Source etymology 1
Original entry ↗To handle with skill and ease, especially a weapon or tool. · To exercise (authority or influence) effectively. · To command, rule over; to possess or own. · To control, to guide or manage.
From Middle English welden, from the merger of Old English wealdan (“to control, rule”) (strong class 7) and Old English wieldan (“to control, subdue”) (weak). Both verbs derive from Proto-West Germanic *waldan and *waldijan, respectively; and are ultimately from Proto-Germanic *waldaną (“to rule”). The reason for the merger was that in Middle English the -d in the stem made it hard to distinguish between strong and weak forms in the past tense.
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
This page abbreviates 1 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": "root",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*h₂welh₁-",
"id": "rule"
},
"expansion": ""
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "welden"
},
"expansion": "Middle English welden"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "wealdan",
"t": "to control, rule",
"qq": "strong class 7"
},
"expansion": "Old English wealdan (“to control, rule”) (strong class 7)"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "wieldan",
"t": "to control, subdue",
"qq": "weak"
},
"expansion": "Old English wieldan (“to control, subdue”) (weak)"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gmw-pro",
"3": "*waldan"
},
"expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *waldan"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gem-pro",
"3": "*waldaną",
"t": "to rule"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Germanic *waldaną (“to rule”)"
}
],
"links": [
[
"welden",
"welden#Middle_English"
],
[
"wealdan",
"wealdan#Old_English"
],
[
"wieldan",
"wieldan#Old_English"
],
[
"*waldan",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/waldan"
],
[
"*waldijan",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/waldijan"
],
[
"*waldaną",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/waldaną"
]
],
"references": [],
"descendants": [],
"lexical": [
{
"pos": "verb",
"glosses": [
"To handle with skill and ease, especially a weapon or tool.",
"To exercise (authority or influence) effectively.",
"To command, rule over; to possess or own.",
"To control, to guide or manage."
],
"tags": [
"obsolete"
],
"recordId": "e5db6a70ff307db8e6529a1070c6d2d64feb1e6ae5f3c7b5607aa12dec7ebc7e",
"rawRecordSha256": "28f914cdfc3a22ed5fa7f0ed07e205c5e30dc848cb31c4af54a8087d0cf1e1cf",
"sourceRecordOrdinal": 259292
}
],
"omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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"references": 0,
"descendants": 0,
"lexicalRecords": 0,
"lexicalSenses": 1,
"glosses": 0
}
}