"W" Word Origins

wild

Old English

From Old English wilde, an ancient Germanic word ultimately linked to words for "hair" and "wool," describing untamed, shaggy nature.

wildcat

Origin · 1830

From "wild" + "cat"; the business sense traces back to risky, unregulated "wildcat banks" in 1830s Michigan, named for operating recklessly like a wild animal.

wildebeest

Afrikaans

Borrowed from Afrikaans wildebeest, literally "wild ox" or "wild beast."

wilden

Origin

Formed from "wild" plus the verb-forming suffix "-en," the same pattern seen in "harden" and "soften."

wilder

Origin

From "wild," likely shaped by the word "wilderness" and influenced by "wander."

wilderness

Old English

From Old English roots meaning "place of wild animals," ultimately combining "wild" with an old word for "beast."

wildfire

Old English

From Old English wilde fȳr, literally "wild fire," originally also referring to a fierce ancient incendiary weapon.

wildfowl

Origin

From wild + fowl.

wildland

Origin

From wild + land.

wildlife

Origin

A compound of "wild" and "life," first used to describe animals living freely in nature.

wildly

Middle English

From Middle English wildely, formed by adding "-ly" to "wild."

wildness

Origin

From "wild" plus the noun-forming suffix "-ness."

wile

Old English

From Middle English wile, related to Old English wīl ("trick") — a doublet of the word "guile."

Wilfred

Old English

The name of two early Anglo-Saxon saints Wilfriþ, from Old English wil (“will”) + friþ (“peace”).

Wilfrid

Old English

Inherited from Old English Wilfriþ, from wil (“will”) + friþ (“peace”).

wilful

Middle English

From Middle English wilful, formed from "will" plus the "-ful" suffix, meaning "full of one's own will."

wilfully

Origin

From Old English wilfullīċe, corresponding to wilful + -ly.

Wilhelm

German

Borrowed from German Wilhelm. Doublet of William.

Wilhelmina

German

Borrowed from German Wilhelmina, equivalent to Wilhelm + -ina.

wilhelmstrasse

Origin

Borrowed from German Wilhelmstraße, from the name of Prussian King Frederick William I (Friedrich Wilhelm I.) + Straße (“street”).

Wilk

Origin

* (Polish surname): From Polish Wilk, from Polish wilk (“wolf”), * (English surname): A back-formation from Wilkin, from a medieval diminutive of the given name Will.

wilke

Origin

Variant of Wilk, a back-formation from Wilkin.

Wilkerson

Origin

From Wilkin + -son.

Wilkes

Origin

From Wilk, a back-formation from Wilkin + the patronymic suffix -s.

Wilkie

Origin

From a Scottish diminutive of Wilk, a back-formation from Wilkin.

wilkin

Origin

* As an English surname, from the Middle English personal name Wilkin, a pet form of William. * As a north/Low German surname, variant of Wilken.

Wilkins

Middle English

In most cases, the surname derives from the Middle English Wilkin, from Will, diminutive of William, + -kin (“small”). However, in the case of a formidable number of those that bear the surname 'Wilkins', the name derives from an earlier form Welsh Wilkyn, itself from Middle English Wylcolyna or Witcoline, from Latin Wintona, compare Winton.

wilks

Origin

From Wilk, a back-formation from Wilkin + the patronymic suffix -s.

will

Old English

From Old English willan ("to want, wish"), a very old Germanic word related to German wollen and Dutch willen.

Willa

Origin

Derived from Wilhelmina and recoined in the 19th century in America based on the male given names Will and William.

Willard

Old English

From Old English wil (“will”) + heard (“brave, strong”).

willed

Origin

From will + the ending -ed, used to form an adjective.

Willi

German

Borrowed from German Willi.

William

Middle English

From Middle English William, from Anglo-Norman Willame, from Old High German Willahelm, from Proto-Germanic *Wiljahelmaz (> Latin Gulielmus), from Proto-Germanic *wiljô (“will”) + *helmaz (“helmet”), ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European roots *welh₁- (“to choose, wish, want”) and *ḱel- (“to cover, conceal, save”) respectively. Cognate with Dutch Willem, German Wilhelm, etc.; cognate borrowings outside of Germanic include Guillaume and Guillermo.

Williams

Origin

Variant of William with genitival or post-medieval excrescent -s.

Williamsburg

Origin

* From Williams + -burg. ** (Brooklyn): Named after Jonathan Williams. * From William + -s- + -burg. ** (Indiana): Named after its founder William Johnson.

willies

Origin · 1890

First recorded in the 1890s; possibly linked to "the woollies" (an old dialect term for the itchy, uneasy feeling of wearing wool), though some trace it to the Wilis — ghostly spirits in the ballet Giselle.

willing

Old English

From Old English willende, the present participle of willan ("to want").

Willingham

Origin

From the Old English personal name *Wifel + -ing (“belonging to”) + hām (“homestead”).

willingly

Middle English

From Middle English willyngly, built from willing + the adverb ending -ly.

willingness

Origin

From willing + the noun-forming ending -ness.

Willoughby

Old English

From Old English weliġ (“willow”) and Old Norse byr (“settlement”).

willow

Old English

From Old English welig, an ancient Germanic word for the tree, related to a root meaning "to twist or bend" — fitting, given how flexible willow branches are.

willowy

Origin

From willow + -y.

willpower

Origin

A straightforward combination of will and power, coined to describe the strength of one's will.

Wills

Origin

From the clipping of William + -s (hypocoristic suffix).

willson

Origin

From Will (short form of the given name William) + -son. A less common variant of Wilson.

willy

Middle English

From Middle English willy, willi, equivalent to will + -y. Cognate with Dutch willig (“obedient, hearsome”), German willig (“willing”), Swedish villig (“willing, agreeable”).