Well v.1. World English Historical Dictionary

Well v.1. World English Historical Dictionary Dictionary Biographies Literary Criticism Welcome Terms of Service ⧏ Previous Next ⧐ Contents Slice Contents Key Bibliographic Record Murray’s New English Dictionary. 1928, rev. 2024. Well v.1 Pa. t. and pa. pple. welled (weld). Forms: 1 wiellan, wyllan, wællan, 1–2 wellan, 4 wellen; 2–6 welle, (6 wel), 3– well (4 will); Sc. 9 wall. Pa. t. 3 welden (pl.), 4 wellyd, 4–5 wellyde, 5 wellede, 5–7 wellid, 6 weld, 4– welled. Pa. pple. 3 iweld, 3–4 iwelled, 4–5 wellid, wellyde, 5 wellyd, Sc. wellit, 4– welled. [OE. wiellan (wyllan; Anglian wællan, wellan), causative verb from the stem of weallan to boil, WALL v.1 Cf. MDu. and Du., MLG. and LG., MHG. (and G. dial.) wellen, to cause to boil, to boil or well up, etc., WFris. welje to well up, NFris. wêl to boil, ON. and Icel. vella (p. t. veldi) to boil (trans.).

1   The form is appropriate only to the trans. senses: in the intr. it has taken the place of the original strong verb wall.]

2   † 1.  trans. To boil (a liquid, ingredients, etc.).

3 a. 1000.  Sax. Leechd., I. 72. Ʒenim þa ylcan wyrte betonican & wyl on ealdan wine. Ibid., II. 22. Ʒenim wudurofan & wudu merce … & wel on buteran. Ibid., 374. Ʒepuna ða wyrte to somne & wæl to somne.

4 c. 1290.  St. Lucy, 145, in S. Eng. Leg., 105. Þo nomen huy pich and brumston, and welden it wel faste.

5 a. 1400[?].  Morte Arth., 1736. I walde be wellyde alle qwyke, and quarterde in sondre, Bot I wyrke my dede.

6 c. 1420.  Liber Cocorum, 19. Take brede and peper and ale, And temper þo brothe … And welle hit to-geder.

7 14[?].  Lydg., Horse, Goose & Sheep, 375, in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903), 31. [Mutton] Wellid with growel.

8   † b.  fig. (Cf. 3 b.) Obs.–1

9 c. 1450.  Holland, Houlate, 499. The wyis quhar the wicht went war in wa wellit.

10   † c.  To thicken or curdle (a liquid, esp. milk) by boiling or heating. Obs.

11 c. 1440.  Promp. Parv., 520/2. Welle, mylke or oþer lycure, coagulo.

12   d.  spec. (See quot.)

13 1876.  Whitby Gloss., s.v. Welling, ‘They’re welling livers,’ obtaining the oil from the livers of fish, in the way of making it flow by an adapted heat.

14   † 2.  To liquefy (metal) by heat; to melt down, cast, found. Obs.

15 a. 1225.  Ancr. R., 284. Þe caliz þet was imelt iðe fure & stroncliche iwelled, and seoððen … so swuðe ueire afeited.

16 c. 1290.  St. Patrick’s Purg., 272, in S. Eng. Leg., 208. Þe feondes welden led and brass, and in heore mouþes caste.

17 a. 1300.  Holy Rood (Ashm.), 501. He made him drynke led iweld.

18 138[?].  Wyclif, Sel. Wks., III. 136. Men schal welle [1388 Isa. ii. 4 welle togidere: Vulg. conflabunt] hor swerde into plowgh-schares. Ibid. (1388), 2 Chron. xxxiv. 17. Thei han wellyd togidere [Vulg. conflaverunt] the siluere, which is foundun in the hous of the Lord.

19 c. 1440.  Promp. Parv., 520/2. Welle, metel, fundo.

20 1570.  Levins, Manip., 55/14. To wel iron, conflare.

21   b.  To soften (metal) by intense heat; to join while heated, to weld. Obs. exc. dial.

22   Du. and LG. wellen also have this sense.

23 1424.  Mem. Ripon (Surtees), III. 152. Pro scharpyng et wellyng of wegges de ferro.

24 a. 1500.  Hist. K. Boccus & Sydracke (? 1510), R iij. As two peces of Iron fare In the fyre whan they wellyd are. Ley that one that other vpon And geue them a stroke anon, Throughe hete they together bynde.

