Willans

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A family name of English origin, borne by people descended from someone with the given name Willan or a similar root
2. An English family surname that is carried by individuals and households with roots in England
3. A patronymic-style surname of English origin, used as a family name by people across England and beyond

Etymology: Peter Willans was a British engineer whose surname became a technical term through his steam engine designs. His high-speed engine, with a central exhaust valve, was known as the Willans engine, so the name outlived the design's place in engineering practice. The same name also survives in the Willans line, a graph engineers use to plot a steam engine's steam consumption against its power output. The term follows the same pattern as the engine: a personal name attached to a technical concept.