English
wile
Wile comes from Old Northern French wile ‘guile’, from Proto-Germanic *wīlą ‘craft, deceit’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyk- ‘to consecrate, hallow, make holy’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyk-‘to consecrate, hallow, make holy’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wey-‘to turn, bend’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wīlą‘craft, deceit’reconstructed
- Old Northern Frenchc. 842–1400wile‘guile’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘wile, trick, artifice’
- Englishearliest quotation 1667same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyk-‘to consecrate, hallow, make holy’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wey-‘to turn, bend’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wīlą‘craft, deceit’reconstructed
- Old Northern Frenchc. 842–1400wile‘guile’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘wile, trick, artifice’
- Englishearliest quotation 1667same form
Earliest quotation: 1667, John Milton, Book II: “to frustrate all our plots and wiles”.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *weyk- ‘to consecrate, hallow, make holy’
victory, victim, province, convince, weakness, victor, icon, conviction, witch, wo, wicked, convict, eviction, vicar, invincible, weakly, evict, wight, vanquish, ancona, waw, 33 more
through Proto-Indo-European *wey- ‘to turn, bend’
through Proto-Germanic *wīlą ‘craft, deceit’
Today it means
noun A trick or stratagem practiced for ensnaring or deception; a sly, insidious artifice
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *weyk- / wile