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Added 9 October 2026

wile

/waɪl/ noun

In Latin: sūtēla Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about wile at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A trick or stratagem practiced for ensnaring or deception; a sly, insidious artifice
He was seduced by her wiles.

verb

To entice or lure.

verb

Misspelling of while (“to pass the time”).
Here's a pleasant way to wile away the hours.

Origin

From Middle English wile, wyle, from Old Northern French wile (“guile”) and Old English wīl (“wile, trick”) and wiġle (“divination”), from Proto-Germanic *wīlą (“craft, deceit”) (from Proto-Indo-European *wey- (“to turn, bend”)) and Proto-Germanic *wigulą, *wihulą (“prophecy”) (from Proto-Indo-European *weyk- (“to consecrate, hallow, make holy”)). Cognate with Icelandic vél, væl (“artifice, craft, device, fraud, trick”), Dutch wijle. Doublet of guile.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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