Helen Wills

1 6.7

An American tennis player who won many major titles in the 1920s and 1930s

proper noun

: Helen Wills

In the 1920s and 1930s, Helen Wills was a dominant force in women's tennis.

Examples

Helen Wills won eight Wimbledon singles titles during her illustrious career.
Many consider Helen Wills one of the greatest female athletes of the twentieth century.
The legendary tennis player Helen Wills won 31 major titles.
Did you know Helen Wills was also an artist?
Helen Wills won eight Wimbledon singles titles during her illustrious career.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Helen Wills was a dominant force in women's tennis.
Many consider Helen Wills one of the greatest female athletes of the twentieth century.

Synonyms

Helen Wills Moody

vsHelen Wills

1 6.0

An American tennis player who dominated women's tennis in the 1920s and 1930s

is the same person but uses the shorter form without the married surname

Surface Forms

Helen Wills main

Morphology

Helen + Wills

This is a proper name referring to a specific historical person; the constituents 'Helen' and 'Wills' are personal names (no lexical meanings provided) and do not combine to signal the sense 'American tennis player who dominated...' A B1 learner who knows the words as names would not be able to infer the biographical information from the parts alone because personal names are essentially arbitrary and require world-knowledge or prior exposure.

Etymology

Helen Wills was a famous American tennis player in the 1920s and 1930s who won many big titles, including Wimbledon, so think of a calm, strong woman on the court holding many trophies.