Phrases and Names, Their Origins and Meanings

by Trench H. Johnson

W

Wadham College. Founded at Oxford by Nicholas Wadham in 1613.

Walbrook. From a pleasant stream of clear water which, after skirting the wall of St Stephen’s Church, behind where the Mansion House now stands, ran southward, to empty itself into the Thames at Dowgate.

Waldenses. The followers of Peter Waldo, a merchant of Lyons, who towards the end of the twelfth century had the four Gospels translated for the benefit of the people, and was unsparing in his denunciation of the clergy. With the Albigenses of Languedoc these people, who entered with their leader into the valleys of Dauphine and Piedmont, may be regarded as the earliest of the Reformers.

Wales. This Celtic territory, which was never even penetrated by the Anglo-Saxons, received the name of “Wallia,” signifying the country of the Wahlen or Wahls, foreigners.

Walham Green. The original spelling of this name “Wahlheim,” expressed from the Anglo-Saxon point of view a home or settlement of the Wahls or foreigners.

Walk a Virginia Fence. An American phrase applied to a drunken man. In Virginia the rail fences are constructed in a zig-zag manner, whence they are also called “worm fences.”

Walking Gentlemen. In theatrical parlance, one who plays the part of a gentleman or noble on the stage; he may not have much to say, but his bearing must be above reproach. The plays of Shakespeare abound in parts of this kind.

Walk the Chalk. An Americanism for to act straight or keep in the right path.

Wallop. In the year 1514 the French fleet ravaged the coast of Sussex, and burned Brighthelmstone, now Brighton, whereupon Sir John Wallop, one of the best naval commanders of his time, was sent by Henry VIII. to make reprisals. In this he succeeded only too well; he burned twenty-one French coasting villages, demolished several harbours, and thrashed the enemy to his heart’s content. His men, however, proud of the achievement, declared that they had Walloped the French; and thus it was that a new synonym for “thrash” came to be incorporated into the English language.

Waltham. From the Anglo-Saxon Waldheim, the home or settlement in the wood.

Waltz. From the German “Waltzer,” the name of the dance, and waltzen, to roll, relative to the revolutions made by the pairs of dancers.

Walworth. Originally a settlement of the Wahls, or foreigners, descendants of the Danes (see “[Southwark]”). This district became in Anglo-Saxon days a worth, or manor, from which Sir William Walworth, the Lord Mayor who slew Wat Tyler, derived his family name.

Wandsworth. Anciently described as “Wandlesworth,” the manor watered by the River Wandle.

Wapentake. Expresses the Saxon for “a touching of arms.” This territorial division, which obtained in Yorkshire in the time of the Anglo-Saxons, and corresponded to the “Hundred” elsewhere, received its name from the periodical meeting of the champions of each hundred to touch spears and swear to defend the common cause.

Wardour Street. After Wardour Castle, the seat of the ground landlord, Lord Arundel of Wardour.

Wardrobe Terrace. Marks the site of the ancient “Wardrobe,” when our sovereigns resided in what was styled “Tower Royal” hard by.

Warwick. From the Anglo-Saxon Wærwic, “war town,” so called on account of its permanent garrison of soldiers.

Warwick Lane. From the town mansion of the Beauchamps, Earls of Warwick.

Warwick Road. After the Earls of Warwick, owners of the Earl’s Court estate before it passed to the Holland family.

Washington. Laid out under the superintendence of George Washington, the first President of the United States. This seat of the Government was honoured with his name.

Water Lane. Prior to the construction of Victoria Street this winding lane led down to the Thames.

Waterloo Bridge. So called because it was declared open 18th June 1817, the anniversary of the battle of Waterloo.

Waterloo Park. After Sir Sidney Waterloo, who presented it to the public.

Waterloo Place. So called as a military set-off to Trafalgar Square when the Duke of York’s column was erected by public subscription in 1833. The statues of famous British generals around this open space are quite in keeping with the design.

