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wel

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wel1 well, indeed

Pronunciation

Forms

wel[1]

Etymology

The adverb meaning “well” is inherited from Middle Dutch wel (beside wale), inherited from Old Dutch wala, inherited from Proto-Germanic *wela.[2][1] The EWN gives the Germanic form as ⟨*welō-⟩.[2][3] The same word is Old Saxon wela, Old High German wela (beside wola, modern German wohl), Old Frisian wel, Old English wel (modern English well), Old Norse vel and Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐌻𐌰 (waila).[2][4][5] Franck and Van Wijk explain the forms with /a/, Old Dutch ⟨wala⟩ and Old Norse val, as an ablaut variant, and the Gothic form has been read with a short /e/ like the others.[5][4][6]

It is derived from the root Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to choose, want”), as is willen, so that the basic meaning was “as one wishes”.[2][4][7] Similar formations elsewhere are Oscan ualaemom (“best”), Sanskrit वरीयस् (várīyas, “better”) and Welsh gwell (“better”).[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old Dutch wala “well” appears in the 10th-century Wachtendonck Psalms in uuala te likene, “well to please”.[2] The first Middle Dutch record is from Limburg in 1200, in the Servaas legend: want he der tu wale getam, “because he was well suited to it”.[8]

Semantic evolution

Middle Dutch used wel and wale with verbs for “well, properly”, in harde wel “very well” (1236), and, from 1250, to affirm: Vnde was wal seuede bruoder, “and was indeed the seventh brother”.[2][8] By the early modern period only wel remained.[2] Used as a noun, it meant good fortune, especially in wel of wee (1260),[8] and later wel hem die … “happy is he who …” (1516) and het eeuwig wel, eternal salvation.[7] The proverb doe wel en zie niet om, “do good and do not look back”, was known in the 17th century as the motto of Piet Hein.[9]

In modern Dutch the adverb is above all a modal particle: it contradicts a negation, concedes, expresses probability, approval or reproach, and stresses a large number.[10] After the pattern of nietes, children's welles “it is so!” appears in 1857.[2]

As an interjection, “well”, it passed into Papiamentu (awèl, wèl), Sranan (we) and Negerhollands.[11]

Timeline

  • 10th century – Old Dutch wala appears in the Wachtendonck Psalms.[2]
  • 1200 – Middle Dutch wale is recorded in Limburg.[8][2]
  • 1236 – Harde wel “very well” is recorded.[2][12]
  • 1250 – Wel is first used to affirm.[2]
  • 1260 – The noun appears in wale wert v wee, “weal or woe will be yours”.[8]
  • 1516 – Wel hem die staet in eens conincx gracie “happy is he who is in a king's favour”.[7]
  • 1857 – Welles is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Used to contradict a negation, often stressed: Ik heb het wél gedaan![10][1]
  2. Expressing confirmation: Dat weet ik wel.[10]
  3. well, properly, rightly: Als ik het wel heb, begint het om acht uur.[10][7]
  4. Fairly, reasonably: Het eten was wel lekker.[10][1]
  5. Expressing probability or supposition: Ze zal wel moe zijn.[10]
  6. Conceding a point: Hij is wel aardig, maar niet erg handig.[10]
  7. Stressing a large number, as many as: Er stonden wel honderd mensen.[10][1]

Adjective

  1. (predicative) Healthy, all right: Ik voel me niet wel.[10]

Interjection

  1. Well: introducing a question or expressing surprise: Wel, wel![10]

Noun

  1. (het wel) Well-being, weal, especially in wel en wee, “weal and woe”.[1][7]

Word family

  • welzijn
  • welvaart
  • welstand
  • welkom
  • wellicht
  • weliswaar
  • welles
  • weldra
  • weleer
  • wellust
  • welgevallen
  • evenwel
  • hoewel
  • jawel
  • ofwel
  • oftewel
  • danwel

wel2 spring

Pronunciation

Forms

wel f (plural wellen, diminutive welletje n)[1]

