willy
English
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Etymology 1
[edit]From Middle English willy, willi, equivalent to will + -y. Cognate with Dutch willig (“obedient, hearsome”), German willig (“willing”), Swedish villig (“willing, agreeable”).
Adjective
[edit]willy (comparative willier or more willy, superlative williest or most willy)
- (obsolete) Willing; favourable; ready; eager.
- (UK dialectal, Scotland) Self-willed; willful.
Related terms
[edit]Etymology 2
[edit]From Middle English wilȝe, from Old English wiliġ (“willow”). More at willow.
Noun
[edit]willy (plural willies)
- Alternative form of willow
Verb
[edit]willy (third-person singular simple present willies, present participle willying, simple past and past participle willied)
Etymology 3
[edit]From Middle English wilie, from Old English wiliġe, wileġe (“basket”), from Proto-Germanic *wiligō (“wicker basket”), from Proto-Indo-European *weliko- (“willow-tree”). More at weel, willow.
Noun
[edit]willy (plural willies)
Etymology 4
[edit]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 nineteenth century.
Alternative forms
[edit]Noun
[edit]willy (plural willies)
- (hypocoristic, slang, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, childish) the penis.
- Little Johnny got his willy stuck in his zipper.
- 2016 March 7, “Road Rage (Freestyle)”, performed by Little T (Josh Tate):
- Everybody knows your mum is a whore / Getting 'round Piccadilly looking for willy / Punters pull up and say "don't be silly"
- (UK, childish) Term of abuse.
- (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:)
Synonyms
[edit]- (penis): peter, johnson, wee-wee; see also Thesaurus:penis
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]
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Etymology 5
[edit](This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Alternative forms
[edit]Noun
[edit]willy (plural willies)
- (espionage) A person who is manipulated into serving as a useful agent without knowing it.
See also
[edit]- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɪli
- Rhymes:English/ɪli/2 syllables
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms suffixed with -y
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English terms with obsolete senses
- British English
- English dialectal terms
- Scottish English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English verbs
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from Latin
- English slang
- Irish English
- Australian English
- New Zealand English
- South African English
- English childish terms
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- en:Espionage
- en:Genitalia
- en:Willows and poplars