Water Poet. The literary sobriquet of John Taylor, who was a Thames waterman.

Watling Street. A corruption of Vitellina Strata, “the road of Vitellius,” so called because this great Roman highway from Dover to Cardigan in Wales was projected by the Emperor Vitellius, and those portions of it in London and elsewhere were constructed during his reign.

Watteau. See “[Á la Watteau].”

Way Down. An Americanism for “down the way to” e.g.--“Way down the lone churchyard.”

Wayzgoose. A printers’ summer outing, so called from the wayz or stubble goose which, when the outing took place later in the season, was the invariable dinner dish. The term wayz is from the Dutch wassen and German waschen, to grow; hence a goose that has fattened among the stubble after the harvest has been gathered.

Wedding Breakfast. The nuptial banquet had in Catholic days a real significance, when, having fasted from midnight, the entire party attended Mass, and partook of the Communion. At the close of the marriage ceremony the priest regaled them with wine, cakes, and sweetmeats in the church porch by way of breakfast.

Wednesday. In the Scandinavian mythology this was “Wodin’s Day,” or that set apart for the worship of Odin or Wodin, the god of magic and the inventor of the Arts.

Wedgwood Ware. The style of pottery invented or introduced by Josiah Wedgwood in 1775.

Weeping Cross. A cross set up on the way to a churchyard where the coffin was rested for a brief space while prayers were offered up for the soul of the deceased. The wailing of the women generally interrupted the proceedings.

Weeping Philosopher. Heraclitus of Ephesus, who voluntarily embittered the declining years of his existence by weeping[weeping] over the folly of mankind.

Wedlock Street. After Welbeck Abbey, the seat of the Duke of Portland, the great ground landlord.

Wellingborough. Anciently “Wellingbury,” on account of the medicinal wells or springs which abound in its vicinity.

Wellington. This province and capital city of New Zealand received the name of the Duke of Wellington.

Wellington Boots. After the Duke of Wellington.

Wellington Street. In honour of the Duke of Wellington, because it leads to Waterloo Bridge.

Wells Street. A corruption of “Well Street,” after Well in Yorkshire, the seat of the Strangeways family, from whom Lady Berners, owner of the estate, was descended.

Welsher. The name borne by an absconding bookmaker on a race-course was originally a “Welshman,” in allusion to the old ditty: “Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief.”

Welsh Rabbit. A popular corruption of “Welsh Rarebit.”

Wesleyan Methodists. The name borne by that portion of the Methodist sect which worship in chapels and so-called churches, which was far from the intention of their founder. See “[Primitive Methodists].”

Wesleyans. The followers of John Wesley, or “Methodists” in general.

Wessex. The great kingdom of the West Seaxe, or West Saxons, under the Heptarchy.

Westbourne Park. The district formerly traversed by the west bourne or stream between “Kilburn” and “Bayswater.”

West Indies. Those islands in the Caribbean Sea, which Columbus imagined to form part of the great unknown India, as approached from the west.

Westminster. This name has been from time immemorial given to the district of which the ancient fane tautologically styled “Westminster Abbey” is the centre. One does not speak of “York Minster Abbey” or “Lincoln Minster Abbey.” A minster is a great church in connection with a monastery. Since the Reformation the abbeys have been swept away, the Minsters remain. The earliest mention of “the West Minster” occurs in a Saxon charter of 785, in contradistinction to “the East Minster” that stood in those days somewhere on Tower Hill. All trace of this has been lost, yet it is possible that St Katherine’s Hospital, now displaced by the docks of the same name, grew out of it.

Westmorland. The land peopled by the Westmorings, or those of the Western moors.

Weymouth Street. After Lord Weymouth, the son-in-law of the ground landlord, the Duke of Portland.

What’s the Damage? This expression arose out of the damages awarded to a successful litigant in the Law Courts.

Whig Bible. So called owing to the substitution of the word “placemakers” for “peacemakers.”

