Daily Ancestorw.d.
W.d. in will abstracts means "will dated": the date that follows is when the will was written, not when it was proved.
W.d. stands for will dated and is common in published will abstracts, which often give two dates. The will date shows when the person was alive and made the will; the proved date shows when the court accepted it after death.
The death happened between the two dates, so they are a useful way to narrow down when the person died.
As seen in a recordEntry in a book of will abstracts
Jno. Ware, w.d. 3 Jan. 1760, proved 12 May 1761
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "w.d.." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/abbreviations/wd. Last checked 2026-10-01.