25 1513.  Douglas, Æneis, VIII. vii. 174. A huge gret semely targat, or a scheild … In every place sevin ply thai well and call.

26 1599.  Churchw. Acc. Pittington, etc. (Surtees), 275. For wellinge the springe and for makinge nailles to the cocke [clock?] bordes, iij d. Ibid. (1616), 172. Pd to Thomas Pearson for mendinge the greate bell tounge, vj s…. Pd … about the wellinge and helpinge Thomas Pearson, xij d.

27 1808.  Jamieson, s.v., To wall, To beat two masses into one.

28 1824.  [Carr], Craven Gioss., Well, to weld.

29 1825–.  in various northern glossaries.

30   3.  intr. To boil. (Said of a liquid, of ingredients, and also of the containing vessel.) Also with up.

31 a. 1400.  Stockholm Med. MS., 210, in Archaeologia, XXX. 356. Take … ye whyte of tweyne eyre And a porcyon of rye mele, And late it well to geder welle.

32 c. 1420.  Liber Cocorum, 5. Take sope, cast in hys potage; Þenne wylle þe pot begyn to rage And Welle on alle.

33 c. 1425.  Macro Plays, Cast. Persev., 3594. Go þou to helle, þou devyl … In bras & brimston to welle!

34 c. 1450.  St. Cuthbert (Surtees), 3371. When þe caldroun began to well þe tempest sest.

35 1483.  Cath. Angl., 413/2. To Welle, bullire, ebullire.

36 1554–9.  Songs & Ball. Phil. & Mary (Roxb.), 12. Full lean be thi pottage where the pote wellis.

37 1869.  Lonsdale Gloss., Well, to boil.

38   † b.  fig. Chiefly in the phrase to well in woe.

39   Cf. welling woe, welling wood: WELLING ppl. a. 1 b, c.

40 a. 1300.  Cursor M., 23166. Gas to þe deuil, þar sal yee ga, for to well þar in his wa.

41 a. 1310.  in Wright, Lyric P., xi. 40. In such wondryng for wo y welle.

42 c. 1325.  Metr. Hom. (1862), 29. Thar thai sal euermare duelle, And wafullic in pines welle.

43 1400.  Min. Poems fr. Vernon MS., xliv. 8. Þe Mon þat is taken in dedly synne, He may wel witen In wo to wellen.

44 c. 1440.  York Myst., i. 131. For-thi efter þaire warkes were, in wo sall þai well.

45   † c.  Of metal: To melt and boil up. Obs.

46 c. 1430.  Chev. Assigne, 166. And I breke me a cheyne & halfe leyde in þe fyer, And it wexedde in my honde & wellede so faste, That I toke þe oþur fyve & fro þe fyer caste.

47   † d.  fig. To unite as by welding.

48 159[?].  James I., Βασιλικον Δωρον, III. (MS. = ed. 1599, p. 153). Mixing … the men of euerie Kingdome with another, as mayo with tyme make thaime to grow & well all in ane. [Cf. WELD v. 1.]

49   4.  Of liquids, esp. of a well or spring of water: To rise up to the surface (of the earth) and flow in a copious stream. Also with up, out, forth. † Const. of.

50 1387.  Trevisa, Higden, II. 59. In þis citee welleþ vp and springeþ hote baþes. Ibid. (1398), Barth. De P. R., XIII. i. (MS. Add. 27944). Other watir spryngeþ and welleþ owte of the ynner parties of the erthe as welles watir and pittes watir.

51 a. 1400[?].  Morte Arth., 3377. Thane cho wente to the welle by the wode euis, That alle wellyde of wyne.

52 c. 1425.  Seven Sag. (P.), 135. Fayre welles there wellyde fast.

53 a. 1500.  Hist. K. Boccus & Sydracke, U ij b. That [earth] turneth to brymstone Which wellyth vp somtyme anon.

54 1530.  Palsgr., 778/2. I well up, as water that bobylleth, or cometh out of the yerthe.

55 1590.  Spenser, F. Q., I. i. 34. Thereby a Christall streame did gently play, Which from a sacred fountaine welled forth alway.

56 1614.  Bp. Hall, Contempl., V. iii. 62. Hee might (if he had pleased) haue caused a spring to well out of the plaine earth.

57 1727–46.  Thomson, Summer, 807. From his two Springs,… Pure welling out, he … rolls his infant stream.

