1577 willie
FLY HALF. He is known for his great skill at kicking the ball to score points and became the most popular member of the England team in 2003 when he scored the points that helped England to defeat Australia in the last minute of the Rugby World Cup Final.
will¹ /wɪl/ v 3rd person sing. will, short form 'll, negative short form won't [modal+be+v] 1 (used for expressing the simple future tense): They say that it will rain tomorrow. | The wedding will take place in July. | What time will she arrive/will she be arriving? | I will have finished the job by that time. | We'll see you next week. | New recruits will report to the sergeant at 9 a.m. (=this is what they must do) 2 to be willing to; be ready to: I won't go. | We can't find anyone who will take the job. | The door won't shut. | Will you have some tea? (=a polite way of offering something) | The doctor will see you now. 3 (used when asking someone to do something): Will you phone me later, please? | Shut the door, will you? | You won't tell me, will you? (=I hope not) 4 (shows what always happens): Accidents will happen. | Oil will float on water. | He will ask silly questions. | Boys will be boys. (=one must expect boys to behave in the way they typically do) 5 (used like can to show what is possible): This car will hold five people comfortably. 6 (used like must to show what is likely): That will be the postman at the door now. 7 I will the answer to a question in the marriage service 'Will you take this woman/man to be your lawful wedded wife/husband?', by which one agrees formally to be married → see also WOULD; see NOT (USAGE), SHALL (USAGE)
will² n 1 [C;U] the power of the mind to make decisions and act in accordance with them, sometimes in spite of difficulty or opposition: Do you believe in free will/freedom of the will? (=the power to decide freely what one will do) | You must have an iron will (=a very strong will) to have given up smoking after all those years. | Even small children can have very strong wills. 2 [U] what is wished or intended (by the stated person): Her death is God's will/the will of God. | In a democracy, the government is supposed to reflect the will of the people. | [+to-v] She seems to have lost the will to live. (=the desire to stay alive) | The prisoner was forced to sign a confession against his will. | She donated the money of her own free will. (=because she wanted to, and not because she was asked or forced to) 3 [S] a strong determination to act in a particular way; intention: Where there's a will, there's a way. (old saying=if you really want something you will find a way of getting it) | They set to work with a will. (=with eager interest) | He tries hard but with the best will in the world (=however good his intentions may be) he'll never make a good teacher. 4 [U] the stated feeling towards other people: She bears him no ill will for speaking out against her proposals. 5 [C] an official statement of the way someone wants their property to be shared out after they die: Have you made your will yet? 6 at will as one wishes: The order came 'fire at will', so we fired. -willed /wɪld/ having a will of the stated strength: strong-willed | weak-willed
will³ v 1 [T] to (try to) make (something) happen, especially by power of the mind: [+obj+to-v] We were all at the side of the racetrack, willing her to win. | [+that] God has willed that the Earth (should) turn once a day. 2 [T(to)] to leave (possessions or money) in a WILL to be given after one's death: [+obj(+obj(d)] Grandfather willed me his watch/willed his watch to me. 3 [I;T] old use to wish: She is going to leave, whether you will or no/not.
Will & 'Grace an American television SITCOM about two friends, Will and Grace, who share an apartment in New York. Will is a GAY lawyer and Grace is an INTERIOR DESIGNER. The actors Eric McCormack and Debra Messing appear in the programme.
Will, George F. (1941-) a US COLUMNIST for the Washington Post newspaper and for Newsweek magazine. His articles, usually on political subjects, are written from a CONSERVATIVE point of view.
Wil-liam, Prince /'wɪljəm/ (1982-) the elder son of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales
William 'Hill trademark a British company that has BETTING SHOPS (=a place where you can risk money on the results of horse races, football games etc) in most towns in the UK
William I /,wɪljəm ðə 'fɜːst|-'fɜːrst/ → see WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR
William II, King /,wɪljəm ðə 'sekənd/ (?1056-1100) the king of England from 1087 until his death, sometimes called William Rufus. He was the son of William the Conqueror, and was killed in a hunting accident.
William III /,wɪljəm ə 'θɜd|-'θɜrd/ → see WILLIAM OF ORANGE, KING
,William of 'Orange, King (1650-1702) the king of Britain and Ireland from 1689 until his death, also called William III. He was married to the daughter of King James II, and was asked by James's enemies to become king instead of him. William and his Protestant army beat James and his Catholic army at the Battle of the BOYNE, and for this reason he is still greatly admired by Protestants in Northern Ireland who sometimes call him 'King Billy'. William's wife, Queen Mary II, had equal power, and people usually talk about the REIGN of William and Mary.
Wil-liams, Hank /'wɪljəmz/ (1923-53) a US COUNTRY AND WESTERN singer and songwriter, who greatly influenced the development of country and western music, and whose songs include Your Cheatin' Heart and I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
Williams, Ralph Vaughan → see VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Williams, Rob-bie /'rɒbi'liː-/ (1974-) a very famous pop singer, known for his exciting concert performances. He used to be in the BOY BAND Take That. Since 1996 he has had a very successful SOLO CAREER (=singing alone, not in a group). His songs include Angels, Let Me Entertain You, and Millennium.
Williams, Robin (1952-) a US actor and COMEDIAN, known especially for the television programme Mork and Mindy (1978-82), and for appearing in films such as Good Morning Vietnam (1987) and Dead Poets Society (1989). In 1997, he won an Oscar for the film Good Will Hunting.
Williams, Rowan (1950-) a British priest from Wales who became the Archbishop of Canterbury in 2003. He is known for his strong opinions, and there was some disagreement in the church when he was chosen for this job. He opposed the war in Iraq and he does not like the negative attitude of some members of the Church towards GAY people. He is in favour of women priests.
Williams, Ted /ted/ (1918-2002) a US BASEBALL player known for his skill as a BATTER. He was also known for having his name on a type of baseball BAT as a kind of advertisement.
Williams, Tennessee (1911-83) a US writer whose plays are mainly about the emotional problems of people living in the SOUTH of the US. His plays include A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, The Glass Menagerie, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
Williams, Wil-liam Car-los /'wɪljəm 'kɑːləs|-'kɑːrləs/ (1883-1963) an American writer from Rutherford, New Jersey who was a doctor before he started writing. He is best known for his Modernist poems such as This is Just To Say and The Red Wheelbarrow. His most famous work is Paterson, five books of poetry about the New Jersey town of Paterson. In 1963 he was given the Pulitzer Prize for Literature. He is sometimes known as WCW.
'Williams Sisters two US women tennis players, Venus (1980-) and Serena (1981-). Venus has won the women's competition at Wimbledon twice and the US Open twice, and Serena has won the French Open, the Australian Open, the US Open twice and Wimbledon twice. They are famous for being very powerful players, and also because they are African-American and tennis is a sport that has usually been played by white people in the past.
,William the 'Conqueror (1027-1087) the king of England from 1066 until his death, also called William I. William was the Duke of Normandy (in northern France), and became king of England by defeating King Harold at the Battle of HASTINGS in 1066. His arrival brought great changes in English society, and is seen as the end of the Anglo-Saxon period and the beginning of the Middle Ages. He gave a lot of land and power to other Normans, so that French became the language of the ruling class, and he built many castles to control the English. → see also DOMESDAY BOOK, NORMAN CONQUEST
wil-lie, willy /'wɪli/ n BrE euph slang for PENIS