# William

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈwɪl.i.əm/ · frequency rank #1,414

## Definitions
1. radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter W.

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **willie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/william-vs-willie)
- **Willis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/william-vs-willis)
- **willing** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/william-vs-willing)
- **Williams** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/william-vs-williams)
- **Willa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/willa-vs-william)
- **Willi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/willi-vs-william)

## Common misspellings (8)
`iwlliam`, `wiliam`, `wililam`, `willaim`, `williamm`, `willima`, `wliliam`, `wwilliam`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/william