58 1787.  Burns, Death Sir J. H. Blair, ii. Lone as I … mus’d where limpid streams, once hallow’d, well.

59 1795.  Southey, Joan of Arc, III. 21. Fast by a spring, which welling at his feet With many a winding crept along the mead.

60 1831.  G. P. R. James, Phil. Augustus, xvii. A clear small stream, that welled from a rock hard by.

61 1869.  Tozer, Highl. Turkey, I. 39. The … fountains were … believed to well up from the Scamander.

62 1877.  Huxley, Physiogr., 190. The molten matter, which wells up the throat of a volcano.

63   fig.  1812.  D’Israeli, Calam. Auth., xxii. (1879), 178. A few of those public works whose waters silently welled from the spring of Leland’s genius.

64 1838.  Lytton, Leila, I. ii. As the water glides from yonder rock,… I see the tide of empire welling from my hands.

65 1846.  Keble, Lyra Innoc. (1873), 71. O who may count The drops from that eternal Fount Of heavenly Intercession, welling night and day?

66   b.  transf. of vapors, etc., that rise up to the surface, or flow forth in a stream; poet. of sound.

67   (a)  1842.  Dickens, Amer. Notes, iii. What sparkling bubbles glanced upon the waves, and welled up every moment to the surface.

68 1860.  Pusey, Min. Proph., 82. The smoke … ascendeth, swelleth, welleth, vanisheth.

69 1863.  Dana, Man. Geol., 710. The heat as gradually welled up from below, penetrating the moist and yielding beds.

70 1895.  S. Crane, Red Badge, v. Smoke welled slowly through the leaves.

71   (b)  1848.  Kingsley, Saint’s Trag., IV. iv. What sweet sounds from her fast-closed lips are welling.

72 a. 1849.  Poe, Bells, i. Keeping time … To the tintinabulation that so musically wells From the bells.

73 1867.  Morris, Jason, XIV. 45. White bodies moving,… Wherefrom it seemed that lovely music weiled.

74   c.  To well over, to overflow. lit. and fig.

75 1843.  G. P. R. James, Forest Days, i. It had a pond, which was kept clear by a spring at the bottom, welling constantly over at the side next the road.

76 1883.  D. C. Murray, Hearts, viii. His heart welled over with joy.

77 1885.  ‘Mrs. Alexander,’ At Bay, i. The spring of imaginative passion … lay there, ready to bubble up and well over into a strong current at the touch of the divining-rod.

78   5.  Of tears: To rise (up) to the eyes in a copious flood; to flow down.

79 c. 1374.  Chaucer, Troylus, V. 215. But þo by-gan a lytel his herte vnswelle Thorugh teris which þat gonnen vp to welle.

80 1377.  Langl., P. Pl., B. XIX. 375. And þanne welled water for wikked werkes, Egerlich ernynge out of mennes eyen.

81 1600.  Fairfax, Tasso, IV. xciv. Downe from her eies welled the pearles round, Vpon the bright Ennamell of her face.

82 1601.  Weever, Mirr. Mart., E 4. Still the pearles round Stil through her eies, and wel vpon her face.

83 1791.  Mrs. Radcliffe, Rom. Forest, iv. Tears welled into her eyes as she spoke these words.

84 1858.  G. Macdonald, Phantastes, xiii. 157. She lay with closed eyes, whence two large tears were just welling from beneath the veiling lids.

85 1863.  Miss Braddon, Aurora Floyd, ii. As she looked, the tears welled slowly up to her eyes which had been dry before.

86 1894.  J. A. Stewart, In Day of Battle, vii. My heart welled into my eyes in thankfulness as I drank in the full, deep draught of happiness.

87   6.  Of blood or corrupt matter: To flow from the body, a wound, or sore.

88 1387.  Trevisa, Higden, IV. 287. Herodes … was … i-tormented … wiþ wormes þat welled þat sprang out of his prive harneys. Ibid., 289.

89 14[?].  St. Mary of Oignies (MS. Douce 114), in Anglia, VIII. 140. Wormys wellynge oute of seint Symeouns woundes.

90 1532.  More, Confut. Tindale, Wks. 491/2. As the water welled out wyth the blood oute of hys blessed heart vpon the crosse.

91 1590.  Spenser, F. Q., I. viii. 47. Her dried dugs … Hong downe, and filthy matter from them weld.

92 1697.  Dryden, Æneis, X. 1184. With clotted Locks, and Blood that well’d from out the Wound.

