This list includes 48 Hard words that start with W, from “waggish” to “wyvern”. They are mostly low-frequency, polysyllabic, and sometimes archaic words useful for vocabulary building and precise writing.

Hard words that start with W are uncommon or challenging terms whose meanings reward close study. Many come from Old English, Latin, or specialized fields; “wyvern” is a notable medieval heraldry example.

Below you’ll find the table with Etymology and Definition.

Etymology: Shows the word’s origin, root elements, and approximate date so you grasp historical meaning shifts.

Definition: Provides a concise part-of-speech label and a one-sentence sense to help you understand and use the word.

Hard words that start with W

WordPart of speechPronunciationEtymology
waggishadjectiveWAG-ishFrom English ‘wag’ (a joker), 16th century.
wallahnounWAH-lahFrom Hindi ‘-vālā’ (suffix for a person involved with something).
wambleverbWOM-bulFrom Old Norse ‘vamm’ (squeamishness), 15th century.
wapentakenounWOP-un-taykFrom Old Norse ‘vápnatak’ (taking of weapons), 11th century.
warisonnounWA-rih-sunFrom Old French ‘garison’ (provision, defense), 13th century.
wassailnounWOS-ulFrom Old Norse ‘ves heill’ (be healthy), 12th century.
wastrelnounWAY-strulFrom ‘waste’ + ‘-rel’ (diminutive suffix), 18th century.
wayzgoosenounWAYZ-goosOrigin uncertain, possibly Dutch or Flemish, 17th century.
wealdnounweeldFrom Old English ‘weald’ (forest, wooded upland).
weasandnounWEE-zundFrom Old English ‘wāsand’ (gullet).
welkinnounWEL-kinFrom Old English ‘wolcen’ (cloud, sky).
welterverbWEL-terFrom Middle Dutch ‘welteren’ (to roll), 14th century.
weltanschauungnounVELT-an-show-ungFrom German ‘Welt’ (world) + ‘Anschauung’ (view), 19th century.
weltschmerznounVELT-shmairtsFrom German ‘Welt’ (world) + ‘Schmerz’ (pain), 19th century.
weregildnounWERE-gildFrom Old English ‘wer’ (man) + ‘gield’ (payment).
whangdoodlenounHWANG-dood-ulA fanciful American coinage, 19th century.
wheedleverbWEE-dulOrigin uncertain, possibly German ‘wedeln’ (to wag the tail), 17th century.
wherewithalnounWHAIR-with-awlFrom Middle English ‘wherewith’ + ‘all’, 14th century.
whifflernounWIF-lerFrom ‘whiffle’ (to blow in gusts), 16th century.
whigmaleerienounwig-muh-LEER-eeA Scottish fanciful formation, 18th century.
whilomadverbHWY-lumFrom Old English ‘hwīlum’ (at times).
whingeverbwinjFrom Old English ‘hwinsian’ (to whine).
whinyardnounHWIN-yerdOrigin uncertain, 16th century.
whorlnounworl or hworlFrom Middle English ‘whorle’ (small flywheel), 15th century.
widdershinsadverbWID-er-shinzFrom Middle Low German ‘weddersinnes’ (against the way), 16th century.
wightnounwiteFrom Old English ‘wiht’ (creature, thing).
williwawnounWIL-ee-wawOrigin uncertain, possibly from a Native American language, 19th century.
wimplenounWIM-pulFrom Old English ‘wimpel’, 12th century.
windjammernounWIND-jam-erFrom ‘wind’ + ‘jam’, 19th century.
windlassnounWIND-lusFrom Old Norse ‘vindáss’ (winding pole), 14th century.
winsomeadjectiveWIN-sumFrom Old English ‘wynsum’ (joyful, pleasant).
wintertidenounWIN-ter-tideFrom Old English ‘wintertīd’ (wintertime).
wisentnounVEE-zentFrom German ‘wisent’, related to ‘bison’.
witenagemotnounwit-uh-nuh-guh-MOHTFrom Old English ‘wita’ (wise man) + ‘gemōt’ (meeting).
withenounwith or wytheFrom Old English ‘wīthe’ (willow twig).
witterverbWIT-erOrigin uncertain, perhaps imitative, 19th century.
wittolnounWIT-ulFrom Old English ‘witol’ (knowing), 16th century.
wizenedadjectiveWIZ-undFrom Old English ‘wisnian’ (to wither, dry up).
woadnounwohdFrom Old English ‘wād’.
woldnounwohldFrom Old English ‘wald’ (forest), later ‘upland’.
wormwoodnounWURM-woodFrom Old English ‘wermōd’.
worstednounWUUS-tidNamed after Worstead, England, a center of weaving in the 12th century.
wortnounwurtFrom Old English ‘wyrt’ (plant, root, herb).
wracknounrakFrom Middle Dutch ‘wrak’ (wreck).
wrassenounrassFrom Cornish ‘wragh’, 17th century.
wrothadjectiverawthFrom Old English ‘wrāth’ (angry).
wunderkindnounVUN-der-kintFrom German ‘Wunder’ (wonder) + ‘Kind’ (child), 19th century.
wyvernnounWY-vurnFrom Old French ‘wivre’ (viper), 17th century.

