Wild cat

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.] [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster]

Winter's not gone yet, if the wild geese fly that way. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

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. [1913 Webster]

The woods and desert caves, With wild thyme and gadding vine o'ergrown. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

3. Desert; not inhabited or cultivated; as, wild land. ``To trace the forests wild.'' --Shak. [1913 Webster]

4. Savage; uncivilized; not refined by culture; ferocious; rude; as, wild natives of Africa or America. [1913 Webster]

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. [1913 Webster]

What are these So withered and so wild in their attire ? --Shak. [1913 Webster]

With mountains, as with weapons, armed; which makes Wild work in heaven. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

The wild winds howl. --Addison. [1913 Webster]

Search then the ruling passion, there, alone The wild are constant, and the cunning known. --Pope. [1913 Webster]

6. Exposed to the wind and sea; unsheltered; as, a wild roadstead. [1913 Webster]

7. Indicating strong emotion, intense excitement, or ?ewilderment; as, a wild look. [1913 Webster]

8. (Naut.) Hard to steer; -- said of a vessel. [1913 Webster]

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. [1913 Webster]

{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}. [1913 Webster]

{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} (Zo["o]l.), 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} (Zo["o]l.), 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}. (Zo["o]l.) (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} (Zo["o]l.) the mallard.

{Wild elder} (Bot.), an American plant ({Aralia hispida}) of the Ginseng family.

{Wild fowl} (Zo["o]l.) any wild bird, especially any of those considered as game birds.

{Wild goose} (Zo["o]l.), 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}. (Zo["o]l.) (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 Cham[ae]crista}, 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}. (Zo["o]l.) See 2d {Turkey}. [1913 Webster]