William
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈwɪl.i.əm/
ipa: /ˈwɪl.jəm/
rhymes: -ɪliəm
Forms: form: Williams
form: Wm.
Etymology: 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.
Senses: examples: text: This name hath been most common in England since King William the Conquerour, insomuch that upon a festival day in the Court of King Henry the Second, when Sir William Saint-John, and Sir William Fitz-Hamon, especial Officers, had commanded that none but of the name of William should dine in the great Chamber with them, they were accompanied with a hundred and twenty Williams.
ref: 1605, William Camden, Remains Concerning Britain, John Russell Smith, published 1870, page 98:
text: But we have known Williams and Richards, names not found in sacred story, but familiar to our country, prove as gracious saints as any Safe deliverance, Fight the good fight of faith, or such like,
ref: 1629, Thomas Adams, Meditations upon Creed: The Works of Thomas Adams, James Nichol (1862), volume 3, page 212:
text: By the same token I should probably have called myself 'Bill'. With a name like William you have choices. Very handy for us chameleons. 'William' is stern and dignified. A little austere and unapproachable. He conquers things. It is what my mother calls me when she is angry with me.
ref: 2004, Christopher Wood, California, Here I Am, TwentyFirst Century Publishers Ltd, →ISBN, pages 29–30:
text: One was a piece, Two Cheers for the Whig Interpretation of History, by William Cronon, president of the American Historical Association.
ref: 2012 October 3, Rebekah Higgitt, “Why whiggish won't do”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
glosses: A male given name from the Germanic languages popular since the Norman Conquest.
glosses: A surname.
Derived terms: Fort William
guillemot
King William
King William County
Prince William County
Prince William Sound
William and Mary
Williamite
William McKinley
Williams
Williamson
Related terms: sense: variants and pet forms
word: Bill
sense: variants and pet forms
word: Billie
sense: variants and pet forms
word: Billy
sense: variants and pet forms
word: Liam
sense: variants and pet forms
word: Will
sense: variants and pet forms
word: Willie
sense: variants and pet forms
word: Wills
sense: variants and pet forms
word: Willy
sense: feminine forms
word: Billie
sense: feminine forms
word: Minnie
sense: feminine forms
word: Wilhelmina
sense: feminine forms
word: Williamina
sense: feminine forms
word: Willie Mae
sense: feminine forms
word: Wilma
word: Fitzwilliam
word: Gilham
word: Gill
word: Gillam
word: Gillatt
word: Gillet
word: Gillett
word: Gillham
word: Gilliam
word: Gilliatt
word: Gillott
word: Gillum
word: Wilcock
word: Wilcox
word: Wilk
word: Wilke
word: Wilken
word: Wilkens
word: Wilkerson
word: Wilkes
word: Wilkie
word: Wilkin
word: Wilkins
word: Wilkinson
word: Wilks
word: Will
word: Willems
word: Willes
word: Willet
word: Willets
word: Willett
word: Willetts
word: Williams
word: Williamson
word: Williment
word: Willimott
word: Willis
word: Willison
word: Willment
word: Willmett
word: Willmot
word: Willmott
word: Willott
word: Wills
word: Willson
word: Wilmot
word: Wilmott
word: Wilson
word: Wyatt