from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Wild \Wild\, a. [Compar. {Wilder}; superl. {Wildest}.] [OE.
wilde, AS. wilde; akin to OFries. wilde, D. wild, OS. & OHG.
wildi, G. wild, Sw. & Dan. vild, Icel. villr wild,
bewildered, astray, Goth. wilpeis wild, and G. & OHG. wild
game, deer; of uncertain origin.]
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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.
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Winter's not gone yet, if the wild geese fly that
way. --Shak.
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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.
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The woods and desert caves,
With wild thyme and gadding vine o'ergrown.
--Milton.
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3. Desert; not inhabited or cultivated; as, wild land. "To
trace the forests wild." --Shak.
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4. Savage; uncivilized; not refined by culture; ferocious;
rude; as, wild natives of Africa or America.
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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.
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What are these
So withered and so wild in their attire ? --Shak.
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With mountains, as with weapons, armed; which makes
Wild work in heaven. --Milton.
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The wild winds howl. --Addison.
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Search then the ruling passion, there, alone
The wild are constant, and the cunning known.
--Pope.
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6. Exposed to the wind and sea; unsheltered; as, a wild
roadstead.
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7. Indicating strong emotion, intense excitement, or
?ewilderment; as, a wild look.
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8. (Naut.) Hard to steer; -- said of a vessel.
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Note: 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.
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{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}.
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{Wild allspice}. (Bot.), spicewood.
{Wild balsam apple} (Bot.), an American climbing
cucurbitaceous plant ({Echinocystis lobata}).
{Wild basil} (Bot.), a fragrant labiate herb ({Calamintha
Clinopodium}) common in Europe and America.
{Wild bean} (Bot.), a name of several leguminous plants,
mostly species of {Phaseolus} and {Apios}.
{Wild bee} (Zool.), 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}. (Bot.) See under {Bergamot}.
{Wild boar} (Zool.), the European wild hog ({Sus scrofa}),
from which the common domesticated swine is descended.
{Wild brier} (Bot.), any uncultivated species of brier. See
{Brier}.
{Wild bugloss} (Bot.), an annual rough-leaved plant
({Lycopsis arvensis}) with small blue flowers.
{Wild camomile} (Bot.), one or more plants of the composite
genus {Matricaria}, much resembling camomile.
{Wild cat}. (Zool.)
(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) (Naut.) A wheel which can be adjusted so as to revolve
either with, or on, the shaft of a capstan. --Luce.
{Wild celery}. (Bot.) See {Tape grass}, under {Tape}.
{Wild cherry}. (Bot.)
(a) Any uncultivated tree which bears cherries. The wild
red cherry is {Prunus Pennsylvanica}. The wild black
cherry is {Prunus 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} (Bot.), an American plant ({Cynoglossum
Virginicum}) of the Borage family. It has large bristly
leaves and small blue flowers.
{Wild cumin} (Bot.), an annual umbelliferous plant
({Lag[oe]cia cuminoides}) native in the countries about
the Mediterranean.
{Wild drake} (Zool.) the mallard.
{Wild elder} (Bot.), an American plant ({Aralia hispida}) of
the Ginseng family.
{Wild fowl} (Zool.) any wild bird, especially any of those
considered as game birds.
{Wild goose} (Zool.), 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}. (Bot.) See {Hyacinth}, 1
(b) .
{Wild Irishman} (Bot.), 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}. (Bot.) See under {Licorice}.
{Wild mammee} (Bot.), the oblong, yellowish, acid fruit of a
tropical American tree ({Rheedia lateriflora}); -- so
called in the West Indies.
{Wild marjoram} (Bot.), a labiate plant ({Origanum vulgare})
much like the sweet marjoram, but less aromatic.
{Wild oat}. (Bot.)
(a) A tall, oatlike kind of soft grass ({Arrhenatherum
avenaceum}).
(b) See {Wild oats}, under {Oat}.
{Wild pieplant} (Bot.), 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}. (Zool.)
(a) The rock dove.
(b) The passenger pigeon.
{Wild pink} (Bot.), an American plant ({Silene
Pennsylvanica}) with pale, pinkish flowers; a kind of
catchfly.
{Wild plantain} (Bot.), 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}. (Bot.)
(a) Any kind of plum growing without cultivation.
(b) The South African prune. See under {Prune}.
{Wild rice}. (Bot.) See {Indian rice}, under {Rice}.
{Wild rosemary} (Bot.), the evergreen shrub {Andromeda
polifolia}. See {Marsh rosemary}, under {Rosemary}.
{Wild sage}. (Bot.) See {Sagebrush}.
{Wild sarsaparilla} (Bot.), a species of ginseng ({Aralia
nudicaulis}) bearing a single long-stalked leaf.
{Wild sensitive plant} (Bot.), either one of two annual
leguminous herbs ({Cassia Chamaecrista}, and {Cassia
nictitans}), in both of which the leaflets close quickly
when the plant is disturbed.
{Wild service}.(Bot.) See {Sorb}.
{Wild Spaniard} (Bot.), 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}. (Zool.) See 2d {Turkey}.
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