English word origin

Etymology of weel

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

A trap for catching fish; a weely. · An arrangement of hairs that keeps insects out of flowers.

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

From Middle English wele, wyle, welle, likely a fusion of Old Norse vél ("device"; compare Icelandic vél (“a contrivance to catch fish”)) and Middle English welwe, wilwe (“a weir, trap, or other device made of willow branches”), from Old English wiliġe, wyliġe (“basket”), related to Old English weliġ (“willow”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionweleenm
Derivation mentionvélnon
Cognate mentionvélis · a contrivance to catch fish
Derivation mentionwelweenm
Inherited-form mentionwiliġeang
Cognate mentionweliġang · willow

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "wele"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English wele"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "vél"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse vél"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "vél",
        "t": "a contrivance to catch fish"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic vél (“a contrivance to catch fish”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "gloss",
      "args": {
        "1": "\"device\"; compare Icelandic <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"is\">vél</i> (“a contrivance to catch fish”)"
      },
      "expansion": "(\"device\"; compare Icelandic vél (“a contrivance to catch fish”))"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "welwe"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English welwe"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "wiliġe"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English wiliġe"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "weliġ",
        "t": "willow"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English weliġ (“willow”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "wele",
      "wele#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wyle",
      "wyle#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "welle",
      "welle#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "vél",
      "vél#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "Icelandic",
      "w:Icelandic language"
    ],
    [
      "vél",
      "vél#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "welwe",
      "welwe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wilwe",
      "wilwe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wiliġe",
      "wilige#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "wyliġe",
      "wylige#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "weliġ",
      "welig#Old_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A trap for catching fish; a weely.",
        "An arrangement of hairs that keeps insects out of flowers."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "b232558f0f3970cbc376a94f16f8a1c9ea67d5778abed9a028ab9e635e1768f8",
      "rawRecordSha256": "67e32a5829119021d905e63710dc4a065d927a74156873518f51bb8fca79f49a",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 535355
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

A whirlpool.

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

From Middle English wel, weel, wele, wæl, from Old English wǣl (“weel, a deep pool, gulf, deep water of a stream or of the sea”). Cognate with Scots weil, weel (“pool, eddy, whirlpool”), Middle Low German wêl (“a pool”), Middle Low German wêlen (“to swirl, whirl”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionwelenm
Inherited-form mentionwǣlang · weel, a deep pool, gulf, deep water of a stream or of the sea
Cognate mentionweilsco
Cognate mentionwêlgml · a pool
Cognate mentionwêlengml · to swirl, whirl

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "wel"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English wel"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "wǣl",
        "t": "weel, a deep pool, gulf, deep water of a stream or of the sea"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English wǣl (“weel, a deep pool, gulf, deep water of a stream or of the sea”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "weil"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots weil"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gml",
        "2": "wêl",
        "t": "a pool"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Low German wêl (“a pool”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gml",
        "2": "wêlen",
        "t": "to swirl, whirl"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Low German wêlen (“to swirl, whirl”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "wel",
      "wel#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "weel",
      "weel#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wele",
      "wele#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wæl",
      "wæl#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wǣl",
      "wæl#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "weil",
      "weil#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "weel",
      "weel#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "wêl",
      "wel#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "wêlen",
      "welen#Middle_Low_German"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A whirlpool."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dialectal",
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "recordId": "18f6d9fe15ea9a772347d9b86590ea3622aa844493286fee9add710ed0ea472c",
      "rawRecordSha256": "cdd1aee863c20f40ccf2d50b030f444afb735f0fa8dc2177960a89bcdc218454",
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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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 weel →

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-d2VlbA