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.”