flowers range from the rather formal blossoming of outer London to the wilder flowering of the country, where willow-herb and broom, traveller's joy and campion, go rioting over the chalky banks of the Metropolitan Line.
- 2013 May–June, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, “Wild Plants to the Rescue”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:
- Plant breeding is always a numbers game. […] The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, and individual plants are highly heterozygous and do not breed true. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better.
- Being in the wild, by any pathway (whether by being of the wild type, by being feral since birth, or by being feral after escape from domesticated life).
- Hyponyms: feral, indigenous
- From or relating to wild creatures.
- wild honey
- Unrestrained or uninhibited.
- I was filled with wild rage when I discovered the infidelity, and punched a hole in the wall.
- 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Prologue”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:
- Forgive these wild and wandering cries,
Confusions of a wasted youth;
Forgive them where they fail in truth,
And in thy wisdom make me wise.
- Raucous, unruly, or licentious.
- The fraternity was infamous for its wild parties, which frequently resulted in police involvement.
- 2022 August 10, Philip Haigh, “Scotland switched on to electrification”, in RAIL, number 963, page 35:
- Those most rural routes will not get overhead wires. As Reeve told the seminar: "Even in my wildest dreams, I can't see a business case for electrifying the Far North Line."
- (electrical engineering) Of unregulated and varying frequency.
- The aircraft's navigational equipment should not be powered from the wild AC bus except in an emergency, as its computers can be damaged by variations in electrical frequency.
- Visibly and overtly anxious; frantic.
- Her mother was wild with fear when she didn't return home after the party.
- 2011 August 7, Chris Bevan, “Man City 2-3 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport:
- City, in contrast, were lethargic in every area of the pitch and their main contribution in the first half-hour was to keep referee Phil Dowd busy, with Micah Richards among four of their players booked early on, in his case for a wild lunge on Young.
- Furious; very angry.
- Disheveled, tangled, or untidy.
- After a week on the trail without a mirror, my hair was wild and dirty.
- Enthusiastic.
- I'm not wild about the idea of a two day car trip with my nephews, but it's my only option.
- Very inaccurate; far off the mark.
- The novice archer fired a wild shot and hit her opponent's target.
- Exposed to the wind and sea; unsheltered.
- a wild roadstead
- (nautical, of a vessel) Hard to steer.
- (mathematics, of a knot) Not capable of being represented as a finite closed polygonal chain.
- Antonym: tame
- (slang) Amazing, awesome, unbelievable.
- Did you hear? Pat won the lottery! — Wow, that's wild!
- (slang) Very unexpected; wildly surprising; crazy, diabolical.
- Able to stand in for others, e.g. a card in games, or a text character in computer pattern matching.
- In this card game, aces are wild: they can take the place of any other card.
- 2009, Leonardo Vanneschi, Steven Gustafson, Alberto Moraglio, Genetic Programming: 12th European Conference:
- We define a pattern as a valid GP subtree that might contain wild characters [i.e. wildcards] in any of its nodes.
- Of an audio recording: intended to be synchronized with film or video but recorded separately.
- a wild track; wild sound
Derived terms
- American wild plum
- Asian wild horse
- buck wild
- common wild oat
- deuces wild
- go wild
- half-wild
- hog-wild
- in the wild
- Mongolian wild horse
- run wild
- semi-wild
- sow wild oats, sow one's wild oats
- take a walk on the wild side
- walk on the wild side
- wild allspice (Lindera benzoin)
- wild almond
- wild and woolly
- wild and wooly
- wild aneth (Meum athamanticum)
- wild-animal, wild animal
- wild as a Tuckernuck steer
- wild as a wet hen
- wild asparagus
- wild-ass, wild ass
- wild bachelor's button
- wild bachelor's-button
- wild balsam apple (Echinopepon wrightii)
- wild basil
- wild bergamot
- wild betel
- wild blueberry
- wild blue yonder
- wild boar (Sus scrofa)
- wild buckwheat
- wild bugloss
- wild cabbage
- wild candytuft
- wild cane
- wild card, wildcard, wild-card
- wild carrot (Daucus carota)
- wildcat (Felis silvestris or Lynx rufus)
- wildcat strike
- wildcatter
- wild-cat, wild cat
- wild-caught
- wild celery
- wild chamomile (Matricaria discoidea or Tripleurospermum inodorum)
- wild cherry (Prunus avium or Prunus serotina)
- wild chicory
- wild child
- wild cotton
- wildcrafting
- wild cucumber
- wild cumin (Bunium bulbocastanum)
- wild custard apple
- wild dill (Meum athamanticum)
- wild dog
- wild drake
- wild duck
- wildebeest (Connochaetes spp.)
