well

well
\ \ English has two distinct words well, both of ancient ancestry. The adverb, ‘satisfactorily’ [OE], has relatives throughout the Germanic languages (German wohl, Dutch wel, Swedish väl, and Danish vel), and probably goes back ultimately to the Indo-European base *wel-, *wol-, which also gave English voluntary, wealth, and will. It was not used as an adjective until the 13th century. Wellwater-hole’ [OE] is descended from the Germanic base *wal-, *wel- ‘roll’ (source also of English wallet, wallow, waltz, welter, etc), and so etymologically denotes a place where water ‘bubbles’ up. This original notion of turbulent overflowing liquid is better preserved in the related verb wellgush’ [OE], which to begin with meant ‘boil’, and hence ‘melt metal’ (‘He made him drink welled lead’, Holy Rood 1300), and produced English weld.
\ \ Cf.VOLUNTARY, WEALTH, WILL; VOLUME, WALLOW, WALTZ, WELD, WELTER

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Well — Well, adv. [Compar. and superl. wanting, the deficiency being supplied by better and best, from another root.] [OE. wel, AS. wel; akin to OS., OFries., & D. wel, G. wohl, OHG. wola, wela, Icel. & Dan. vel, Sw. v[ a]l, Goth. wa[ i]la; originally… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Well to do — Well Well, adv. [Compar. and superl. wanting, the deficiency being supplied by better and best, from another root.] [OE. wel, AS. wel; akin to OS., OFries., & D. wel, G. wohl, OHG. wola, wela, Icel. & Dan. vel, Sw. v[ a]l, Goth. wa[ i]la;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Well — Well, n. [OE. welle, AS. wella, wylla, from weallan to well up, surge, boil; akin to D. wel a spring or fountain. ????. See {Well}, v. i.] [1913 Webster] 1. An issue of water from the earth; a spring; a fountain. [1913 Webster] Begin, then,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • well — well1 [wel] n. [ME welle < OE wella, akin to weallan, to boil up, akin to Ger welle, wave, wallen, to boil < IE base * wel , to turn, roll > WALK, L volvere, to roll] 1. a flow of water from the earth; natural spring and pool 2. a hole… …   English World dictionary

  • Well — is an English adverb with irregular comparison. Well may also refer to:* Water well, an artificial excavation or structure for the purpose of withdrawing water * Oil well, a hole drilled through the Earth s surface for the purpose of extracting… …   Wikipedia

  • well — Ⅰ. well [1] ► ADVERB (better, best) 1) in a good or satisfactory way. 2) in a condition of prosperity or comfort. 3) in a favourable or approving manner. 4) in a thorough manner. 5) …   English terms dictionary

  • Well — Well, a. [1913 Webster] 1. Good in condition or circumstances; desirable, either in a natural or moral sense; fortunate; convenient; advantageous; happy; as, it is well for the country that the crops did not fail; it is well that the mistake was… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Well — bezeichnet eine Vertiefung in einer Mikrotiterplatte Well ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Günther van Well (1922–1993), deutscher Diplomat und Staatssekretär Roman Well (eigentlich Ruvelis Leiba Sobolevicius, später Robert Soblen;… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • well — well, well There is much uncertainty about whether forms such as well( )made and well( )received should contain a hyphen or be spelt as two words. The normal rule is that the combination is hyphened when it occurs in attributive position (i.e.… …   Modern English usage

  • well- — well, well There is much uncertainty about whether forms such as well( )made and well( )received should contain a hyphen or be spelt as two words. The normal rule is that the combination is hyphened when it occurs in attributive position (i.e.… …   Modern English usage

  • well — [wel] noun [countable] another name for an oil well * * * well UK US /wel/ noun [C] ► NATURAL RESOURCES a deep hole in the ground from which you can get water: »These two tributaries of the Yellowstone River supply water for farms and wells in… …   Financial and business terms

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