wazzock
Origin
Possibly from wiseacre, influenced by pillock, or possibly wazz + -ock. First attested in the 1984 novel When the Martians Land in Huddersfield by Mike Harding. Harding (born 1944) later claimed that he "used it when I was a kid,” it being “fairly common in the north, in Lancashire and Yorkshire”, and suggested that the term came from the instrument used to fling a monarch's excrement out the window.
weal
Origin
From Middle English wele, from Old English wela (“wellness, welfare, prosperity, riches, well-being, wealth”), from Proto-West Germanic *welō, from Proto-Germanic *walô (“well-being, wellness, weal”). Cognate with German Wohl, Danish vel, Swedish väl.
weald
Origin
From Middle English wald, walde, weld, welde, wold, wolde, woolde, wæld, from Old English wald, weald, from Proto-West Germanic *walþu, from Proto-Germanic *walþuz (“forest”), possibly from a Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“to perceive, see”) or *welH- (“to roll, undulate”). Largely displaced by forest. Cognates Compare North Frisian wald, walt (“forest”), Saterland Frisian Woold (“forest”), West Frisian wâld (“forest”), Alemannic German and German Wald (“forest, woods”), Bavarian Woid (“forest, woods”), Cimbrian balt (“forest, woods”), Dutch woud (“forest, woods”), Low German Woold, Woolt (“forest”), Luxembourgish Wal (“forest”), Mòcheno bòlt (“wood, woodland”), Yiddish וואַלד (vald, “forest”), Danish val (“plain”), vold (“field, meadow”), Faroese vøllur (“lawn; field”), Icelandic völlur (“lawn; field”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk voll (“meadow”), Swedish vall (“field, pasture”); also Hittite 𒌑𒂊𒂖𒇻𒍑 (ú-e-el-lu-uš, “meadow, pasture”). See also wald, wold, ultimately of the same origin.
wearish
Origin
From Middle English warssh, werisch, werische, werish, werissh, werssh, werysshe, of unknown origin; compare Modern English dialectal wairsh and Early Modern English wersh; perhaps related to Middle English wery (modern weary).
weasand
Origin
Inherited from Middle English wesand, wesande, wesaunt, from Old English *wǣsend, wāsend (“weasand, windpipe, gullet”), from Proto-West Germanic *waisund, *waisundu (“windpipe, gullet”), from Proto-Indo-European *weys- (“to flow, run”). Cognate with Old Frisian wāsande (“weasand”), Old Saxon wāsendi, Old High German weisant (“windpipe”), Middle High German weisant (“windpipe”), Bavarian Waisel, Wasel, Wasling (“the gullet of ruminating animals”), Alemannic German Weisel (“esophagus (of an animal)”).
weaver
Middle English
From Middle English wevere, wever, from Old English *wefere, *wifre, *wæfre (“weaver”, in compounds), from Proto-West Germanic *webārī. By surface analysis, weave + -er. Compare Saterland Frisian Weeuwer (“weaver”), Dutch wever (“weaver”), German Low German Wever (“weaver”), German Weber (“weaver”), Swedish vävare (“weaver”), Icelandic vefari (“weaver”).
