wilde, adjective

/ˈvəldə/
Origin:
Dutch, AfrikaansShow more Dutch and Afrikaans, attributive form of wild wild; cf. wild.
Special collocations.
a. In the names of plants:
wilde als /- ˈals/, formerly also wilde alsem, wilde alsies [Afrikaans, earlier South African Dutch wilde alsem, from Dutch alsem wormwood], the aromatic bushy shrub Artemisia afra of the Asteraceae, similar to the European wormwood, used medicinally and as a base for perfume;
wild wormwood, see wild sense a; also attributive;
wilde dagga, see dagga noun2 sense 2;
wilde knoflok /-ˌknɔflɔk/, also wilde knofflock, wilde knofflook, wilde knoflook [Afrikaans, from Dutch wilde knoflook (knoflook garlic)], the plant Tulbaghia alliacea of the Liliaceae, the bulb of which smells strongly of garlic; wild garlic, see wild sense a.
1786 G. Forster tr. of A. Sparrman’s Voy. to Cape of G.H. II. 143Having..during the oppression on the chest, the swoonings, or the difficulty of respiration with which they were seized, been persuaded by me to take a cup or two of it (sc. brandy), especially when the virtues of it were heightened by wilde alsies (a kind of wormwood) being infused in it,..their joy can hardly be conceived.
1822 W.J. Burchell Trav. I. 480As soon as it began to heal, I employed a wash made of a strong decoction of the leaves of Wilde-alsem (Wild Wormwood.)
1910 E. London Dispatch 29 July 3 (Pettman)The Wildeals bush is..well known to the Boers as a restorative.
1947 L.G. Green Tavern of Seas 199Wilde als is a wormwood bush with a great reputation for restoring lost appetites.
1973 Y. Burgess Life to Live 113I asked Rensie what you can do about your tubes.., and she says you can try some wildeals or renoster-bos in a little brandy to make you strong.
1978 Daily Dispatch 11 Nov. 2Farmers know it as ‘wildeals’ (wormwood) and the Amatola Mountains are its natural habitat.
1987 T.F.J. Van Rensburg Intro. to Fynbos 31Wild wormwood (wilde als)..is one of the traditional frontier medicines.
1795 C.R. Hopson tr. of C.P. Thunberg’s Trav. I. 156The tulbaghia alliacea (wilde knofflook, or wild garlic) the root of which smells very strong of garlic, was reported to be a charm for serpents.
1809 J. Mackrill Diary. 62Tulbaghia Alliacea, (wilde Knofflock — or wild Garlic, a charm for Serpents).
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 557Wilde knoflook, This bulb, which smells like garlic, is boiled in milk and used as a vermifuge.
1947 L.G. Green Tavern of Seas 199The wilde knoflook, which smells like garlic, saved many lives during the 1918 influenza epidemic.
1973 Y. Burgess Life to Live 29When the supply of domestic garlic was exhausted, they gathered the wild variety — the ‘wilde knoflok’.
b. In the names of animals:
wildemakou /-məˌkəu/, /-maˌkəʊ/ (formerly also vildemaakeou, vilge maccow) [South African Dutch, makou perhaps adaptation of English muscovy duck; or from Macao the name of a (former) Portuguese territory in south China], the spurwinged goose Plectropterus gambensis of the Anatidae;
wildepaard obsolete, also wilde-paerd (plural wilde-paerden) [Dutch, paard horse], (a) usually hyphenated, or as two words: any of several species of zebra, especially the mountain zebra (sense (a), see mountain), Equus zebra zebra; (b) usually as one word: an earlier form of wildeperd [Afrikaans, perd horse], the zebra fish, Diplodus cervinus hottentotus.
1856 F.P. Fleming Sn Afr. 396The most remarkable [wild duck] of which, is the ‘Vildemaakeou,’ [printed Vildemaakeon] or spurwinged goose.
1886 P. Gillmore Hunter’s Arcadia 59‘See bass, vilge maccow;’ but it took a great deal of patient staring before we could detect what our man evidently saw.
[1923 Haagner & Ivy Sketches of S. Afr. Bird-Life 245The Spur-winged Goose (Plactropterus gambensis), known to the Boers as the Wilde Makaauw (wild Muscovy) is glossy black with metallic reflections.]
1977 S. Afr. Panorama Oct. 27The spur-winged goose whose common name is ‘wildemakou’.
[wilde paard: sense (a)]
1786 G. Forster tr. of A. Sparrman’s Voy. to Cape of G.H. I. 130I..saw..whole troops of wild zebras, called by the colonists wilde paarden, or wild horses.
1796 E. Helme tr. of F. Le Vaillant’s Trav. into Int. III. 34At the Cape..the quagga [is known] under that [name] of wilde-paerd (the wild horse).
1824 W.J. Burchell Trav. II. 272A large mixed herd of wilde-paards (Wild Horses)..appeared...A wilde-paard (Equus montanus), or quakka, as it was oftener called, was shot.
1852 C. Barter Dorp & Veld 112 (Pettman)There are in South Africa three varieties of the genus Equus, the true Zebra or Wilde paard; Burchell’s zebra or the bonte quagga; and the quagga properly so called.
1873 W.G. Atherstone in A.M.L. Robinson Sel. Articles from Cape Monthly Mag. (1978) 100Here the wilde paard still roams at large.
1947 E.E. Mossop tr. of Jrnls of Brink & Rhenius 49We saw on the plains great herds of divers species of game such as rhinosceri, giraffes, buffaloes, witte wilde paarden, ezels, quaggas, kudus, Gemsboks, hartebeestes.
[wilde paard: sense (b)].
1913 W.W. Thompson Sea Fisheries of Cape Col. 60A well-shaped fish with zebra-like cross bars of blackish-brown is the wildepaard (zebra).
1930 C.L. Biden Sea-Angling Fishes 237Zebra fish, The Wildeperd...Port Elizabeth — Striped dassie, Five-finger, Zebra...In addition to the sharp contrast of black and white bars, a dull golden colour often appears over the whole body.
1945 H. Gerber Fish Fare 62Zebrafish or Wildeperd..looks something like a white stompneus, but has very distinctive stripes.
1971 Argus 14 May 14Dassie, wildeperd and galjoen were..taken..with 5.4kg breaking strain line and light sinkers.
1979 Snyman & Klarie Free from Sea 57It is a rare and exciting fish to catch...Anglers often speak of ‘their’ wildeperd as having been something special!
1993 Bennett & Attwood in Earthyear Winter 35The populations of..wildeperd..have recovered.
usually hyphenated, or as two words:any of several species of zebra, especially the mountain zebra (sense (a), see mountain), Equus zebra zebra;
usually as one word:an earlier form of wildeperd [Afrikaans, perd horse], the zebra fish, Diplodus cervinus hottentotus.
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wild, adjectiveadj.wildebeast, nounn.
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