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Webster 1913 Edition


Welcome

Wel′come

,
Adj.
[OE.
welcome
,
welcume
,
wilcume
, AS.
wilcuma
a welcome guest, from
wil-
, as a prefix, akin to
willa
will +
cuma
a comer, fr.
cuman
to come; hence, properly, one who comes so as to please another’s will; cf. Icel.
velkominn
welcome, G.
willkommen
. See
Will
,
Noun.
, and Come.]
1.
Received with gladness; admitted willingly to the house, entertainment, or company;
as, a
welcome
visitor
.
When the glad soul is made Heaven's
welcome
guest.
Cowper.
2.
Producing gladness; grateful;
as, a
welcome
present;
welcome
news
.
“O, welcome hour!”
Milton.
3.
Free to have or enjoy gratuitously;
as, you are
welcome
to the use of my library
.
Welcome is used elliptically for you are welcome. “Welcome, great monarch, to your own.”
Dryden.
Welcome-to-our-house
(Bot.)
,
a kind of spurge (
Euphorbia Cyparissias
).
Dr. Prior.

Wel′come

,
Noun.
1.
Salutation to a newcomer.
Welcome ever smiles.”
Shak.
2.
Kind reception of a guest or newcomer;
as, we entered the house and found a ready
welcome
.
His warmest
welcome
at an inn.
Shenstone.
Truth finds an entrance and a
welcome
too.
South.
To bid welcome
,
to receive with professions of kindness.
To thee and thy company I
bid

A hearty
welcome
.
Shakespeare

Wel′come

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Welcomed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Welcoming
.]
[AS.
wilcumian
.]
To salute with kindness, as a newcomer; to receive and entertain hospitably and cheerfully;
as, to
welcome
a visitor; to
welcome
a new idea
.
“I welcome you to land.”
Addison.
Thus we salute thee with our early song,
And
welcome
thee, and wish thee long.
Milton.

Webster 1828 Edition


Welcome

WELCOME

,
Adj.
1.
Received with gladness; admitted willingly to the house, entertainment and company; as a welcome guest.
2.
Grateful; pleasing; as a welcome present; welcome news.
3.
Free to have or enjoy gratuitously. You are welcome to the use of my library.
To bid welcome, to receive with professions of kindness.

WELCOME

, is used elliptically for you are welcome.
Welcome, great monarch, to your own.
Welcome to our house, an herb.

WELCOME

,
Noun.
1.
Salutation of a new comer.
Welcome ever smiles--
2.
Kind reception of a guest or new comer. We entered the house and found a ready welcome.
Truth finds an entrance and a welcome too.

WELCOME

,
Verb.
T.
To salute a new comer with kindness; or to receive and entertain hospitable, gratuitously and cheerfully.
Thus we salute thee with our early song, and welcome thee, and wish thee long.

Definition 2024


welcome

welcome

English

A not very welcoming message on a doormat

Adjective

welcome (comparative more welcome, superlative most welcome)

  1. Whose arrival is a cause of joy; received with gladness; admitted willingly to the house, entertainment, or company.
    a welcome visitor
    Refugees welcome in London!
    • William Cowper (1731-1800)
      When the glad soul is made Heaven's welcome guest.
  2. Producing gladness.
    a welcome present; welcome news
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 7, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      “A very welcome, kind, useful present, that means to the parish. By the way, Hopkins, let this go no further. We don't want the tale running round that a rich person has arrived. Churchill, my dear fellow, we have such greedy sharks, and wolves in lamb's clothing.  []
  3. Free to have or enjoy gratuitously.
    You are welcome to the use of my library.
    • 1915, George A. Birmingham, chapter I”, in Gossamer (Project Gutenberg; EBook #24394), London: Methuen & Co., published 8 January 2013 (Project Gutenberg version), OCLC 558189256:
      As a political system democracy seems to me extraordinarily foolish, but I would not go out of my way to protest against it. My servant is, so far as I am concerned, welcome to as many votes as he can get. I would very gladly make mine over to him if I could.

Usage notes

Used with "in" when referring to a place, as in "I felt welcome in England", and when saying that one would like to welcome someone (before they have arrived or even if they are being prevented from coming), as on banners saying "Refugees welcome in London!" (short for "Refugees are welcome in London!").

So in a country that is not preventing refugees from coming, both banners saying "Refugees, welcome to X!" (the interjection "welcome", with a comma) and "Refugees welcome in X!" (the adjective "welcome", without a comma) are correct but mean different things.

The interjection "welcome" is always used with "to" or without any preposition ("welcome home", "welcome back"). "Welcome to X" is only used when greeting people, never when saying that one would like to invite them or is looking forward to seeing them.

The adjective "welcome" is also used with "to" before nouns that are not places and before verbs in the expressions "be welcome to something" (e.g. the last piece of cake) and "be welcome to do something" (e.g. to take as much cake as you want).

Translations

Interjection

welcome

  1. Greeting given upon someone's arrival.
  2. (nonstandard, chiefly Southern US) Shortening of you're welcome.

Usage notes

When used with reference to a place, "welcome" is always followed by "to". The signs often seen in many non-English-speaking countries welcoming tourists with "in", such as "Welcome in Heidelberg!", sound unnatural to English speakers and show interference from other languages, many of which use a cognate of "in" in this situation, and especially with a cognate of "welcome".

The adjective "welcome" is used with both "in" and "to" but in different contexts.

Translations

Noun

welcome (plural welcomes)

  1. The act of greeting someone’s arrival, especially by saying "Welcome!"; reception.
  2. The utterance of such a greeting.
  3. Kind reception of a guest or newcomer.
    We entered the house and found a ready welcome.
    • Shenstone
      his warmest welcome at an inn
    • South
      Truth finds an entrance and a welcome too.

Translations

Verb

welcome (third-person singular simple present welcomes, present participle welcoming, simple past and past participle welcomed)

  1. To affirm or greet the arrival of someone, especially by saying "Welcome!".
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 5, in The Celebrity:
      But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud, [] . By the time we reached the house we were thanking our stars she had come. Mrs. Cooke came out from under the port-cochere to welcome her.
  2. To accept something willingly or gladly.
    We welcome suggestions for improvement.

Translations

Derived terms

See also