*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of weld

From Middle English welde, wolde, from Old English *weald, weard, variant form of wād, Proto-West Germanic *waiʀd, from Proto-Germanic *waizdaz. Alternatively reborrowed from or contaminated by Anglo-Norman wold, wolde (

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 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 herb (Reseda luteola) related to mignonette, growing in Europe, and to some extent in America, used to make a yellow dye. · The yellow coloring matter or dye extracted from this plant.

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

From Middle English welde, wolde, from Old English *weald, weard, variant form of wād, Proto-West Germanic *waiʀd, from Proto-Germanic *waizdaz. Alternatively reborrowed from or contaminated by Anglo-Norman wold, wolde (compare Old French guaide). Doublet of woad. Dutch wouw is derived from the same basic form with -l-.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionweldeenm
  • Inherited-form mention*wealdang
  • Inherited-form mention*waiʀdgmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*waizdazgem-pro
  • Cognate mentionguaidefro
  • Doublet mentionwoaden
  • Cognate mentionwouwnl
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "welde"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English welde"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "*weald"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English *weald"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*waiʀd"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *waiʀd"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*waizdaz"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *waizdaz"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "xno",
        "3": "wold"
      },
      "expansion": "Anglo-Norman wold"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fro",
        "2": "guaide"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French guaide"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "woad"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of woad"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "wouw"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch wouw"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "welde",
      "welde#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wolde",
      "wolde#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "*weald",
      "Reconstruction:Old English/weald"
    ],
    [
      "weard",
      "weard#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "wād",
      "wad#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*waiʀd",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/waiʀd"
    ],
    [
      "*waizdaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/waizdaz"
    ],
    [
      "wold",
      "wold#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "wolde",
      "wolde#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "guaide",
      "guaide#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "woad",
      "woad#English"
    ],
    [
      "wouw",
      "wouw#Dutch"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A herb (Reseda luteola) related to mignonette, growing in Europe, and to some extent in America, used to make a yellow dye.",
        "The yellow coloring matter or dye extracted from this plant."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

The joint made by welding.

verb

To join two materials (especially two metals) together by applying heat, pressure and filler, either separately or in any combination. · To make something by welding. · To bind together inseparably; to unite closely or intimately.

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

Alteration of well (“boil, rise”), probably influenced by the past participle, welled. Compare cognate Danish vælde, Swedish välla (“boil, rise → to forge weld”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Cognate mentionvældeda
  • Cognate mentionvällasv · boil, rise → to forge weld
Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "vælde"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish vælde"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "välla",
        "t": "boil, rise → to forge weld"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish välla (“boil, rise → to forge weld”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "well",
      "well#English"
    ],
    [
      "welled",
      "welled#English"
    ],
    [
      "vælde",
      "vælde#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "välla",
      "välla#Swedish"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The joint made by welding."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "91c1a3dd3e831c3c1f22ff8110ad985d4d837578ff0916fc6bce9de02c765c24",
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    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To join two materials (especially two metals) together by applying heat, pressure and filler, either separately or in any combination.",
        "To make something by welding.",
        "To bind together inseparably; to unite closely or intimately."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
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}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
verb

To wield.

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

From Old English weald (sense 2).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionwealdang
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": "weald"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English weald"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "weald",
      "weald#Old_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To wield."
      ],
      "tags": [
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      ],
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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 weld →

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-d2VsZA