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Webster 1913 Edition


Welk

Welk

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Welked
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Welking
.]
[OE.
welken
; cf. D. & G.
welken
to wither, G.
welk
withered, OHG.
welc
moist. See
Welkin
, and cf.
Wilt
.]
To wither; to fade; also, to decay; to decline; to wane.
[Obs.]
When ruddy Ph[GREEK]bus ’gins to
welk
in west.
Spenser.
The church, that before by insensible degrees
welked
and impaired, now with large steps went down hill decaying.
Milton.

Welk

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To cause to wither; to wilt.
[Obs.]
Mot thy
welked
neck be to-broke [broken].
Chaucer.
2.
To contract; to shorten.
[Obs.]
Now sad winter
welked
hath the day.
Spenser.
3.
To soak; also, to beat severely.
[Prov. Eng.]

Welk

,
Noun.
A pustule. See 2d
Whelk
.

Welk

,
Noun.
(Zool.)
A whelk.
[R.]

Webster 1828 Edition


Welk

WELK

,
Verb.
I.
[G., to wither, to fade, to decay; primarily to shrink or contract, as things in drying, whence the Saxon weole, a whilk or whelk, a shell; from its wrinkles.] To decline; to fade; to decay; to fall.
When ruddy Phoebus gins to welk in west.

WELK

,
Verb.
T.
To contract; to shorten.
Now sad winter welked hath the day-- [This word is obsolete. But its signification has heretofore been misunderstood.]

Definition 2024


welk

welk

English

Verb

welk (third-person singular simple present welks, present participle welking, simple past and past participle welked)

  1. (obsolete) Of a plant: to wither, wilt, decay.
  2. (obsolete) To diminish; to lose brightness, to wane.
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.i.23:
      As gentle Shepheard in sweete euentide, / When ruddy Phoebus gins to welke in west [...].
    • Milton
      The church, that before by insensible degrees welked and impaired, now with large steps went down hill decaying.
  3. (dialectal) to soak, steep.
  4. (dialectal) to thrash, beat severely.
  5. To contract; to shorten.
    • Spenser
      Now sad winter welked hath the day.

Etymology 2

Noun

welk (plural welks)

  1. Alternative form of whelk

Anagrams


Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɛlk
  • IPA(key): /ʋɛlk/

Etymology

From Middle Dutch welc, from Old Dutch *wilik, *welik, from Proto-Germanic *hwilīkaz.

Determiner

welk

  1. which (what, of those mentioned or implied)

Inflection

Inflection of welk
uninflected welk
inflected welke
comparative
positive
predicative/adverbial
indefinite m./f. sing. welke
n. sing. welk
plural welke
definite welke
partitive

Anagrams


German

Pronunciation

Adjective

welk

  1. wilted, faded

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