Etymology

Perhaps directly from the ON v., cp. OIcel villa ‘to bewilder, falsify’, villa-sk ‘to go astray’ (Magoun 1937: 135), formed on the adj. villr (see wylle); cp. OE āwildian ‘to become wild’, MLG, MHG wilden.

PGmc Ancestor

*welþja-

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

villa ‘to bewilder, falsify’
(ONP villa (2) (vb.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

runic Norw wiltiʀ, Far villa, Icel villa, Norw villa, Dan vilde, Sw villa

OE Cognate

āwildian ‘to become wild’

Phonological and morphological markers

ON consonant cluster assimilation

Summary category

A1*c

Attestation

Mainly N and E in ME; MnE Sc. dial.

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

Gaw 1711; WA 2984, 4132

Bibliography

MED willen (v.2) , OED will (v.3) , HTOED , EDD (adj., adv., v.1 and sb.2), Dance wylt, de Vries villa (2), Mag. villa (3)