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William I¹ Known as "William the Conqueror." 1027?-1087.

King of England (1066-1087) and duke of Normandy (1035-1087). He led the Norman invasion of England (1066) after being promised the English throne by his cousin Edward the Confessor. He defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings and as king adopted a feudal constitution.

William I² Prince of Orange. Known as "William the Silent." 1533-1584.

Dutch aristocrat who was made stadholder of Holland, Zeeland, and Utrecht (1559) by Phillip II of Spain. Spurred by the Spanish persecution of Protestants, he led a successful revolt against Spanish rule (1568-1576).

William I³

See Wilhelm I.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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