Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun plural Feelings of uneasiness. Often used with the:

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Plural form of willy.
  • noun colloquial, with "the" A feeling of nervousness or fear.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun feelings of uneasiness

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Origin unknown.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

The meaning "spell of nervousness," recorded since 1896, stems perhaps from the woollies, a dialectal term for "nervous uneasiness," probably in reference to the physical itchiness of wool garments.

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