Meanings
alternative abbreviation historical Wm.
- World War II era; joint US/RAF; World War II era; joint US/RAFradiotelephony clear-code word for the letter W.
Synonyms: Whiskey
plural Williams · alternative abbreviation historical Wm.
- A male given name from the Germanic languages popular since the Norman Conquest.
The settlement came after a ruling in June by Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
2025 September 5, Cade Metz, “Anthropic Agrees to Pay $1.5 Billion to Settle Lawsuit With Book Authors”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 05 Sep 20254 more examples
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.
1605, William Camden, Remains Concerning Britain, John Russell Smith, published 1870, page 98But 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,
1629, Thomas Adams, Meditations upon Creed: The Works of Thomas Adams, James Nichol (1862), volume 3, page 212By 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.
2004, Christopher Wood, California, Here I Am, TwentyFirst Century Publishers Ltd, →ISBN, pages 29–30One was a piece, Two Cheers for the Whig Interpretation of History, by William Cronon, president of the American Historical Association.
2012 October 3, Rebekah Higgitt, “Why whiggish won't do”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 08 Dec 2022 - A surname.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounradiotelephony clear-code word for the letter W.
Origin
- Proto-Germanic*wiljô“will”
- Proto-Germanic*Wiljahelmaz
- Old High GermanWillahelm
- Anglo-NormanWillame
- Middle EnglishWilliam
- EnglishWilliam
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.
More words from Middle English, Anglo-Norman, Old High German
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic وِيلْيَام, وِلْيَم
- وِيلْيَام (wilyām)male given name
- وِلْيَم (wilyam)male given name
Bengali উইলিয়াম
- উইলিয়াম (uiliẏam)male given name
Bulgarian Уи́лям
- Уи́лям (Uíljam)male given name
Catalan Guillem
- Guillemmale given name
Chinese Cantonese 威廉
- 威廉 (wai¹ lim⁴)male given name
Chinese Mandarin 威廉
- 威廉 (Wēilián)male given name
Czech Vilém
- Vilémmale given name
Danish Vilhelm
- Vilhelmmale given name
Dutch Willem, Wim
- Willemmale given name
- Wimmale given name
Esperanto Vilhelmo
- Vilhelmomale given name
Estonian Villem
- Villemmale given name
Finnish Vilho, Ville
- Vilhomale given name
- Villemale given name
- Vilhelmmale given name
French Guillaume, William
- Guillaumemale given name
- Williammale given name
German Wilhelm
- Wilhelmmale given name
Greek Γουλιέλμος, Ουίλλιαμ
- Γουλιέλμος (Gouliélmos)male given name
- Ουίλλιαμ (Ouílliam)male given name
- Γουίλιαμ (Gouíliam)male given name
Hawaiian Wiliama, Uilama
- Wiliamamale given name
- Uilamamale given name
Hebrew וילהלם, וויליאם
- וילהלםmale given name
- וויליאםmale given name
Hindi विलियम
- विलियम (viliyam)male given name
Hungarian Vilmos
- Vilmosmale given name
Icelandic Vilhjálmur
- Vilhjálmurmale given name
Irish Uilliam, Liam
- Uilliammale given name
- Liammale given name
Italian Guglielmo
- Guglielmomale given name
Japanese ウィリアム, ウィレム
- ウィリアム (Wiriamu)male given name
- ウィレム (Uiremu)male given name
- ギヨーム (Giyōmu)male given name
Korean 윌리엄
- 윌리엄 (Willieom)male given name
Latin Gulielmus, Guilelmus
- Gulielmusmale given name
- Guilelmusmale given name
- Guilielmus (Guilhelmus)male given name
- Wilhelmusmale given name
Latvian Viljams, Vilhelms
- Viljamsmale given name
- Vilhelmsmale given name
Lithuanian Vi̇̀lhelmas
- Vi̇̀lhelmasmale given name
Māori Wiremu
- Wiremumale given name
Norwegian Vilhelm
- Vilhelmmale given name
Persian ویلیام
- ویلیام (viliyâm)male given name
Polish Wilhelm
- Wilhelmmale given name
Portuguese Guilherme
- Guilhermemale given name
Romanian Vilhelm
- Vilhelmmale given name
Russian Вильге́льм, Уи́льям
- Вильге́льм (Vilʹgélʹm)male given name
- Уи́льям (Uílʹjam)male given name
- Уилья́м (Uilʹjám)male given name
- Ви́льям (Vílʹjam)male given name
- Вилья́м (Vilʹjám)male given name
Scottish Gaelic Uilleam
- Uilleammale given name
Slovak Viliam
- Viliammale given name
Spanish Guillermo
- Guillermomale given name
Swedish Vilhelm
- Vilhelmmale given name
Tagalog William
- Williammale given name
Tamil வில்லியம்
- வில்லியம் (villiyam)male given name
Thai วิลเลียม
- วิลเลียมmale given name
Ukrainian Вільгельм
- Вільгельм (Vilʹhelʹm)male given name
Welsh Gwilym, Gwillim
- Gwilymmale given name
- Gwillimmale given name
Yiddish וויליאַם
- וויליאַם (vilyam)male given name
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with William
All rhymes →Cite this entry
William. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/William
“William.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/William. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “William,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/William.
Source: William on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.