Wildered

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Archaic past form of wilder, describing someone who has lost their way or become confused and disoriented
2. Having been led astray or left wandering and bewildered, as an old form of the verb meaning to lose one's bearings
3. Describing a person who was once lost or perplexed, a past tense of an older verb meaning to wander off course

Etymology: "Wildered" is the past tense and past participle of "wilder," a verb meaning to lead someone astray or to bewilder them. The verb grew out of the adjective "wild," and its origin is usually tied to "wilderness." The idea was that a person lost in a wilderness wanders aimlessly, and that picture seems to have suggested the verb, which then took its shape from "wander." So "wilder" is a verb built on an older idea of being lost in wild, untamed country, and its form was shaped by the familiar verb "wander." The past forms "wildered" are simply the regular endings added to that base.