Guile

//ɡaɪl// name, noun, verb

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname from French.
Noun
  1. 1
    Astuteness often marked by a certain sense of cunning or artful deception. uncountable

    "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."

  2. 2
    Obsolete form of gold. alt-of, obsolete
  3. 3
    the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them) wordnet
  4. 4
    Deceptiveness, deceit, fraud, duplicity, dishonesty. countable, uncountable

    "Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!"

  5. 5
    Alternative form of gyle. alt-of, alternative
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    the quality of being crafty wordnet
  2. 7
    shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To deceive, beguile, bewile.

    "Who means no guile, be guiled soonest shall"

Etymology

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.

Etymology 2

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.

Etymology 3

Variant forms.

Etymology 4

* 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.

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