adv.
WA willyly
'with guile' (Modern English wilily)
PGmc Ancestor
(1) *wīl-; (2) wīgel-; (4) ?*wihl
Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)
(4) vél (n.) ‘wile, device, trick’
(ONP (4) vél (1) (sb.))
Other Scandinavian Reflexes
OE Cognate
Phonological and morphological markers
Summary category
DD1
This relatively uncommon adv. is cited from scattered sources, though the first attestations in OED and MED are notably from alliterative poetry dating from the late 14c. The n. is attested much earlier, and both the n. and adj. are widespread by the 14c: see wyles (n.) and wyly (adj.).
Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus
WA 1764