What is the meaning of wilderness?
1a(1) : a tract or region uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings. (2) : an area essentially undisturbed by human activity together with its naturally developed life community.
How do you pronounce wilderness in America?
Why is wild and wilderness pronounced differently?
In the case of child, wild or mild, the words originally had the short vowel sound as in pill. They vowel lengthened, so the sound today is that of the ‘long <i>’. Different forms of a word can sometimes switch from long to short and vice versa: your example wild and wilderness is a case in point.
Is Wild short for wilderness?
Yes, it’s strange. YES, the “wild” part of “wilderness” means the same thing as the word “wild,” but “wilderness” has a short “i” like “will” and “wild” has a long “i” like “why.” And here’s another puzzle: there is a perfectly good word, “wildness,” that uses the long “i” like “why.” “-derness” doesn’t have a meaning.