- wild eggplant
- wild elder (Sambucus spp. or Nuxia floribunda)
- wilden
- wild endive
- wilder
- wilderness
- wildest
- wild-eyed
- wild feed
- wildfire
- wildflower, wild flower
- wildfowl
- wild foxtail millet
- wild garlic
- wild geranium (Geranium maculatum)
- wild ginger
- wild goat
- wild goose
- wild-goose plum
- wild guess
- wild haggis
- wild hair
- wild horse
- wild hyacinth
- wild indigo
- wilding
- wild ipecacuanha
- wild Irishman (Isopogon ceratophyllus)
- wildish
- wild land
- wild leek
- wild lettuce (Lactuca virosa)
- wild licorice
- wild life, wildlife
- wild lily-of-the-valley
- wild line
- wild loquat
- wildly
- wild mammee
- wild mangosteen
- wild man syndrome
- wild man, wild-man
- wild marjoram (Origanum vulgare)
- wild mint
- wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis subsp. arvensis, syn. Brassica kaber)
- wildness
- wild oat, wild oats
- wild olive
- wild onion
- wild orange
- wild out
- wild ox
- wild pansy
- wild passionfruit
- wild pellitory
- wild pieplant (Rumex hymenosepalus)
- wild pig
- wild pigeon
- wild pig syndrome
- wild pink (Silene caroliniana or Dianthus sect. Fimbriatum spp.)
- wild pitch
- wild plantain (Heliconia)
- wild plum
- wild pointer
- wild potato
- wild potato vine
- wild purslane (Portulaca oleracea)
- wild radish
- wild rhubarb (Rumex hymenosepalus)
- wild rice (Zizania)
- wild river
- wild rosemary
- wild rue
- wild rye (Elymus spp. or Leymus spp.)
- wild service tree
- wild soursop
- wild Spaniard (Aciphylla colensol, Aciphylla squarrosa)
- wild spinach
- wild stonecrop
- wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca)
- wildstyle
- wild succory (Cichorium intybus)
- wild sweet potato
- wild Syrian rue (Peganum harmala)
- wild take
- wild teasel
- wild thing
- wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum)
- wild tobacco (Nicotiana rustica)
- wild track
- wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)
- wild turmeric (Curcuma aromatica)
- wild type, wild-type
- wild vanilla (Vanilla planifolia)
- wild weasel
- wild wee
- Wild West
- wild woman
- wildwood
- wild yam
Translations
not domesticated or tamed
|
unrestrained or uninhibited
|
raucous, unruly, and savage
|
Adverb
wild (not comparable)
- Inaccurately; not on target.
- The javelin flew wild and struck a spectator, to the horror of all observing.
- (of an audio recording) Intended to be synchronized with film or video but recorded separately.
- Let's record it wild.
Noun
wild (plural wilds)
- (singular, with "the") The undomesticated state of a wild animal.
- After mending the lion's leg, we returned him to the wild.
- (chiefly in the plural) A wilderness.
- 1730–1774, Oliver Goldsmith, Introductory to Switzerland
- Thus every good his native wilds impart
Imprints the patriot passion on his heart;
And e’en those ills that round his mansion rise
Enhance the bliss his scanty funds supplies.
- Thus every good his native wilds impart
- 1730–1774, Oliver Goldsmith, Introductory to Switzerland
- Something that is able to stand in for others, such as a particular playing card in a game.
Derived terms
Verb
wild (third-person singular simple present wilds, present participle wilding, simple past and past participle wilded)
- (intransitive, slang) To commit random acts of assault, robbery, and rape in an urban setting, especially as a gang.
- 1989 April 22, David E. Pitt, “Jogger's Attackers Terrorized at Least 9 in 2 Hours”, in New York Times, page 1:
- ...Chief of Detectives Robert Colangelo, who said the attacks appeared unrelated to money, race, drugs, or alcohol, said that some of the 20 youths brought in for questioning has told investigators that the crime spree was the product of a pastime called "wilding".
"It's not a term that we in the police had heard before," the chief said, noting that the police were unaware of any similar incident in the park recently. "They just said, 'We were going wilding.' In my mind at this point, it implies that they were going to raise hell."...
