Wifely adjective [ Anglo-Saxon wīflic .] Becoming or life; of or pertaining to a wife. " Wifely patience." Chaucer.

With all the tenderness of wifely love.

Dryden.

Wig noun [ Abbreviation from periwig .]

1. A covering for the head, consisting of hair interwoven or united by a kind of network, either in imitation of the natural growth, or in abundant and flowing curls, worn to supply a deficiency of natural hair, or for ornament, or according to traditional usage, as a part of an official or professional dress, the latter especially in England by judges and barristers.

2. An old seal; -- so called by fishermen.

Wig tree . (Botany) See Smoke tree , under Smoke .

Wig transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Wigged ; present participle & verbal noun Wigging .] To censure or rebuke; to hold up to reprobation; to scold. [ Slang]

Wigan noun A kind of canvaslike cotton fabric, used to stiffen and protect the lower part of trousers and of the skirts of women's dresses, etc.; -- so called from Wigan , the name of a town in Lancashire, England.

Wigeon noun (Zoology) A widgeon. [ R.]

Wigg, Wig noun [ Confer Dutch wegge a sort of bread, German weck , orig., a wedge-shaped loaf or cake. See Wedge .] A kind of raised seedcake. " Wiggs and ale." Pepys.

Wigged adjective Having the head covered with a wig; wearing a wig.

Wiggery noun
1. A wig or wigs; false hair. [ R.] A. Trollope.

2. Any cover or screen, as red-tapism. [ R.]

Fire peels the wiggeries away from them [ facts.]

Carlyle.

Wiggle transitive verb & i. [ Confer Wag , transitive verb , Waggle .] To move to and fro with a quick, jerking motion; to bend rapidly, or with a wavering motion, from side to side; to wag; to squirm; to wriggle; as, the dog wiggles his tail; the tadpole wiggles in the water. [ Prov. Eng. & Colloq. U. S.]

Wiggle noun Act of wiggling; a wriggle. [ Colloq.]

Wiggler noun (Zoology) The young, either larva or pupa, of the mosquito; -- called also wiggletail .

Wigher intransitive verb [ Confer German wiehern , English whine .] To neigh; to whinny. [ Obsolete] Beau. & Fl.

Wight noun Weight. [ Obsolete]

Wight noun [ Middle English wight , wiht , a wight, a whit, Anglo-Saxon wiht , wuht , a creature, a thing; skin to Dutch wicht a child, Old Saxon & Old High German wiht a creature, thing, German wicht a creature, Icelandic vætt... a wight, vætt... a whit, Goth. waíhts , waíht , thing; confer Russian veshche a thing. .... Confer Whit .]

1. A whit; a bit; a jot. [ Obsolete]

She was fallen asleep a little wight .

Chaucer.

2. A supernatural being. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

3. A human being; a person, either male or female; -- now used chiefly in irony or burlesque, or in humorous language. "Worst of all wightes ." Chaucer.

Every wight that hath discretion.

Chaucer.

Oh, say me true if thou wert mortal wight .

Milton.

Wight adjective [ Middle English wight , wiht , probably of Scand. origin; confer Icelandic vīgr in fighting condition, neut. vīgh ......... vīg war, akin to Anglo-Saxon wīg See Vanquish .] Swift; nimble; agile; strong and active. [ Obsolete or Poetic]

'T is full wight , God wot, as is a roe.

Chaucer.

He was so wimble and so wight .

Spenser.

They were Night and Day, and Day and Night,
Pilgrims wight with steps forthright.

Emerson.

Wightly adverb Swiftly; nimbly; quickly. [ Obsolete]

Wigless adjective Having or wearing no wig.

Wigwag intransitive verb [ See Wag , transitive verb ] (Nautical) To signal by means of a flag waved from side to side according to a code adopted for the purpose. [ Colloq.]

Wigwag transitive verb & i. [ imperfect & past participle Wigwagged ; present participle & verbal noun Wigwagging .] To move to and fro, to wag.

Wigwag noun [ See Wigwag , transitive verb & i. ] Act or art of wigwagging; a message wigwagged; -- chiefly attributive; as, the wigwag code. - - Wig"wag`er noun

Wigwam noun [ From the Algonquin or Massachusetts Indian word wēk , "his house," or "dwelling place;" with possessive and locative affixes, wē-kou-om-ut , "in his (or their) house," contracted by the English to weekwam , and wigwam .] An Indian cabin or hut, usually of a conical form, and made of a framework of poles covered with hides, bark, or mats; -- called also tepee . [ Sometimes written also weekwam .]

