*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of dwell

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰwel-der. Proto-Germanic *dwalaz Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Germanic *-janą Proto-Germanic *dwaljaną Proto-West Germanic *dwalljan Old English dwellan ▲ Old Norse dveljainflu. M

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 ↗
noun

A period of time in which a system or component remains in a given state. · A brief pause in the motion of part of a mechanism to allow an operation to be completed. · A planned delay in a timed control program. · In a petrol engine, the period of time the ignition points are closed to let current flow through the ignition coil in between each spark. This is measured as an angle in degrees around the camshaft in the distributor which controls the points, for example in a 4-cylinder engine it might be 55° (spark at 90° intervals, points closed for 55° between each).

verb

To live; to reside. · To linger (on); to remain fixated. · To be in a given state. · To abide; to remain; to continue.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰwel-der. Proto-Germanic *dwalaz Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Germanic *-janą Proto-Germanic *dwaljaną Proto-West Germanic *dwalljan Old English dwellan ▲ Old Norse dveljainflu. Middle English dwellen English dwell From Middle English dwellen (“delay, live, remain, persist”), from Old English dwellan (“to mislead, deceive; be led into error, stray”), from Proto-Germanic *dwaljaną (“to hold up, delay; hesitate”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰwelH- (“to whirl, swirl, blur, obfuscate”), which is cognate with Old Norse dvelja and related to Proto-Germanic *dwelaną (“to go astray”), which underwent semantic change in its descendants. Cognates include Danish dvæle (“to linger, dwell”) and Swedish dväljas (“to dwell, reside”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentiondwellenenm · delay, live, remain, persist
  • Inherited-form mentiondwellanang · to mislead, deceive; be led into error, stray
  • Inherited-form mention*dwaljanągem-pro · to hold up, delay; hesitate
  • Derivation mention*dʰwelH-ine-pro · to whirl, swirl, blur, obfuscate
  • Cognate mentiondveljanon
  • Cognate mention*dwelanągem-pro · to go astray
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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        "3": "enm:dwellen<id:live>",
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    },
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      },
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    },
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      },
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    },
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      "name": "der",
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      },
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    },
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      "name": "cog",
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      },
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      },
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    }
  ],
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    ],
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    ],
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      "*-janą",
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    ],
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    ],
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    ],
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    ],
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    ],
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      "dvelja",
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    ],
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      "*dwelaną",
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    ],
    [
      "dvæle",
      "dvæle#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "dväljas",
      "dväljas#Swedish"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
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        "A period of time in which a system or component remains in a given state.",
        "A brief pause in the motion of part of a mechanism to allow an operation to be completed.",
        "A planned delay in a timed control program.",
        "In a petrol engine, the period of time the ignition points are closed to let current flow through the ignition coil in between each spark. This is measured as an angle in degrees around the camshaft in the distributor which controls the points, for example in a 4-cylinder engine it might be 55° (spark at 90° intervals, points closed for 55° between each)."
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}

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 dwell →

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-ZHdlbGw