Whigs. An abbreviation of “Whigamores,” first applied to the Scottish Covenanters in consequence of a rising among the peasantry among the Lowland moors called the “Whigamore Raid,” and finally to that political party which strove to exclude the Duke of York, James II., from the throne because he was a Catholic. The term “Whigamore” arose out of the twin-syllabic cry “Whig-am!” of the teamsters and ploughmen of those districts of Scotland to drive their horses.

Whisky. An English form of the Irish “Uisquebaugh.”

Whitby. So called by the Danes when they took possession of this abbey town on the cliffs, literally “white town.”

Whitebait. On account of its silvery whiteness and because it was at one time used exclusively for baiting crab and lobster pots.

Whiteboys. A band of Irish insurgents who wore white smocks over their ordinary garments.

Whitechapel. As in the case of Westminster, this name now expresses a district, and “Whitechapel Church” sounds ridiculous. Its ancient designation was the “White Chapel of St Mary.”

Whitecross Street. See “[Redcross Street].”

Whitefriars Street. In olden days this was the western boundary of the Carmelite or White Friars’ Monastery, built in 1245.

Whitehall. The central portion of the wide thoroughfare between Charing Cross and Westminster. This received its name from the Banqueting-hall of white stone, originally part of a palace designed by Cardinal Wolsey for the London house of the Archbishop of York, and now the United Service Museum.

White Hart. An inn sign from the device of Richard II.

White Hart Street. After an ancient inn, “The White Hart,” removed during the reign of George I.

White House. The official residence of the President of the United States at Washington, so called because it is built of freestone painted white.

White Quakers. An offshoot of the Quaker sect, about 1840, who adopted white clothing.

White Queen. Mary Queen of Scots, who appeared in white mourning for her murdered husband, Lord Darnley.

White Lion. An inn sign from the badge of Edward IV. as Earl of March.

White Sea. So called because during six months out of each year it is frozen over and covered with snow.

White Swan. An inn sign complimentary to Edward III. and Henry IV., whose badge it was.

Whit Sunday. A corruption of “White Sunday,” so called from the earliest days of Christianity in England because the catechumens or newly baptised attended Mass, and received the Sacrament dressed in white, on the Feast of Pentecost.

Whittington Avenue. After Sir Richard Whittington, thrice Lord Mayor of London, who resided in this neighbourhood.

Whittington Stone. The name of a tavern on Highgate Hill, opposite to which is, according to tradition, the identical stone on which Dick Whittington, the future Lord Mayor of London, rested while listening to the bells of Bow Church chiming across the pleasant fields.

Wicked Bible. Wilfully or otherwise the word “not” is omitted from this edition of the Scriptures, so that the passage in Exodus xx. 14. reads: “Thou shalt commit adultery.”

Wide-awake. The slang term for a soft felt hat, because, having no nap, it must always be wide awake.

Widow Bird. A corruption of “Whydaw Bird,” from the country in West Africa where it is found.

Wigmore Street. In common with several neighbouring streets, this perpetuates one of the titles of Edward Harley, Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, who in 1717 was created Baron Harley of Wigmore in Herefordshire, the ground landlord.

Wilburites. The orthodox[orthodox] or strict members of the Society of Friends in America under John Wilbur, as opposed to the “Hicksite Friends.”

William the Lion. The surname of this King of the Scots was due to his selection of a lion rampant for his crest.

Willis’s Rooms. See “[Almack’s].”

Will Scarlet. A euphonism invented by Robin Hood for William Scathelocke, the real name of one of his merry men.

Wilton. See “[Wiltshire].”

Wiltshire. A corruption of “Wiltonshire,” or the Shire of Wilton, which name in its original form, “Willy Town,” expressed the town on the River Willy.

Wimbledon. Originally Wibbadon, expressing the Celtic for a low-lying meadow or common belonging to one Wibba.

Wimpole Street. After the country seat of the Harleys on the Herefordshire and Cambridgeshire border.

Winchester Yard. From Winchester House, the ancient town mansion of the Bishops of Winchester.