Etymology

The noun meaning “spring” is inherited from Middle Dutch welle, inherited from Old Dutch *wella, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *wallijā, inherited from Proto-Germanic *wallijǭ, a derivative of Proto-Germanic *wallaną (“to boil, bubble up”).[2][1] That verb survives in Middle Dutch wallen (“to boil, seethe”) and in wellen; a spring bubbling up was likened to boiling water, as with bron.[2][12][4] The same noun is Old Frisian walla and Old English wielle (modern English well).[2][5]

With other ablaut grades the root gave Old High German wella (“wave”) (modern German Welle), from ⟨*wel-nā⟩, and outside Germanic Lithuanian vilnis (“wave”) and Old Church Slavonic влъна (vlŭna, “wave”).[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is first found in place names: Old Dutch in VUalli, “in Wel” in Gelderland, in the 10th or 11th century, and Wella for an unidentified place in Zeeland (1197–1212).[2][13] As a common noun it is recorded in 1551, in borne oft welle, “spring or well”, describing the clean water drunk in the Zeeland countryside.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The word meant a spring where groundwater rises under pressure, and since 1626 also, figuratively, the source of feelings or troubles: Een valsche tong een well van lij'en, “a false tongue a spring of sorrows”.[7] Early senses “spring water” (1551), “quicksand” (1567) and “whirlwind” (1590) have long been obsolete.[7] Kiliaan already marked the sense “spring, spring water” as old.[4][5]

In Zeeland de wel geeft nog means “we can still carry on, there is still enough”, and folk belief held that an evil spirit lived in a spring and pulled children into the water.[7] Today the word is rare;[1][10] Van Dale also gives it the sense of the normal groundwater level.[1][10]

Timeline

  • 1001–1100 – Old Dutch VUalli “Wel” appears as a place name in Gelderland.[2][13]
  • 1197–1212 – Wella is recorded as a place name in Zeeland.[2]
  • 1551 – Borne oft welle “spring or well” is recorded.[2][7]
  • 1567 – Welle glosses “quicksand”.[7]
  • 1626 – The figurative “spring of sorrows” appears.[7]
  • 1637 – A Bible translation has eene beslotene welle, “a spring shut up”.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A spring, a place where groundwater bubbles up: In het bos ligt een wel.[10][7][1]
  2. The normal level of the groundwater.[10]
  3. A well or shaft for extracting mineral resources.[1]

Word family

  • welput
  • welwater
  • welzand

Usage notes

In Limburg and Brabant dialects wel is also a land roller, a separate word formed from wellen “to roll”.[14][15] In the north-east of the Netherlands a pronoun wel means “who”.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Philippa, Marlies; Debrabandere, Frans; Quak, Arend; Schoonheim, Tanneke; Sijs, Nicoline van der (2003–2009), Etymologisch woordenboek van het Nederlands, 4 vols., Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press; online via etymologiebank.nl
  3. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d e f Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e f Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  6. ^ Haeringen, C. B. van (1936), Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal: Supplement, 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Vries, Matthias de; Winkel, L. A. te, et al. (1882–1998), Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal, 29 vols., 's-Gravenhage / Leiden: Nijhoff / Sijthoff / SDU; supplement 2001; gtb.ivdnt.org
  8. ^ a b c d e Pijnenburg, W. J. J., et al. (2001), Vroegmiddelnederlands woordenboek: woordenboek van het Nederlands van de dertiende eeuw in hoofdzaak op basis van het Corpus-Gysseling, Leiden: Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie; gtb.ivdnt.org
  9. ^ Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  11. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  12. ^ a b Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum
  13. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  14. ^ Weijnen, A. A. (2003), Etymologisch dialectwoordenboek, 2nd ed., Den Haag: Sdu
  15. ^ Debrabandere, Frans (2010), Brabants etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van de woordenschat van Antwerpen, Brussel, Noord-Brabant en Vlaams-Brabant, Zwolle: Wbooks