93 17[?].  Broome, Iliad, X. Poems (1727), 128. Blood o’er the crimson Field Well’d from the Slain.

94 1777.  Potter, Æschylus, Agamem., 271. When forth-welling from the wound, The purple-streaming blood shall fall.

95 1835–6.  Todd’s Cycl. Anat., I. 238/2. The blood … wells up abundantly from the bottom of the wound.

96 1858.  G. Macdonald, Phantastes, xiii. 182. His hand was pressed against his side…. The blood was welling from between the fingers.

97 1890.  Brit. Med. Jrnl., 29 March, 707. Many small cavities were exposed. They were tensely filled with foul pus, which welled out freely from them.

98   b.  transf. of the source or a place. Const. of.

99 1387.  Trevisa, Higden, V. 235 (MS. γ). He wellede ful of wormes.

100 a. 1400[?].  Morte Arth., 3819. Alle wellys fulle of blode, thare he awaye passes.

101 c. 1482.  Monk of Evesham (Arb.), 32. Also y behylde the right syde of the ymage of oure lordis body and hit wellid oute of blode.

102   7.  fig. To spring or originate; to issue or flow forth or out. Of qualities, conditions: To emanate † of, out of, from a person or thing as a source.

103 13[?].  trans. Ælred, in Engl. Studien, VII. 311. Þyse ryueres beþ holy scriptures, þat welleþ out fro þe welle of wysdom, þat is Crist.

104 1387–8.  T. Usk, Test. Love, I. ii. 151. Trewly, al maner of blisse and preciousnesse in vertue out of thee springen and wellen.

105 c. 1400.  Pety Job, 438, in 26 Pol. Poems, xxv. 135. Vertues, lorde, though I haue none, Late thy grace in me now welle.

106 c. 1450.  trans. De Imitatione, III. x. 77. Considre all þinges as welling of þe hyest & most souereyn good.

107 1548.  Udall, etc., Erasm. Par. Luke iv. 20–24. The woordes whiche proceded from the mouth of Jesus … welled foorth from a brest replenished with the heauenly spirit of God.

108 1590.  Spenser, F. Q., III. vi. 25. With sugred words and gentle blandishment, Which as a fountaine from her sweet lips went, And welled goodly forth.

109 1834.  H. Miller, Scenes & Leg., xv. (1857), 223. Those old artless compositions which have welled out from time to time from among the people.

110 1846.  Eclectic Rev., Feb., 134. The Pilgrim’s Progress … welled up from the deep fountains of the author’s own mind, and … flowed on without reserve.

111 1883.  R. W. Church, Spenser, v. 128. All the abundance of his ideas, as they welled forth in his mind day by day.

112   8.  trans. a. Of a spring: To pour forth (water, etc.). Also with adv., as up.

113 1387.  Trevisa, Higden, VII. 391. Þis ȝere at Fynchamstede in Barrokschire a welle was i-seie welle blood fiftene dayes.

114 c. 1400.  Destr. Troy, 340. There was wellit to wale water full nobill, In yche place of the playne with plentius stremes.

115 1729.  Savage, Wanderer, V. 22. Rills … Meet in yon Mead, and well a River’s Source.

116 1820.  W. Irving, Sketch Bk., I. 32. Some classic fountain, that had once welled its pure waters in a sacred shade.

117 1853.  G. Johnston, Nat. Hist. E. Bord., I. 227. Another green bank from which a spring wells up to the light its sparkling waters.

118   b.  fig. To pour out (something) in or as a stream. Also with out, forth, up.

119 a. 1425.  Cursor M., 17076 (Trin.). Mary welle of mercy, wellyng [Laud willyng] euer pite.

120 1526.  Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W., 1531), 112. Wherfore it is deuyded in two partes: on the one parte it welleth vp all mocyons of concupyscence.

121 1590.  Spenser, F. Q., II. ii. 8. She sate, Welling out streames of teares. Ibid., x. 26. Behold the boyling Bathes at Cairbadon, Which seeth with secret fire eternally, And … to their people wealth they forth do well.

122 1610.  G. Fletcher, Christ’s Vict. in Heaven, xlviii. How nimbly will the golden phrases flie, And shed forth streames of choycest rhetorie, Welling celestiall torrents out of poesie?

123 1834.  De Quincey, Autob. Sk., Wks. 1853, I. 24. Deep is the solitude of millions who, with hearts welling forth love, have none to love them.

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