guile

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See also: Guile

English[edit]

This entry needs quotations to illustrate usage. If you come across any interesting, durably archived quotes then please add them!

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English gile, from Anglo-Norman gile, from Old French guile (deception),[1] from Frankish *wigila (ruse), from Proto-Germanic *wīlą, from Proto-Indo-European *wey- (to turn, bend). Cognate via Proto-Germanic with wile.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ɡaɪl/
    • (file)
  • Rhymes: -aɪl
  • Hyphenation: guile

Noun[edit]

guile (countable and uncountable, plural guiles)

  1. (uncountable) Astuteness often marked by a certain sense of cunning or artful deception.
    • 2012 April 24, Phil Dawkes, “Barcelona 2-2 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport[1]:
      It was a result that owed a lot to a moment of guile from Ramires but more to a display of guts from the Brazilian and his team-mates after Terry's needless dismissal eight minutes before half-time for driving a knee into the back of Alexis Sanchez off the ball.
    • 2011 November 11, Rory Houston, “Estonia 0-4 Republic of Ireland”, in RTE Sport[2]:
      Estonia were struggling to get to grips with the game while Ireland were showing a composure and guile that demonstrated their experience in play-off ties.
  2. Deceptiveness, deceit, fraud, duplicity, dishonesty.
Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

guile (third-person singular simple present guiles, present participle guiling, simple past and past participle guiled)

  1. To deceive, beguile, bewile.
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Variant forms.

Noun[edit]

guile

  1. Obsolete form of gold.
  2. Alternative form of gyle

References[edit]

  1. ^ T.F. Hoad, Concise Dictionary of English Etymology, →ISBN; headword guile

Old French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Frankish *wigila, from Proto-Germanic *wīlą, from Proto-Indo-European *wey- (to turn, bend).

Noun[edit]

guile oblique singularf (oblique plural guiles, nominative singular guile, nominative plural guiles)

  1. trickery; deception

Descendants[edit]

  • English: guile

References[edit]

  • Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (guile)