*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Wells

From Old English wella, genitive plural of well (“spring”), in reference to a residence near a group of springs. The original use of the genitive case here would've indicated origin. The -s ending of the modern form woul

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
name

An English topographic surname from Middle English for someone living near a well or a spring. · A male given name transferred from the surname. · A small cathedral city and civil parish with a city council in Somerset, England, previously in Mendip district (OS grid ref ST5445). · A small town in Norfolk, England; in full, Wells-next-the-Sea.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Old English wella, genitive plural of well (“spring”), in reference to a residence near a group of springs. The original use of the genitive case here would've indicated origin. The -s ending of the modern form would be added later on upon reanalysis after the breakdown of the case system (outside of pronouns) that occurred in the development of English.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionwellaang

This page abbreviates 14 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "wella"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English wella"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "wella",
      "wella#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "well",
      "well#Old_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "An English topographic surname from Middle English for someone living near a well or a spring.",
        "A male given name transferred from the surname.",
        "A small cathedral city and civil parish with a city council in Somerset, England, previously in Mendip district (OS grid ref ST5445).",
        "A small town in Norfolk, England; in full, Wells-next-the-Sea."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "39e175c69a0d3e8c8bb896e48a52c7ec1b683aef378300910d957f90a9b3e532",
      "rawRecordSha256": "22c523ebf39ca926ff081da1eac26dcbeb0fd961671516baeb2f043d4817d83d",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 385837
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 14,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Wells →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-V2VsbHM