Whelm

Whelm
Whelm Whelm, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Whelmed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Whelming}.] [OE. whelmen to turn over, akin to OE. whelven, AS. whelfan, hwylfan, in ?whylfan, ?whelfan, to overwhelm, cover over; akin to OS. bihwelbian, D. welven to arch, G. w["o]lben, OHG. welben, Icel. hvelfa to overturn; cf. Gr. ? bosom, a hollow, a gulf.] [1913 Webster] 1. To cover with water or other fluid; to cover by immersion in something that envelops on all sides; to overwhelm; to ingulf. [1913 Webster]

She is my prize, or ocean whelm them all! --Shak. [1913 Webster]

The whelming billow and the faithless oar. --Gay. [1913 Webster]

2. Fig.: To cover completely, as if with water; to immerse; to overcome; as, to whelm one in sorrows. ``The whelming weight of crime.'' --J. H. Newman. [1913 Webster]

3. To throw (something) over a thing so as to cover it. [Obs.] --Mortimer. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • whelm — index overcome (overwhelm) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • whelm — c.1300, probably from a parallel form of O.E. hwielfan (W.Saxon), hwelfan (Mercian), in ahwelfan cover over; probably altered by association with O.E. helmian to cover (see HELMET (Cf. helmet)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • whelm — [hwelm, welm] vt. [ME welmen, whelmen: ? merging of OE hwelfan, to overwhelm, with helmian, to cover: see HELM1] 1. to submerge, cover, or engulf 2. to overpower or crush; overwhelm …   English World dictionary

  • whelm — over·whelm; over·whelm·ing·ness; whelm; un·der·whelm; over·whelm·ing·ly; …   English syllables

  • whelm — verb Etymology: Middle English Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to turn (as a dish or vessel) upside down usually to cover something ; cover or engulf completely with usually disastrous effect 2. to overcome in thought or feeling ; overwhelm …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • whelm — /hwelm, welm/, v.t. 1. to submerge; engulf. 2. to overcome utterly; overwhelm: whelmed by misfortune. v.i. 3. to roll or surge over something, as in becoming submerged. [1250 1300; ME whelme, appar. b. dial. whelve (OE gehwelfan to bend over) and …   Universalium

  • whelm — verb /welm,ʍelm/ a) To cover with water; to submerge b) To overcome with emotion …   Wiktionary

  • whelm — Synonyms and related words: baptize, be prodigal with, blank, bulldoze, bury, cascade, cataract, clobber, cream, defeat utterly, deluge, dip, douse, drown, duck, dunk, engulf, float, flood, flood the market, flow on, immerge, immerse, inundate,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • whelm — (Roget s Thesaurus II) verb 1. To flow over completely: deluge, drown, engulf, flood, flush, inundate, overflow, overwhelm, submerge. See FULL. 2. To affect as if by an outpouring of water: deluge, flood, inundate, overwhelm, swamp. See FULL …   English dictionary for students

  • whelm — hwelm /w v. flood, cover; deluge; pass over or roll over something so as to submerge it, drown; overwhelm, overcome, overpower …   English contemporary dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”