Windermere. Expresses the Anglo-Saxon for “clear water lake.”

Winchester. Inhabited by the Belgæ, this stronghold, called by them Cær-Gwent, “fortified enclosure on the plain,” was after the Roman invasion made a great centre of military activity under the Latinised name of Venta Belgarum, which the West Saxons changed into Wintancæstre, “the camp town of the Winte,” whence its modern name has been derived.

Windmill Street. A name suggestive of peaceful rusticity. The thoroughfare in Finsbury so denominated marks the site of three windmills that were erected on a mound formed by the deposition of a thousand cart-loads of human bones from the Charnel-house of St Paul’s Cathedral by order of the Lord Protector Somerset in 1549.

Windsor. Anciently described as “Windlesora,” the winding shore.

Wine Office Court. From an ancient office where wine licences were issued.

Winnipeg. Indian for “lake of the turbid water.”

Wirepuller. In allusion to the manipulators of the figures at a marionette show.

Wisconsin. Indian for “wild-rushing channel.”

Within an Ace. Since the ace in a pack of cards is the unit of pips, he who accomplishes anything by the merest shave does so within a single mark.

Wizard of the North. Sir Walter Scott, so called on account of the enchantment which, through his novels, he exercised over the inhabitants of North Britain.

Woburn Square. After Woburn Abbey, the ancestral seat of the Duke of Bedford.

Woke up the Wrong Passenger. An Americanism for having made a mistake in the individual. This originated in the Mississippi steamboats, the stewards on board of which often call up the wrong passenger at the stopping-places by night.

Wolverhampton. Anciently “Wulfrune’s Hampton,” so called from the church and college of St Peter founded by Wulfrune, the sister of King Edgar, in 996.

Wolverine State. Michigan, on account of the prairie wolves which formerly infested this region. Its people are called “Wolverines.”

Wood Green. In old days this was a glade in Hornsey Wood.

Wood Street. In this locality congregated the turners of wooden cups, dishes, and measures of olden times.

Woolly Heads. An Americanism for the Negroes of the southern states.

Woolsack. The seat reserved for the Lord Chancellor in the House of Lords, being a large sack stuffed with wool, and covered with scarlet cloth, its object being to keep him in constant reminder of the great importance of the woollen manufacture in England.

Woolwich. Anciently described as Hylwich, “hill town.”

Worcester. Known to the Anglo-Saxons as Hwicwara ceaster, “the stronghold of the Huiccii.” The latter portion of the name, however, proves that this must have been a Roman encampment; the Huiccii were a Celtic tribe.

Worcester College. Originally known as Gloucester Hall, this Oxford foundation was in 1714 enlarged and endowed as a college by Sir Thomas Cooksey of Astley, Worcestershire, who, not desiring his name to be handed down to posterity, called it after his native county.

Work a Dead Horse. A journeyman’s phrase implying that he has to set to work on the Monday morning upon that for which he has already been paid on the previous Saturday.

World’s End. A famous house of entertainment during the reign of Charles II., so called on account of its immense distance in those days out of London. Like many other places of outdoor resort, it exists now only as a public-house.

Wormwood Street. From the bitter herbs which sprang up along the Roman Wall in ancient times.

Worsted. After a town in Norfolk of the same name where this fabric was of old the staple industry.

Writes like an Angel. Dr Johnson said of Oliver Goldsmith: “He writes like an angel and talks like a fool.” The allusion was to Angelo Vergeco, a Greek of the sixteenth century, noted for his beautiful handwriting.

Wych Street. This now vanished thoroughfare was anciently Aldwych, “Old Town,” so called because it led from St Clement Danes Church to the isolated settlement in the parish of St Giles’s-in-the-Fields, which in our time is known as Broad Street, Bloomsbury.

Wye. From the Welsh gwy, water.

Wyndham College. The joint foundation at Oxford of Nicholas and Dorothy Wyndham of Edge and Merefield, Somersetshire, in 1611.