willy

willy · adjective¹

1. Middle English · inherited fromwilly
2. English todaywilly

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

willy · noun, verb²

1. Old English · inherited fromwiliġ“willow”
2. Middle English · inherited fromwilȝe
3. English todaywilly

From Middle English wilȝe, from Old English wiliġ (“willow”). More at willow.

willy · noun³

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*weliko-“willow-tree”
2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*wiligijā
3. Old English · inherited fromwiliġe“wicker basket”
4. Middle English · inherited fromwilie
5. English todaywilly

From Middle English wilie, from Old English wiliġe (“wicker basket”), from Proto-West Germanic *wiligijā, from Proto-Indo-European *weliko- (“willow-tree”). More at weel, willow.

willy · noun⁴

Originally northern British usage, from the 1960s. Probably the simple use of a proper name as a pet name; compare dick, fanny and peter. Unlikely to be a contraction of Latin membrum virile, male member (that is, the penis), a Latin term used in English in the 19th century.

willy · noun⁵

Perhaps a shortening of willy-nilly, an old way of saying “whether one wants to or not”, here referring to the person being used as an agent without their knowledge, i.e. regardless of their will.

Willy · proper noun⁶

From Will + -y.

Words from the same roots