Dictionary

bewile en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /bɪˈwaɪl/

Etymology

From Middle English biwilen, biwiȝelien (“to delude, deceive”), from Old English *bewīlian, *bewiġlian. Equivalent to be- + wile. Doublet of beguile.

Meanings

1. (archaic, rare, transitive) To delude; deceive; beguile.
   • He was utterly bewitched and bewiled by her beauty, and upon the following day an opportunity to prove his devotion occurred. 1865, Ballou's monthly magazine:
   • To that sweet thief which sourly robs from me, which though it alter not love's sole effect, yet doth it steal sweet hours from love's delight. I may not evermore acknowledge thee, lest my bewiled guilt should do thee shame. 1995, Constance O'Banyon, La Flamme:
   • Whomever else I might bewile, I loved him well, sorry. 1895, Thomas Bird Mosher, The Bibelot:

Forms