Etymologically
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wield

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Pronunciation

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English welden,[2][3][4][5] inherited from Old English wealdan (“to rule, have power over”), in Anglian waldan,[6][3][7] merged with the related weak verb wieldan (“to control, subdue”), Anglian wældan.[6][3][8] The weak verb was formed from the same base with a suffix that caused i-mutation.[6][9] The strong verb is from Proto-Germanic *waldaną (“to rule”),[10][11] cognate with Old Frisian walda, Old Saxon waldan, Old High German waltan (modern German walten), Old Norse valda (“to rule; to cause”) and Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌽 (waldan, “to rule”).[6][12][10] Outside Germanic it is related to Lithuanian valdyti (“to rule”), Old Irish flaith (“sovereignty, ruler”), Tocharian B walo (“king”) and Latin valeō (“to be strong”),[6][10][5] all of which point to an extended form of Proto-Indo-European *wal- (“to be strong”).[4][12][13] Kroonen sets out from a root *h₂ulh₁-, which he also finds in Hittite.[10] The Latin verb is the source of valid and value.[13]

Earliest recorded meaning

To rule or govern a people or place: in Old English, in Widsith;[6] Barnhart dates the Old English verb to about 725, in Beowulf.[12] The Middle English welden is recorded from probably about 1175, meaning to rule, guide, decide, or handle with skill.[12]

Semantic evolution

Ayto stresses that to wield something was at first to command or rule it, and that "handle, use" is a later development.[13] The Old English verb already covered ruling, possessing and controlling the movements of a thing, and Bosworth–Toller gives "wield a weapon" among its senses.[7] Most of the older senses died out between the 15th and 18th centuries: to rule a people (to 1633), to subdue (to 1400), to possess land or goods (to 1790), to endure or suffer (1375–1578), to bring about or perform a deed (to 1572) and to carry something heavy (c. 1275–1592).[6] The sense "to make use of as a tool or weapon", now the usual one, is dated in the Historical Thesaurus from 1601,[14] while the Shorter Oxford dates the skilled handling of a weapon or tool to Old English.[8] Wycliffe's version of the Beatitudes says that the meek shuln welde the eerthe, shall possess the earth.[15] The sense "to deal with successfully, manage" survives in Scots and northern dialect; in Yorkshire it also meant to obtain by any means.[8][16][5]

Timeline

  • c. 725 – Old English wealdan, to rule, in Beowulf.[12]
  • Old English – to rule or govern (obsolete by 1633); to possess (obsolete by 1790); to direct the movement of something, control (obsolete by 1612).[6]
  • c. 1175 – Middle English welden, to rule, guide, handle with skill.[12]
  • c. 1275 – to carry something heavy (obsolete by 1592).[6]
  • before 1375 – to experience or suffer something (obsolete by 1578).[6]
  • 1601 – to make use of as a tool or weapon, now the usual sense.[14]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To handle or use a weapon or tool, especially with skill or full control: The chef wielded her knife with speed.[17][5][8]
  2. To exercise or maintain power, influence or authority: The committee wields great influence over the budget.[17][5]
  3. (dialect) To deal with successfully; to manage.[5][8][16]
  4. (obsolete) To rule or govern.[17][6][8]

Word family

  • wieldable
  • wielder

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement
  8. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  10. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  11. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  12. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  13. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  14. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  15. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  16. ^ a b Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  17. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins