William
name, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter W.
- 1 A male given name from the Germanic languages popular since the Norman Conquest.
"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."
- 2 A surname.
Example
More examples"William Tell shot an arrow at the apple on his son's head."
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.
Related phrases
More for "william"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.