A “W” beats a “single U”, and a “single V” for that matter!”

“W”, letter number 23 in the alphabet, traces its genesis to the Semitic letter vaw (as does f, u, v and y), which the ancient Greeks adopted as upsilon. W’s place in the English alphabet came about indirectly via the prior-existing letters “U” and “V”. At first there was no letter “W”, “W” was represented by two consecutive letter U or V …eventually one single character evolved to represent the “W” sound – “W” or “Double-U”. “It’s this history that gives W the longest name of any letter of the English language—and also means that the acronym www uniquely contains three times more syllables than it does letters” (www.mentalfloss.com).

Why Double-U and not Double-V? In print (but not cursive writing) “W” comprises two Vs (VV), so why wasn’t it called “Double-V”? Basically it’s to do with the timing of the letter W’s evolution in Old English. At the time the “W” symbol was created “V” did not exist in that language, so “W” was rendered as “UU”, and so it stayed (‘Why isn’t a W called a double V?’ Grammarphobia (27-Apr-2011), www.grammarphobia.com).

<word> <meaning> <derivation>

Wafture: (cf. Waftage) act of waving or making a wave-like motion; wafting: to convey or carry lightly and smoothly through the air or over water [from LowGer., Dutch wachter, from wachten (“to guard”, the sense of “convey by water”/“escort a ship”) from wafter (“armed convoy vessel”)] 👋

Waggoner: driver of a wagon; a collection or book of nautical maps [from OldDutch wagan, from Proto-West Germanic wagn, from Proto-Germanic wagnaz (“wagon”), from Proto-Indo-European woǵnos (“wagon”; “primitive carriage”), from weǵ- (“to transport”)] 📕

Wagtail: an obsequious person; a harlot (origin unknown)

Wale: to choose; the act of choosing(?) (origin unknown)

Wamble: nauseous; walk unsteadily; a staggering gait; wobbling or rolling motion; churning of the stomach [MidEng. wamlen; (“to become nauseated”), from L. vomere (“to vomit”)]

Wanchancy: unlucky; uncanny [from MidEng. wan-, from OldEng. wan-, from Proto-West Germanic wana- + From MidEng. chance, cheance, chaunce, cheaunce, a borrowing from Old French cheance (“accident”; “chance”; “luck”), from Vulgar Latin cadentia (“falling”)]

Wanhope: hopelessness; despair; vain hope; overconfidence; delusion [OldEng. wan-, from Proto-Germanic wanaz (“lacking”; “missing”; “deficient”) + from Old English –hopian (“hope”)]

Warray: to wage war on [from warry (“war-like”), from Fr, from Vulgar Latin werridiāre]

Wasm: a doctrine, ideology, rule, or theory that is no longer current or fashionable (etymology unclear, first appeared in print via Arthur Koestler, 1949)

Wassail: toast to someone’s health; to go caroling or carousing; spiced ale or mulled wine [Old Norse. ves heill (“be well”, toast] 🥂

Wasserman: a mythical sea monster, part man, thought to destroy ships [from Ger.Wasserman]

Webster: female weaver [OldEng. webbestre, from webba (“a weaver”) from webb]

Wegotism: excessive use of the pronoun “we” in speech or writing [blend of we +‎ –egotism]

Weirdward: bordering upon the supernatural (origin unknown)

Welkin: the vault of the sky; firmament; heaven [from OldEng. wolcn (“cloud”)]

Wen: a very large, overcrowded city [from MidEng. wen, wenne, from OldEng. wenn, wænn (“wen”), from Proto-Ger. wanjaz]

Wergild: fine paid by family of murderer to family of murder victim (“man-price”) [MidEng. wergeld, from OldEng. wer (“man”) + -geld, alteration of gield, geld (“payment”; “tribute”) 💰

Wertfrei: without value judgement; morally neutral [Ger. wert (“worth”) + -frei (“free”)]

Whangam: an imaginary creature [17th cent. neologism coined by Oliver Goldsmith, Anglo-Irish author]

Whipcat: a person who makes, repairs, or alters outer garments, esp menswear; a tailor (slang: a worker “who whips the cat”) (origin unknown)

Whiskerando: a man with extravagant whiskers [Scand. Iceld. visk (“a wisp of hay”); allusion to Don Ferolo Whiskerando in RB Sheridan’s The Critic] (cf. Whiskerine: beard-growing contest)

Wiccaphobiac: one who fears or hates Wiccans or Wicca. A person with a morbid fear of witches or witchcraft [OldEng. wiċċa (“male witch”), from Proto-Germanic wikkô (“sorcerer”) + -phobia]

Widdershins: counterclockwise, anticlockwise; to walk around an object by always keeping it on the left MidLowGer. weddersinnes, (literally “against the way”, i.e. “in the opposite direction”)] cf. Widersinnen: “to go against”)

Wight: nimble; strong; courageous; a supernatural, man-like being [from MidEng. wight or wiȝt, from OldEng. wiht, from Proto-West Germanic wihti]

Williwaw: a sudden, violent gust of cold wind; a state of extreme confusion, turmoil, or agitation (origin unknown) 💨

Witticaster: a petty or inferior wit [from MidEng. witty, witti, from OldEng. wittiġ, witiġ, ġewittiġ (“clever”; “wise”), from Proto-West Germanic witīg + –aster]

Wold: a piece of high, open, uncultivated land or moor (Brit.) [OldEng. wald (“wooded upland”) of Germanic origin; perhaps related to wild]

Wondermonger: one who promises miracles; a person who tells of or exploits strange or freakish things [from MidEng. wonder, wunder, from OldEng. wundor (“wonder”; “miracle”; “marvel”), from Proto-West Germanic *wundr + from L. –mangō (“dealer”; “trader”)]

Woonerf: a road in a residential district which has installed devices (eg, traffic calming, low speed limits, shared space) to reduce or slow the flow of traffic (a living street) [Dutch: wonen (“reside”) + erf (“ground”; “premises”) (literally: “living yard” or “residential grounds”)]

Woopie: an affluent retired person able to pursuit an active lifestyle [derived from the acronym “well off older person” (“woop)”]

Worksome: industrious; diligent; labour-intensive [from MidEng. work, werk, from OldEng. weorc + from OldEng. -sum (“some”)]

Worricow: scarecrow; hobgoblin; frightening-looking person [Scot. from worry (“to harass”) + –cow (“hobgoblin”)]

Woubit: a small and shabby person; a hairy caterpillar [MidEng. wolbode, from woll (“wool”) + -bode (?)]

Wrackful: destructive or ruinous [from “wreck”, from OldNorse reta (“to drive”) ➠ Anglo-Norman Fr. wrec]

Writative: characterized by an inclination to write ✍️ [from MidEng. writen, from OldEng. wrītan, from Proto-West Germanic wrītan + -tive (poss. based on “talkative”)]

Wynd: narrow street or lane [MidEng: (Scots) wynde, probably from wynden (“to wind”; “proceed”; “go”) from OldEng. windan (“to twist”)]

Wyrd: the personification of fate or destiny [from Proto-Germanic wurdiz, from Proto-Indo-European wr̥ti-, wert- (“to turn”)]