Wile Definition

wīl
wiled, wiles, wiling
noun
wiles
A sly trick; deceitful artifice; stratagem.
Webster's New World
A beguiling or coquettish trick.
Webster's New World
A disarming or seductive manner, device, or procedure.
The wiles of a skilled negotiator.
American Heritage
Craftiness; guile.
Webster's New World
Antonyms:
verb
wiled, wiles, wiling
To influence or lead by means of wiles; entice.
American Heritage
To beguile; lure.
Webster's New World
To pass (time) agreeably.
Wile away a Sunday afternoon.
American Heritage

Alternative spelling of while, "to pass the time".

Here's a pleasant way to wile away the hours.
Wiktionary
Synonyms:
pronoun
Wiktionary
(rare) A male given name transferred from the surname.
Wiktionary
idiom
wile away
  • to while away (time, etc.)
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Wile

Noun

Singular:
wile
Plural:
wiles

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Wile

Origin of Wile

  • From Middle English wile, wyle, from Old English wÄ«l (“wile, trick") and wiÄ¡le (“divination"), from Proto-Germanic *wÄ«lÄ… (“craft, deceit") (from Proto-Indo-European *wei- (“to turn, bend")) and Proto-Germanic *wigulÄ…, *wihulÄ… (“prophecy") (from Proto-Indo-European *weik- (“to consecrate, hallow, make holy")). Cognate with Icelandic vél, væl (“artifice, craft, device, fraud, trick").

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English wil from Old North French from Old Norse vēl trick or of Low German origin V., sense 2, influenced by while

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English wile, an occupational surname for a trapper or a nickname for a wily person.

    From Wiktionary

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