- 1999, Busta Rhymes (Trevor Taheim Smith, Jr.), Iz They Wildin Wit Us? (song)
- Now is they wildin with us / And getting rowdy with us.
- (intransitive, slang) (In the form wilding or wildin') To act in a strange or unexpected way.
- 2021 April 6, Shirley Ju, “The New Voice of Brooklyn is Here To 'Drench 'Em'”, in Flaunt Magazine, archived from the original on 7 September 2022:
- They had a big influence on me. They had a big influence on Brooklyn period. I like the nonsense. [laughs] They were wildin'. Everyone in Brooklyn was liking that shit. They're wildin'. Their story in the stu, it gets deep.
- 2022 April 20, A. Sherrod Blakely, “The Neverending Disappointment of Kyrie Irving”, in Bleacher Report:
- The Ringer's Culture/NBA writer Wosney Lambre said it best: "I think it's a bad look for the players to be wilding on the fans like this. Fair or not, the players are held to a higher standard of decorum than the loser fans. It is what it is."
Etymology 2
Noun
wild (plural wilds)
- Alternative form of weald.
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Afrikaans
Etymology
From Dutch wild, from Middle Dutch wilt, from Old Dutch *wildi, from Proto-Germanic *wilþijaz.
Pronunciation
Adjective
wild (attributive wilde, comparative wilder, superlative wildste)
Dutch
Etymology
From Middle Dutch wilt, from Old Dutch wildi, from Proto-West Germanic *wilþī, from Proto-Germanic *wilþijaz.
Pronunciation
Adjective
wild (comparative wilder, superlative wildst)
Declension
Derived terms
Descendants
Noun
wild n (uncountable, no diminutive)
- game (food; animals hunted for meat)
- wildlife
- wilderness
Derived terms
- jachtwild
- pluimwild
- wildseizoen
- wildwissel
Descendants
- Afrikaans: wild
Anagrams
German
Etymology
Inherited from Middle High German wilde, from Old High German wildi, from Proto-West Germanic *wilþī, from Proto-Germanic *wilþijaz.
Pronunciation
Adjective
wild (strong nominative masculine singular wilder, comparative wilder, superlative am wildesten)
- wild (of animals, etc.)
- (informal) wild, unrestrained, raucous (of behavior, parties, etc.)
- (informal) crazy, hard to believe (of stories, situations, etc.)
- (obsolete) strange
- Synonym: fremd
Declension
Positive forms of wild
Comparative forms of wild
Superlative forms of wild
Derived terms
Related terms
- Wild
- Wildcamping
- Wildente
- Wildfang
- Wildgans
- Wildhengst
- Wildhund
- Wildhut
- Wildhüter
- Wildlachs
- Wildpferd
- Wildschaf
- Wildschwein
- Wildwasser
- Wildziege
Further reading
- “wild” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
- “wild” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.
- “wild” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “wild” in Duden online
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Hunsrik
Etymology
Inherited from Old High German wildi.
Pronunciation
Adjective
wild (comparative wilder, superlative wildest)
Declension
Further reading
- Boll, Piter Kehoma (2021), “wild”, in Dicionário Hunsriqueano Riograndense–Português, 3rd edition (overall work in Portuguese), Ivoti: Riograndenser Hunsrickisch
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Low German
Etymology
From Middle Low German wilde, from Old Saxon wildi, from Proto-West Germanic *wilþī, from Proto-Germanic *wilþijaz.
Compare English, Dutch and German wild, West Frisian wyld, Danish vild.
Pronunciation
Adjective
wild (comparative willer, superlative willst)
Declension
Positive forms of wild
Comparative forms of wild
Superlative forms of wild
Note: This declension is one of many; neither its grammar nor spelling apply to all dialects.
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Maltese
Alternative forms
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
wild m (plural ulied)
- offspring
- 1949, Anton Buttigieg, “Ir-Riħ u l-Bnazzi”, in Mill-Gallerija ta’ Żgħożiti:
- Ħarbat, mewwet dawk id-dwieli,
wild il-għaraq tal-ħaddiem,
żomm il-fqir ġol-gorboġ waħdu,
u bla ħobż, bla dawl, bla sliem!- Destroy, kill those vines,
the offspring of the worker’s sweat,
keep the poor man in the hovel alone,
without bread, without light, without peace!
- Destroy, kill those vines,
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Middle English
Adjective
wild
- alternative form of wilde
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