WILDERNESS, noun [from wild.] 1. A desert; a tract of land or region uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings, whether a forest or a wide barren plain. In the United States, it is applied only to a forest. In Scripture, it is applied frequently to the deserts of Arabia. The Israelites wandered int he wilderness forty years. 2. The ocean. The watry wilderness yields no supply. 3. A state of disorder. [Not in use.] 4. A wood in a garden, resembling a forest.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI