wile away

[Bethany K. Dumas]

For some reason, it came to my attention only this day that writers use -
and have used - wile for while in the phrase "while away." I became aware
of the usage when I finally caught up on my newspaper reading and read my
Feb, 11 WSJ, seeing therein a sentence ending, " ... it is no more - or
less - impressive than the activities of Palm Beach 'society' matrons who
wile away their days planning charity balls and the like." Even after
checking the OED entry, I was surprised that I had encountered this in the
WSJ. Is it taking over?

Bethany