Wildest

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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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