Wilby

W4I1L1B3Y4

proper noun

A village in Quidenham parish, Breckland district, Norfolk, England (OS grid ref TM0389).

OriginOld English welig ← Old Norse bý →
UncommonScrabble 13
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Meanings

proper nounWilby (countable and uncountable, plural Wilbys)

plural Wilbys

  1. A placename:
    1. countableuncountableA village in Quidenham parish, Breckland district, Norfolk, England (OS grid ref TM0389).
    2. countableuncountableA village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, Northamptonshire, England (OS grid ref SP8666).
    3. countableuncountableA village and civil parish in Mid Suffolk district, Suffolk, England (OS grid ref TM2472).
    4. countableuncountableA town in the Shire of Moira, Victoria, Australia.
    5. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Butler County, Missouri, United States.
  2. countableA habitational surname, from any of the three English villages.

Origin

  1. Old Englishwelig“willow”
  2. Old Norsebý“farmstead”
  3. Old Englishwelig“willow”
  4. EnglishWilby

Various origins: * The village in Norfolk is named with Old English welig (“willow”) + Old Norse bý (“farmstead”). * The village in Northamptonshire is named with the Old Norse personal name Villi + bý (“farmstead”). * The village in Suffolk is named with Old English welig (“willow”) + bēag (“ring, circle”).

More words from Old English, Old Norse

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Wilby. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wilby

MLA

“Wilby.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wilby. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Wilby,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wilby.

Source: Wilby on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.