Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Hank Williams

Hank Williams

13 2.9
An American country singer and songwriter who greatly influenced country music
  • proper noun
  • /hæŋk ˈwɪljəmz/
: Hank Williams
  • The legacy of Hank Williams continues to inspire musicians across genres.

Examples

  • Hank Williams is regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of country music.

  • Many artists have covered songs originally written by Hank Williams.

  • I love listening to Hank Williams!

  • Hank Williams wrote many classic country songs.

  • Hank Williams is widely regarded as one of the most influential singers in country music history.

  • Many artists have cited Hank Williams as a major inspiration for their own songwriting.

  • In 1990, Hank Williams was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Surface Forms

Hank Williams main

Morphology

Hank + Williams

This MWE is a proper name (a person); knowing the constituent tokens 'Hank' and 'Williams' does not convey the information that this is a famous American country singer and songwriter. The meaning is referential and relies on cultural knowledge rather than compositional semantics, so a B1 learner who only knows the parts would not be able to derive the intended referent.

Etymology

Hank Williams comes from Hiram King Williams, a singer from Alabama who used the short, friendly name 'Hank' on stage. So today Hank Williams means the famous American 'country singer' and songwriter known for simple songs about love and life.