Definition of "wile"

wile¹

/waɪl/

noun
plural wiles
1. (usually in the plural) A trick or stratagem practiced for ensnaring or deception; a sly, insidious artifice
  Quotations
  to frustrate all our plots and wiles
  1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […]; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873,
  Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens,) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake; since history and experience prove, that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of Republican Government.
  1796, George Washington, "Farewell Address", American Daily Advertiser
verb
third-person singular simple present wiles, present participle wiling, simple past and past participle wiled
1. (transitive) To entice or lure.
  Quotations
  He was good to look on, brawly dressed, and with a tongue in his head that would have wiled the bird from the tree.
  1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide

wile²

/waɪl/

verb
1. Misspelling of while (“to pass the time”).
  Quotations
  “A fear of what?” asked the gentleman, who seemed to pity her.“I scarcely know of what,” replied the girl. “I wish I did. Horrible thoughts of death, and shrouds with blood upon them, and a fear that has made me burn as if I was on fire, have been upon me all day. I was reading a book to-night, to wile the time away, and the same things came into the print.”
  1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Richard Bentley, […]