wilddeor

Old English

Alternative forms

• wildēor, wildedēor

Etymology

Equivalent to wilde (“wild”) +‎ dēor (“animal”). Cognate with German Wildtier, Icelandic villidýr.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwildˌde͜oːr/, [ˈwiɫdˌde͜oːr]

Noun

wilddēor n

1. wild animal
   • late 10th century, Ælfric's Lives of Saints

     Þā hēo þis ġehīerde, þā smearcode hēo wiþ his weardes, þus cweðende, "Ġelīef mē, ne ġeseah iċ nǣnne mann būtan þē, oþþe wilddēor, oþþe ǣniġes cynnes nīeten, siþþan iċ Iordanēn oferfērde and iċ hider on þās wēstenne becōm."

     When she heard this, she smiled in his direction and said, "Believe me, I haven’t seen anyone besides you, or wild animals, or any kind of animal, since I crossed the Jordan and came here to this wasteland."

Declension

Strong a-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	wilddēor	wilddēor
accusative	wilddēor	wilddēor
genitive	wilddēores	wilddēora
dative	wilddēore	wilddēorum

Derived terms

• wilddēoren
• wilddēorlīċ
• wilddēorlīċe

Descendants

• Middle English: wilde der