*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of welly

Clipping of Wellington boot + -y.

2 source sectionsBrief source recordWiktionary 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 Wellington boot. · Force on a pedal or increase to any fuel or power for an engine or motor. · Force or effort.

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

Clipping of Wellington boot + -y.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "clipping",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Wellington boot"
      },
      "expansion": "Clipping of Wellington boot"
    },
    {
      "name": "suf",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "",
        "3": "y",
        "id2": "diminutive"
      },
      "expansion": "+ -y"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Wellington boot",
      "Wellington boot#English"
    ],
    [
      "-y",
      "-y#English:_diminutive"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A Wellington boot.",
        "Force on a pedal or increase to any fuel or power for an engine or motor.",
        "Force or effort."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "informal",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "00581610dd60eabf5185f87f5d21586cdc7915fc568aca13b4c6ca8a6016e398",
      "rawRecordSha256": "ef4547aa57e60a81a8cdfc49f0aedef5723f7569b7e329fc46e5b0c4c7b0409d",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 312370
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
adv

Almost; nearly.

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

From welne, a dialectal variant of well-nigh.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "welne",
      "welne#English"
    ],
    [
      "well-nigh",
      "well-nigh#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adv",
      "glosses": [
        "Almost; nearly."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Ireland",
        "UK",
        "dialectal",
        "not-comparable",
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "recordId": "4b694ce599dc15f66022a89b01b98ef00b32acde0e6706d69a7f40c02410cb37",
      "rawRecordSha256": "155e6240cbfb6c96d6123e277895a8d43b24e8db9b2b600c89e15531f4692060",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 312371
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "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 welly →

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-d2VsbHk