An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/wild

by Friedrich Kluge

wild, adjective, ‘wild, savage, fierce,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wilde, Old High German wildi, adjective, corresponding to Gothic wilþeis, Anglo-Saxon wilde, English wild, Dutch wild, Old Saxon wildi; the corresponding Old Icelandic villr usually signifies ‘going astray, confused.’ French sauvage (from Latin silvaticus), as a derivative of Latin silva, has led to the assumption that the Teutonic cognates are derived from Wald. This view is not probable, since wild seems to be used only of living beings (literally ‘senseless, irrational’?); compare the Scandinavian signification. Moreover, the substantive Wild, neuter (‘wild animals, game, deer’), which cannot be derived from the adjective, has a more original form; compare Middle High German wilt (d), Old High German and Anglo-Saxon wild, neuter (Anglo-Saxon also wildor, and later wildeór), ‘wild animals,’ from Teutonic wilþiz, neuter (hence pre-Teutonic weltos-, neuter, ‘wild animals,’ but wéltjo-, ‘wild, savage’). Hence the connection with Wald is improbable, though a more certain origin has not yet been found.