guile
see also: Guile
Etymology 1

From Middle English gile, from Anglo-Norman gile, from Old French guile, from Frankish *wigila, from Proto-Germanic *wīlą, from Proto-Indo-European *wey-.

Pronunciation Noun

guile

  1. (uncountable) Astuteness often marked by a certain sense of cunning or artful deception.
  2. Deceptiveness, deceit, fraud, duplicity, dishonesty.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, John 1:47 ↗:
      Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
Translations Translations Verb

guile (guiles, present participle guiling; simple past and past participle guiled)

  1. To deceive, beguile, bewile.
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC ↗:
      Who means no guile, be guiled soonest shall
Related terms Translations Etymology 2

Variant forms.

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

Guile
Etymology
  • As an English, Scottish, and French - surname, borrowed from French guile.
  • Also as an English surname, variant of Gill.
  • Possibly also Americanized from the German - surname Geil.
Proper noun
  1. Surname.



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