Descriptions

waggish
adjective — Mischievous and fond of making jokes; playful.
wallah
noun — A person associated with a particular job or task, often used as a suffix in South Asia.
wamble
verb — To move unsteadily or to feel nausea.
wapentake
noun — An administrative division of land in some northern English counties, corresponding to a hundred.
warison
noun — A bugle call to attack, or a reward for bravery.
wassail
noun — A hot, mulled cider traditionally drunk during winter celebrations, or the celebration itself.
wastrel
noun — A wasteful or good-for-nothing person; a spendthrift.
wayzgoose
noun — An annual entertainment or excursion for the employees of a printing office or factory.
weald
noun — A wooded or uncultivated country; a forest.
weasand
noun — The throat, gullet, or windpipe of an animal or person.
welkin
noun — The vault of the sky or the upper air, often used in a poetic or literary context.
welter
verb — To move in a turbulent, tumbling, or rolling fashion.
weltanschauung
noun — A particular philosophy or comprehensive conception of the world and human life.
weltschmerz
noun — A feeling of melancholy and world-weariness.
weregild
noun — A compensatory payment made to the family of a slain person in ancient Germanic law.
whangdoodle
noun — An imaginary, fearsome creature of whimsical folklore.
wheedle
verb — To use endearments or flattery to persuade someone to do something.
wherewithal
noun — The money or other means needed for a particular purpose.
whiffler
noun — A person who clears the way for a procession; an armed attendant.
whigmaleerie
noun — A whimsical or fanciful ornament; a trinket.
whilom
adverb — Formerly; at one time in the past.
whinge
verb — To complain or protest persistently and in a peevish, irritating way.
whinyard
noun — A short sword or hanger.
whorl
noun — A circular arrangement of leaves or petals around a central point, or a single turn in a spiral.
widdershins
adverb — In a direction contrary to the sun’s course; counter-clockwise.
wight
noun — An archaic term for a person or living creature.
williwaw
noun — A sudden, violent squall of cold air descending from a mountainous coast to the sea.
wimple
noun — A cloth headdress covering the head, neck, and sides of the face, formerly worn by women and still by some nuns.
windjammer
noun — A large sailing ship, especially a merchant ship with three or more masts.
windlass
noun — A mechanical device used for hoisting or hauling, typically involving a rope or chain wound around a horizontal cylinder.
winsome
adjective — Appealing or attractive in a fresh, innocent, or engaging way.
wintertide
noun — The season of winter; a poetic or archaic term for wintertime.
wisent
noun — The European bison, a large bovine animal that was once widespread in Europe.
witenagemot
noun — The national council of Anglo-Saxon England, which advised the king on all matters.
withe
noun — A tough, flexible branch of a tree, especially a willow, used for binding or weaving.
witter
verb — To chatter or ramble on at length about trivial matters.
wittol
noun — An archaic term for a man who knows of and tolerates his wife’s infidelity; a contented cuckold.
wizened
adjective — Shriveled, shrunken, or wrinkled with age.
woad
noun — A yellow-flowered European plant of the cabbage family, formerly cultivated as a source of blue dye.
wold
noun — An area of open, uncultivated high land or rolling hills.
wormwood
noun — A bitter, aromatic plant used in liquors like absinthe; a symbol of bitterness or grief.
worsted
noun — A fine, smooth yarn spun from combed long-staple wool, or fabric made from this yarn.
wort
noun — The sweet infusion of ground malt or other grain before fermentation, used to produce beer and distilled liquors.
wrack
noun — Seaweed or other marine vegetation cast ashore by the tide; wreckage from a ship.
wrasse
noun — Any of numerous, often brightly colored, marine fishes with thick lips and strong teeth.
wroth
adjective — An archaic term for being intensely angry or enraged.
wunderkind
noun — A person who achieves great success when relatively young; a child prodigy.
wyvern
noun — A winged, two-legged dragon with a barbed tail, often seen in heraldry.
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