Very spacious was the wigwam ,
Made of deerskin dressed and whitened,
With the gods of the Dacotahs
Drawn and painted on its curtains.

Longfellow.

» "The wigwam , or Indian house, of a circular or oval shape, was made of bark or mats laid over a framework of branches of trees stuck in the ground in such a manner as to converge at the top, where was a central aperture for the escape of smoke from the fire beneath. The better sort had also a lining of mats. For entrance and egress, two low openings were left on opposite sides, one or the other of which was closed with bark or mats, according to the direction of the wind." Palfrey.

Wike noun A temporary mark or boundary, as a bough of a tree set up in marking out or dividing anything, as tithes, swaths to be mowed in common ground, etc.; -- called also wicker . [ Prov. Eng.]

Wike noun [ Anglo-Saxon wic . See Wick a village.] A home; a dwelling. [ Obsolete or Prov. Eng.]

Wikiup noun [ Of North American Indian origin; confer Dakota wakeya , wokeya .] The hut used by the nomadic Indian tribes of the arid regions of the west and southwest United States, typically elliptical in form, with a rough frame covered with reed mats or grass or brushwood.

Wikke adjective Wicked. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Wild adjective [ Compar. Wilder ; superl. Wildest .] [ Middle English wilde , Anglo-Saxon wilde ; akin to OFries. wilde , Dutch wild , Old Saxon & Old High German wildi , German wild , Swedish & Danish vild , Icelandic villr wild, bewildered, astray, Goth. wilpeis wild, and G. & Old High German wild game, deer; of uncertain origin.]

1. Living in a state of nature; inhabiting natural haunts, as the forest or open field; not familiar with, or not easily approached by, man; not tamed or domesticated; as, a wild boar; a wild ox; a wild cat.

Winter's not gone yet, if the wild geese fly that way.

Shak.

2. Growing or produced without culture; growing or prepared without the aid and care of man; native; not cultivated; brought forth by unassisted nature or by animals not domesticated; as, wild parsnip, wild camomile, wild strawberry, wild honey.

The woods and desert caves,
With wild thyme and gadding vine o'ergrown.

Milton.

3. Desert; not inhabited or cultivated; as, wild land. "To trace the forests wild ." Shak.

4. Savage; uncivilized; not refined by culture; ferocious; rude; as, wild natives of Africa or America.

5. Not submitted to restraint, training, or regulation; turbulent; tempestuous; violent; ungoverned; licentious; inordinate; disorderly; irregular; fanciful; imaginary; visionary; crazy. "Valor grown wild by pride." Prior. "A wild , speculative project." Swift.

What are these
So withered and so wild in their attire ?

Shak.

With mountains, as with weapons, armed; which makes
Wild work in heaven.

Milton.

The wild winds howl.

Addison.

Search then the ruling passion, there, alone
The wild are constant, and the cunning known.

Pope.

6. Exposed to the wind and sea; unsheltered; as, a wild roadstead.

7. Indicating strong emotion, intense excitement, or ...ewilderment; as, a wild look.

8. (Nautical) Hard to steer; -- said of a vessel.

» Many plants are named by prefixing wild to the names of other better known or cultivated plants to which they a bear a real or fancied resemblance; as, wild allspice, wild pink, etc. See the Phrases below.

To run wild , to go unrestrained or untamed; to live or untamed; to live or grow without culture or training. -- To sow one's wild oats . See under Oat .

