Etymograph

English

Wallace

Wallace comes from Anglo-Norman waleis ‘foreign’.

  1. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400waleis‘foreign’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2023Wallace

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400waleis‘foreign’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2023Wallace

Earliest quotation: 2023, Pavlo Kazarin, A year ago I volunteered as a soldier in the Ukrainian army: “We are Harry Potter and William Wallace, the Na’vi…”

The story

An Old English byname for a Welshman or Breton, from Anglo-Norman waleis (‘foreign’); see wǣlisċ.

Every English word from Anglo-Norman waleis

Today it means

name A Scottish surname transferred from the nickname, notably of the Scottish patriot William Wallace.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Anglo-Norman waleis / Wallace

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