Forms: 2–5 wil, 4–8 wyle, (4 wylle, Sc. quhile, 5 whyle, wyhylle, wele, Sc. wyill), 5–6 wyll, (while, vyle, 6 wyell, 7 wiele), 4– wile. [Origin and early history obscure. The earliest examples are from regions subjected to strong Scandinavian influence. Early ME. wīl may therefore perhaps represent prehistoric Scand. *wihl-, whence ON. vél craft, artifice, contrivance, engine (cf. the several compounds of this, and véla to defraud).
The current derivation of wile from an AF. var. of OF. guile GUILE sb. with initial w is open to the objection that no such variant is known. Through similarity of sense wile prob. became associated with WIEL, q.v.; cf. the parallelism of bywyle (which occurs beside bygyle in Shoreham’s poems) and biwiȝelien (Layamon), biwihelin (St. Juliana). The relation of wile to the synonymous wilt is obscure.]
1. A crafty, cunning or deceitful trick; a sly, insidious or underhand artifice; a stratagem, ruse. Formerly sometimes in somewhat wider sense: A piece of deception, a deceit, a delusion. Chiefly pl. (in sing. now arch. or poet.).
1154. O. E. Chron. (Laud MS.), an. 1128. He hit dide forði þæt he wolde þurh his micele wiles ðær beon wær it tweolf monð oððe mare.
c. 1200. Ormin, 6635. All þatt badd he þurrh swikedom & all þurrh ille wiless.
c. 1220. Bestiary, 385. A wilde der is ðat is ful of fele wiles, fox is hire to name. Ibid., 541. Ðis deuel is mikel wið wil and maȝt.
1303. R. Brunne, Handl. Synne, 361. Manyon trowyn on here wylys, And many tymes þe pye hem gylys. Ibid. (c. 1330), Chron. Wace (Rolls), 539. Hereþ now of a quynte wyle, How eche of þo þoughte oþer gyle.
c. 1340. Richard Rolle of Hampole, Prick of Conscience, 1360. Þe world … ledes a man with wrenkes and wyles.
c. 1350. Ipomadon, 6674. Imayne hathe an while fonde And thought hym to haue begyld.
1390. Gower, Conf., I. 129. With suche wiles as thei caste. Ibid., 130. Thei schope among hem such a wyle, The king was ded withinne a whyle.
c. 1400. Rom. Rose, 4293. She knewe eche wrenche and euery gise Of love and euery wile.
1456. Sir G. Haye, Law Arms (S.T.S.), 189. To conquest landis and heritagis fra Cristin folk, with wylis and falshede.
c. 1485. Digby Myst., III. 377. With wrath or wyhylles we xal hyrre wynne.
1558. G. Cavendish, Poems (1825), II. 13. Whilest I was workyng witty whiles in Fraunce, I was at home supplanted.
1573. Satir. Poems Reform., xl. 50. Bot sum, perchance, that winks mair wylelie, Will say thay wait ane wyle that I na wist.
1590. Shaks., Com. Err., IV. iii. 10. Sure these are but imaginarie wiles, And lapland Sorcerers inhabite here.
1651. Hobbes, Leviathan, I. xiii. 61. By force, or wiles, to master the persons of all men he can.
1654. Gataker, Disc. Apol., 36. He by a wile drew me to Preach one Afternoon on the Week Lecture day there.
1781. Cowper, Hope, 649. This … Rejects all treaty; penetrates all wiles.
1825. Scott, Talism., xix. That Richard would burst through the flimsy wiles you spread for him.
1876. Swinburne, Erechtheus, 216. By the fraud of a two-fold wile.
1888. Bryce, Amer. Commw., lxx. II. 549. The wiles by which its members are lured or driven to their goal.
b. Without implication of deceit: A subtle contrivance; a skilful device or scheme; an artifice, ‘dodge.’ Obs. or merged in prec. sense.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 4153. Bot sin he algat sal be ded Do it þan wit suilk a wile Þat yee your handes ne þer-wit file.
c. 1400. Maundev. (Roxb.), xxxiii. 149. Þai vse anoþer wyle for to get þis gold with.
a. 1400–50. Wars Alex., 1148. For wele wist þai þam nane to wyn to þe cite.
c. 1470. Henry, Wallace, IX. 1176. Wattir fra thaim forsuth can nocht be set; Sum wthyr wyill ws worthis for to get.
1508. Dunbar, Gold. Targe, 224. I coud eschew hir presence be no wyle.
a. 1628. Preston, New Covt. (1634), 21. We think God not able to doe it, except we help him with wyles and tricks … of our own.
1830. A. Cunningham, Brit. Painters (ed. 2), I. 235. He became acquainted with all the wiles and stratagems of position and light and shade.
c. In lighter sense: An amorous or playful trick; a piece of sportive cunning or artfulness.
c. 1600. J. Lane, in Shaks. Cent. Praise (1879), 32. Venus straight courted him with many a wile.
1632. Milton, L’Allegro, 27. Haste thee nymph, and bring with thee … Quips and Cranks, and wanton Wiles, Nods, and Becks, and Wreathed Smiles.
a. 1721. Prior, Songs, xiii. Victoria shews me all her wiles, Which yet I dare not shun.
1770. Goldsm., Des. Vill., 183. E’en children followed with endearing wile.
a. 1839. Praed, Charades, ix. And telling of Love’s wiles To ears that listen.
1847. Emerson, Repr. Men, Shakesp., Wks. (Bohn), I. 362. He read the hearts of men and women,… and their second thought, and wiles; the wiles of innocence.
1865. Dickens, Mut. Fr., I. ii. Lady Tippins’s winning wiles are contagious.
1880. Morris, Ode of Life, 17. I treasure up each baby wile.
d. spec. A cunning turn or other trick of the hare to escape the hunters.
1691. Ray, Creation, I. (1692), 128. The wiles and ruses, which these timid Creatures make use of to save themselves.
1735. Somerville, Chase, II. 202. The puzling Pack unravel Wile by Wile, Maze within Maze.
1781. W. Blane, Ess. Hunting (1788), 210. The wiles of the Hare have been all along the study of my leisure hours.
2. Deceit or deceitfulness; craft, cunning, subtlety, guile. Now rare.
c. 1374. Chaucer, Troylus, I. 719. Þow wost I do it for no wyle.
c. 1375. Sc. Leg. Saints, Prol. 8. Gret foly, quhile, & vantones.
c. 1400. Beryn, 2239. Falshode, wrong & while.
1426. Lydg., De Guil. Pilgr., 1815. Sleythe, falshed, or any whyle.
15[?]. Dunbar, Poems, lxxxii. 41. That ȝe haue nether witt nor wyll To win ȝour selff ane bettir name!
1634. Milton, Comus, 906. Through the force, and through the wile Of unblest inchanter vile.
1814. Cary, Dante, Inf., XX. 114. Michael Scot, Practised in every slight of magic wile.
1848. Lytton, Harold, V. iii. This Godwin is a man of treachery and wile.
1904. Sat. Rev., 7 May, 576/1 The humour but not the wile of the publisher stopped at this point.
3. a. Applied to particular mechanical contrivances: see quots. b. (nonce-use.) An ingenious or fanciful figure or device.
1674. N. Cox, Gentl. Recreat., I. (1677), 18. Engines that we take Deer withal, are called Wiles.
1824. Mactaggart, Gallovid. Encycl., 446. Throok the wyle, the thawcrook, the twister.
1825. Jamieson, Wile, wylie, an instrument for twisting straw ropes. Dumfr.
1849. Neale, Seaton. Poems, Edom, xxvi. Ivory, carved in thousand curious wiles.
