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.
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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.
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 (Zoöl.), 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 (Zoöl.), 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. (Zoöl.) (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 P.
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 (Lagœcia cuminoides) native
in the countries about the Mediterranean. — Wild drake (Zoöl.) the
mallard. — Wild elder (Bot.), an American plant (Aralia hispida) of the
Ginseng family. — Wild fowl (Zoöl.) any wild bird, especially any of
those considered as game birds. — Wild goose (Zoöl.), 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. (Zoöl.)
(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 Chamæcrista, and C. 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. (Zoöl.) See 2d Turkey.
Wild (?), n. An uninhabited and uncultivated tract or region; a forest
or desert; a wilderness; a waste; as, the wilds of America; the wilds
of Africa.
then Libya first, of all her moisture drained, Became a barren waste, a
wild of sand.
Addison.
Wild, adv. Wildly; as, to talk wild. Shak.
Wild"-cat` (?), a. 1. Unsound; worthless; irresponsible; unsafe; — said
to have been originally applied to the notes of an insolvent bank in
Michigan upon which there was the figure of a panther.
2. (Railroad) Running without control; running along the line without a
train; as, a wild-cat locomotive.
Wilde"beest` (?), n. [D. wild wild + beeste beast.] (Zoöl.) The gnu.