guile

See also: Guile

English

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡaɪl/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪl
• Hyphenation: guile

Noun

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.
   • 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

astuteness, cunning

• Bulgarian: хитрост (bg) f (hitrost)
• Catalan: astúcia (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 詭計 / 诡计 (zh) (guǐjì)

• Dutch: slinksheid (nl), valsheid (nl), bedrog (nl)
• Finnish: juonikkuus (fi), kavaluus (fi), oveluus (fi)
• French: ruse (fr) f, fourberie (fr) f
• German: Gerissenheit f, Hinterhältigkeit (de) f
• Hungarian: ármány (hu), álnokság (hu), csalárdság (hu)
• Icelandic: vélabrögð n pl, kænska (is) f, slægð f
• Interlingua: astutia
• Irish: meang f
• Italian: astuzia (it), inganno (it) m, frode (it) f
• Maori: rauhanga
• Polish: przebiegłość (pl) f
• Portuguese: astúcia (pt) f
• Russian: хи́трость (ru) f (xítrostʹ), кова́рство (ru) n (kovárstvo)
• Spanish: astucia (es) f
• Swedish: list (sv) c

deceptiveness, deceit, fraud, duplicity, dishonesty

• Bulgarian: измама (bg) f (izmama), коварство (bg) n (kovarstvo)
• Catalan: engany (ca) m
• Czech: záludnost f, lstivost (cs) f, úskočnost f, podvod (cs) m
• Dutch: misleiding (nl)
• Finnish: vilppi (fi), huijaus (fi), petkutus (fi), harhautus (fi)
• German: Hinterlist (de) f, Täuschung (de) f, Betrug (de) m
• Latin: dolus m
• Maori: māminga, whakaware, hīanga
• Middle English: compassement, compassyng
• Russian: обман (ru) (obman), вероломство (ru) (verolomstvo)
• Spanish: trampa (es) f, engaño (es) m

Verb

guile (third-person singular simple present 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

Derived terms

• beguile
• guileful
• guileless

Related terms

• wile

Translations

to deceive, to beguile

• Bulgarian: мамя (bg) (mamja), хитрувам (bg) (hitruvam)
• Catalan: enganyar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 欺騙 / 欺骗 (zh) (qīpiàn), 欺瞞 / 欺瞒 (zh) (qīmán)

• Czech: podvést (cs) pf
• Finnish: juonia (fi), juonitella (fi), viekastella
• French: tromper (fr), entourlouper (fr)
• German: irreleiten, irreführen (de)
• Icelandic: véla, tæla (is)
• Italian: ingannare (it), turlupinare (it)
• Maori: whakaware, hīanga
• Russian: обма́нывать (ru) impf (obmányvatʹ), обману́ть (ru) pf (obmanútʹ)

Etymology 2

Variant forms.

Noun

guile

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

Old French

Etymology

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

Noun

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

1. trickery; deception
   • c. 1176, Chrétien de Troyes, Cligès:

     si se çoile par itel guile

     he hid himself using this deception

   • c. 1250, Rutebeuf, Ci encoumence li miracles que nostre Dame fist dou soucretain et d'une dame:

     Moult saveiz bien servir de guile.

     You know very well how to use trickery

Descendants

• Middle French: guile, guille
• → English: guile

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (guile)