Wild allspice . (Botany) , spicewood. -- Wild balsam apple (Botany) , an American climbing cucurbitaceous plant ( Echinocystis lobata ). -- Wild basil (Botany) , a fragrant labiate herb ( Calamintha Clinopodium ) common in Europe and America. -- Wild bean (Botany) , a name of several leguminous plants, mostly species of Phaseolus and Apios . -- Wild bee (Zoology) , any one of numerous species of undomesticated social bees, especially the domestic bee when it has escaped from domestication and built its nest in a hollow tree or among rocks. -- Wild bergamot . (Botany) See under Bergamot . -- Wild boar (Zoology) , the European wild hog ( Sus scrofa ), from which the common domesticated swine is descended. -- Wild brier (Botany) , any uncultivated species of brier. See Brier . -- Wild bugloss (Botany) , an annual rough-leaved plant ( Lycopsis arvensis ) with small blue flowers. -- Wild camomile (Botany) , one or more plants of the composite genus Matricaria , much resembling camomile. -- Wild cat . (Zoology) (a) A European carnivore ( Felis catus ) somewhat resembling the domestic cat, but larger stronger, and having a short tail. It is destructive to the smaller domestic animals, such as lambs, kids, poultry, and the like. (b) The common American lynx, or bay lynx. (c) (Nautical) A wheel which can be adjusted so as to revolve either with, or on, the shaft of a capstan. Luce. -- Wild celery . (Botany) See Tape grass , under Tape . -- Wild cherry . (Botany) (a) Any uncultivated tree which bears cherries. The wild red cherry is Prunus Pennsylvanica . The wild black cherry is P. serotina , the wood of which is much used for cabinetwork, being of a light red color and a compact texture. (b) The fruit of various species of Prunus . -- Wild cinnamon . See the Note under Canella . -- Wild comfrey (Botany) , an American plant ( Cynoglossum Virginicum ) of the Borage family. It has large bristly leaves and small blue flowers. -- Wild cumin (Botany) , an annual umbelliferous plant ( Lagœcia cuminoides ) native in the countries about the Mediterranean. -- Wild drake (Zoology) the mallard. -- Wild elder (Botany) , an American plant ( Aralia hispida ) of the Ginseng family. -- Wild fowl (Zoology) any wild bird, especially any of those considered as game birds. -- Wild goose (Zoology) , any one of several species of undomesticated geese, especially the Canada goose ( Branta Canadensis ), the European bean goose, and the graylag. See Graylag , and Bean goose , under Bean . -- Wild goose chase , the pursuit of something unattainable, or of something as unlikely to be caught as the wild goose. Shak. -- Wild honey , honey made by wild bees, and deposited in trees, rocks, the like. -- Wild hyacinth . (Botany) See Hyacinth , 1 (b) . -- Wild Irishman (Botany) , a thorny bush ( Discaria Toumatou ) of the Buckthorn family, found in New Zealand, where the natives use the spines in tattooing. -- Wild land . (a) Land not cultivated, or in a state that renders it unfit for cultivation. (b) Land which is not settled and cultivated. -- Wild licorice . (Botany) See under Licorice . -- Wild mammee (Botany) , the oblong, yellowish, acid fruit of a tropical American tree ( Rheedia lateriflora ); -- so called in the West Indies. -- Wild marjoram (Botany) , a labiate plant ( Origanum vulgare ) much like the sweet marjoram, but less aromatic. -- Wild oat . (Botany) (a) A tall, oatlike kind of soft grass ( Arrhenatherum avenaceum ). (b) See Wild oats , under Oat . -- Wild pieplant (Botany) , a species of dock ( Rumex hymenosepalus ) found from Texas to California. Its acid, juicy stems are used as a substitute for the garden rhubarb. -- Wild pigeon . (Zoology) (a) The rock dove. (b) The passenger pigeon. -- Wild pink (Botany) , an American plant ( Silene Pennsylvanica ) with pale, pinkish flowers; a kind of catchfly. -- Wild plantain (Botany) , an arborescent endogenous herb ( Heliconia Bihai ), much resembling the banana. Its leaves and leaf sheaths are much used in the West Indies as coverings for packages of merchandise. -- Wild plum . (Botany) (a) Any kind of plum growing without cultivation. (b) The South African prune. See under Prune . -- Wild rice . (Botany) See Indian rice , under Rice . -- Wild rosemary (Botany) , the evergreen shrub Andromeda polifolia . See Marsh rosemary , under Rosemary . -- Wild sage . (Botany) See Sagebrush . - - Wild sarsaparilla (Botany) , a species of ginseng ( Aralia nudicaulis ) bearing a single long-stalked leaf. -- Wild sensitive plant (Botany) , either one of two annual leguminous herbs ( Cassia Chamæcrista , and C. nictitans ), in both of which the leaflets close quickly when the plant is disturbed. -- Wild service . (Botany) See Sorb . -- Wild Spaniard (Botany) , any one of several umbelliferous plants of the genus Aciphylla , natives of New Zealand. The leaves bear numerous bayonetlike spines, and the plants form an impenetrable thicket. -- Wild turkey . (Zoology) See 2d Turkey .

Wild noun An uninhabited and uncultivated tract or region; a forest or desert; a wilderness; a waste; as, the wilds of America; the wilds of Africa.

then Libya first, of all her moisture drained,
Became a barren waste, a wild of sand.

Addison.

Wild adverb Wildly; as, to talk wild . Shak.

