wealwian

wealwian¹ to roll, wallow

Pronunciation

• /ˈwæ͜ɑl.wi.ɑn/, [ˈwæ͜ɑɫ.wi.ɑn]^[1]

Forms

wealwian (weak class 2; third-person singular present wealwaþ, past singular wealwode, past plural wealwodon)^[1]

Etymology

The verb meaning to roll or wallow is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *walwōn, a variant of *walwijan, from Proto-Germanic *walwijaną (“to roll”).^[1] Kroonen sets the weak verb *walwjan- beside Gothic compound verbs and Old English wielwan (“to roll”), and compares Latin volvō (“to roll”).^[2][3]

Köbler and Kroonen trace it to the root Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to turn, roll”).^[4][2] Kroonen finds the origin of the w-suffix unclear; one possibility is a u-stem adjective meaning “round”, the source also of Proto-Germanic *waluz (“staff, lump”).^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first dated record is the Pastoral Care in Hatton 20, written 890×897: anger drives the hot-tempered ðæt hie wealwiað on ða wedenheortnesse “so that they roll into madness”, rendering Latin “in mentis vesaniam devolvuntur”.^[5][6][7]

Semantic evolution

The verb is intransitive: in the Old English Bede a horse rolls on the ground, throwing itself from side to side, and in the Boethius a great stone rolls down from a mountain into a brook.^[7][6] In the Pastoral Care a man rolls himself in muddy water.^[7]

The word lived on as Middle English walwen, now English wallow.^[8][9]

Timeline

• 890×897 – hie wealwiað on ða wedenheortnesse in the Pastoral Care.^[5][6]
• s. x med. – micel stan wealwiende in the Old English Boethius.^[10][6]
• s. x in. or xi¹ – a horse ongon wealwian in the Old English Bede (Tanner 10).^[11][6]
• mid-13th century – Middle English walwen “roll the body in mud”.^[9]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) to roll.^[7][12][4]
2. to wallow.^[7][12]

Word family

• bewealwian

Descendants

• Middle English walwen (→ English wallow; Scots wallow)^[1]

wealwian² to fade, wither

Pronunciation

• /ˈwæ͜ɑl.wi.ɑn/, [ˈwæ͜ɑɫ.wi.ɑn]^[1]

Forms

wealwian (weak class 2; third-person singular present wealwaþ, past singular wealwode, past plural wealwodon)^[1] Also wealowian, wealuwian and wealowiġan.^[1]

Etymology

The verb meaning to fade or wither has no certain etymology.^[1][4] Holthausen gives it only its later forms, Middle English welwen and the English word wallow.^[3] Wiktionary suggests it may be an altered form of fealwian (“to turn yellow, wither”), and reports a link with Proto-West Germanic *wolkn (“cloud”) made by Kluge.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first dated record is in the Old English Boethius, in a manuscript of the mid-tenth century: every plant seeks the place þær hit hraðost weaxan mæg & latost wealowian “where it can grow quickest and wither latest”, rendering Latin “cito exarescere atque interire non possint”.^[10][6][13]

Semantic evolution

The verb is used of plants and leaves: in the Meters of Boethius leaves grow green and in autumn fall and wither.^[13] Köbler and Nerthus also give “dry up, shrivel”.^[4][14] The participle is found in unforwealwod (“unwithered”).^[13]

The verb lived on as Middle English welwen “to fade”, and Bosworth and Toller note wallow “to fade away” as a Somerset dialect word.^[8][13]

Timeline

• s. x med. – latost wealowian in the Old English Boethius.^[10][6]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) to fade, wither, dry up.^[13][12][4]

Word family

• unforwealwod

Descendants

• Middle English welwen (→ English wallow)^[8][1]