"W" Word Origins

waiting

Middle English

From Middle English "waitynge", formed from "wait" plus the "-ing" ending.

waitress

Origin · 1830

Formed from "waiter" plus the feminine suffix "-ess", first recorded in the 1830s.

waive

Anglo-Norman

From Anglo-Norman weyver, related to the idea of abandoning a claim — ultimately from the same root as "waif."

waiver

Origin · 1600

Formed from the verb waive plus the suffix -er, first recorded in the 1600s.

wake

Old English

From two closely related Old English verbs, wacan and wacian, both meaning "to be or become awake" — they merged over time into one word.

wakefield

Origin

From wake + field.

wakeful

Origin

From wake + -ful.

wakeless

Origin

From wake + -less.

waken

Middle English

From Middle English waknen, from Old English wæcnan, from Proto-Germanic *waknaną.

wakesome

Origin

From wake + -some. Compare West Frisian waaks (“watchful”), Dutch waaks, waakzaam (“watchful”), German wachsam (“watchful”), Swedish vaksam (“watchful”).

wakey

Origin

Clipping of Wakefield + -y

Walcott

Old English

From Old English wealh (“foreigner, Briton, Welshman”) + cot (“cottage”); compare the doublet Walcot.

wald

Origin

From Northern Middle English wald, from Old English weald (“power, authority”), from Proto-Germanic *waldą (“power”), from Proto-Indo-European *waldʰ- (“to be strong, be powerful, prevail, possess”). Cognate with German Gewalt (“force, power, control, violence”), Swedish våld (“force, violence”).

Waldemar

German

Borrowed from German Waldemar in the 19th century. Compare Vladimir, from Slavic, and the Scandinavian name Valdemar.

Walden

Old English

From Old English walh (“Welshman”), genitive plural wala + denu (“valley”).

waldmeister

Origin

From German Waldmeister.

waldo

Origin · 1942

Coined after Waldo F. Jones, the inventor character in Robert A. Heinlein's 1942 science-fiction story "Waldo," who built remote manipulator arms.

Waldorf

Origin

Ultimately from the German town name, Walldorf.

wale

Origin

The noun is from Middle English wāle (“planking, welt”), from Old English walu (“ridge, bank; rib, comb (of helmet); metal ridge on top of helmet; weal, mark of a blow”), from Proto-Germanic *waluz (“stick, root”), from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“to turn, wind, roll”). Akin to Low German wāle; Old Norse vala (“knuckle”). The verb is from late Middle English wālen, from the noun.

waled

Origin

From Arabic وَلِيد (walīd).

waleed

Origin

From Arabic وَلِيد (walīd).

Wales

Middle English

From Middle English Wales, from Old English Wēalas, plural of wealh (“Celt, Welsh person”), from Proto-West Germanic *walh, from Proto-Germanic *walhaz (“Celt, Roman”). Compare the second element in Cornwall, and also Gaul.

walhalla

Origin

The city in South Carolina was founded by German settlers, so the name in this case is probably of German origin. Compare with Valhalla.

Walid

Arabic

From Arabic وَلِيد (walīd).

walk

Old English

From Old English wealcan, originally meaning "to roll" or "to toss about," which gradually narrowed to mean moving on foot.

walkabout

Origin

Coined in Australian English, based on the phrase "walk about," describing a journey taken on foot.

walkaway

Origin

Deverbal from walk away.

walker

Middle English

From Middle English walkere (“one who walks, traveller”), equivalent to walk + -er.

walkie

Origin

From walk + -ie.

walking

Old English

From Middle English walkynge, the -ing form of walk, which goes back to an Old English verb meaning "to roll" or "to travel about".

walkman

Origin · 1979

Originally a trademark of Sony, launched in 1979, that became so popular the name was used generically for any portable cassette player.

walkout

Origin

A deverbal from walk out.

walkover

Origin

Deverbal from walk over.

walkthrough

Origin

Deverbal from walk through.

walkway

Origin

A straightforward compound of walk and way.

wall

Latin

From Old English weall, borrowed from Latin vallum, meaning a rampart or fortification.

wallaby

Origin

Borrowed from Dharug wollabi (“swamp wallaby”).

Wallace

Origin

An Old English byname for a Welshman or Breton, from Anglo-Norman waleis (“foreign”); see wǣlisċ.

wallah

Origin

Either from Hindi -वाला (-vālā, “pertaining to”) or from Hindi वाला (vālā, “person in charge”).

Wallander

Origin

Borrowed from Swedish Wallander.

wallaroo

Origin

Borrowed from Dharug walaru.

wallboard

Origin

From wall + board.

waller

Origin

Formed from wall plus the agent suffix -er, meaning "one who builds walls."

wallet

Middle English

From Middle English walet, originally meaning a bag or knapsack, of uncertain deeper origin.

walleye

Origin

Back-formation from walleyed.

wallflower

Origin

Named for the plant's habit of growing on or near old walls; the "shy person" sense developed by comparing someone standing quietly against a wall to the plant.

Wallis

Old French

* (surname): The surname is an Old English byname for a Welshman or Breton, from Old French waleis (“foreign”). The Welsh hamlet may be derived from this.

walloon

Origin

Borrowed from Middle French Wallon / wallon, from Frankish *walh, from Proto-Germanic *walhaz (“foreigner”). Cognate to English Welsh/Wales, the second part of Cornwall, and first part of walnut, as well as Gaul and Wallachia.