Wild-cat adjective
1. Unsound; worthless; irresponsible; unsafe; -- said to have been originally applied to the notes of an insolvent bank in Michigan upon which there was the figure of a panther.

2. (Railroad) Running without control; running along the line without a train; as, a wild-cat locomotive.

Wildebeest noun [ Dutch wild wild + beeste beast.] (Zoology) The gnu.

Wilded adjective Become wild. [ R.]

An old garden plant escaped and wilded .

J. Earle.

Wilder transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Wildered ; present participle & verbal noun Wildering .] [ Akin to English wild , Dan. for vilde to bewilder, Icelandic villr bewildered, villa to bewilder; confer Anglo-Saxon wildor a wild animal. See Wild , adjective , and confer Wilderness .] To bewilder; to perplex.

Long lost and wildered in the maze of fate.

Pope.

Again the wildered fancy dreams
Of spouting fountains, frozen as they rose.

Bryant.

Wildering noun (Botany) A plant growing in a state of nature; especially, one which has run wild, or escaped from cultivation.

Wilderment noun The state of being bewildered; confusion; bewilderment.

And snatched her breathless from beneath
This wilderment of wreck and death.

Moore.

Wilderness noun [ Middle English wildernesse , wilderne ,probably from Anglo-Saxon wildor a wild beast; confer Dutch wildernis wilderness. See Wilder , transitive verb ]

1. A tract of land, or a region, uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings, whether a forest or a wide, barren plain; a wild; a waste; a desert; a pathless waste of any kind.

The wat'ry wilderness yields no supply.

Waller.

2. A disorderly or neglected place. Cowper.

3. Quality or state of being wild; wildness. [ Obsolete]

These paths and bowers doubt not but our joint hands.
Will keep from wilderness with ease.

Milton.

Wildfire noun
1. A composition of inflammable materials, which, kindled, is very hard to quench; Greek fire.

Brimstone, pitch, wildfire . . . burn cruelly, and hard to quench.

Bacon.

2. (Medicine) (a) An old name for erysipelas. (b) A disease of sheep, attended with inflammation of the skin.

3. A sort of lightning unaccompanied by thunder. [ R.]

Wildgrave noun [ German wildgraf or Dutch wildgraaf . See Wild , and confer Margrave .] A waldgrave, or head forest keeper. See Waldgrave .

The wildgrave winds his bugle horn.

Sir W. Scott.

Wilding noun (Botany) A wild or uncultivated plant; especially, a wild apple tree or crab apple; also, the fruit of such a plant. Spenser.

Ten ruddy wildings in the wood I found.

Dryden.

The fruit of the tree . . . is small, of little juice, and bad quality. I presume it to be a wilding .

Landor.

Wilding adjective Not tame, domesticated, or cultivated; wild. [ Poetic] " Wilding flowers." Tennyson.

The ground squirrel gayly chirps by his den,
And the wilding bee hums merrily by.

Bryant.

Wildish adjective Somewhat wild; rather wild. "A wildish destiny." Wordsworth.

Wildly adverb In a wild manner; without cultivation; with disorder; rudely; distractedly; extravagantly.

Wildness noun The quality or state of being wild; an uncultivated or untamed state; disposition to rove or go unrestrained; rudeness; savageness; irregularity; distraction.

Wildwood noun A wild or unfrequented wood. Also used adjectively; as, wildwood flowers; wildwood echoes. Burns.

Wile noun [ Middle English wile , Anglo-Saxon wīl ; confer Icelandic v...l , væl . Confer Guile .] A trick or stratagem practiced for insnaring or deception; a sly, insidious; artifice; a beguilement; an allurement.

Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Eph. vi. 11.

Not more almighty to resist our might,
Than wise to frustrate all our plots and wiles .

Milton.

Wile transitive verb
1. To practice artifice upon; to deceive; to beguile; to allure. [ R.] Spenser.

2. To draw or turn away, as by diversion; to while or while away; to cause to pass pleasantly. Tennyson.

Wileful adjective Full of wiles; trickish; deceitful.

Wilfley table (Ore Dressing) An inclined percussion table, usually with longitudinal grooves in its surface, agitated by side blows at right angles to the flow of the pulp; -- so called after the inventor.

Wilful adjective , Wil"ful*ly adverb , Wil"ful*ness noun See Willful , Willfully , and Willfulness .

Wiliness noun The quality or state of being wily; craftiness; cunning; guile.

Wilk noun (Zoology) See Whelk . [ Obsolete]