wel Dutch · revision 37075

+ {{homograph|1|well, indeed}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=901–1000, Old Dutch (Wachtendonck Psalms)|origins=ine-pro *welh₁-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ʋɛl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''wel'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The adverb meaning “well” is [[inh|dum|wel]] (beside [[m|dum|wale]]), [[inh|odt|wala]], [[inh|gem-pro|*wela]].^(EWN)^(Wiktionary) The EWN gives the Germanic form as ⟨*welō-⟩.^(EWN)^(Orel 2003) The same word is [[osx|wela]], [[goh|wela]] (beside [[m|goh|wola]], modern [[de|wohl]]), [[ofs|wel]], [[ang|wel]] (modern [[en|well]]), [[non|vel]] and [[got|𐍅𐌰𐌹𐌻𐌰|tr=waila]].^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912) Franck and Van Wijk explain the forms with /a/, Old Dutch ⟨wala⟩ and Old Norse [[m|non|val]], as an ablaut variant, and the Gothic form has been read with a short /e/ like the others.^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912)^(De Vries 1971)^(Van Haeringen 1936)

+

+ It is derived from the root [[ine-pro|*welh₁-|t=to choose, want]], as is [[willen]], so that the basic meaning was “as one wishes”.^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)^(WNT) Similar formations elsewhere are [[osc|ualaemom|t=best]], [[sa|वरीयस्|tr=várīyas|t=better]] and [[cy|gwell|t=better]].^(EWN)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old Dutch ''wala'' “well” appears in the 10th-century Wachtendonck Psalms in ''uuala te likene'', “well to please”.^(EWN) 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”.^(VMNW)

+

+ ==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”.^(EWN)^(VMNW) By the early modern period only ''wel'' remained.^(EWN) Used as a noun, it meant good fortune, especially in ''wel of wee'' (1260),^(VMNW) and later ''wel hem die …'' “happy is he who …” (1516) and ''het eeuwig wel'', eternal salvation.^(WNT) 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.^(Stoett 1923)

+

+ 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.^(Van Dale 2014) After the pattern of ''nietes'', children's ''welles'' “it is so!” appears in 1857.^(EWN)

+

+ As an interjection, “well”, it passed into Papiamentu (''awèl'', ''wèl''), Sranan (''we'') and Negerhollands.^(Van der Sijs 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 10th century – Old Dutch ''wala'' appears in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^(EWN)

+ * 1200 – Middle Dutch ''wale'' is recorded in Limburg.^(VMNW)^(EWN)

+ * 1236 – ''Harde wel'' “very well” is recorded.^(EWN)^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004)

+ * 1250 – ''Wel'' is first used to affirm.^(EWN)

+ * 1260 – The noun appears in ''wale wert v wee'', “weal or woe will be yours”.^(VMNW)

+ * 1516 – ''Wel hem die staet in eens conincx gracie'' “happy is he who is in a king's favour”.^(WNT)

+ * 1857 – ''Welles'' is recorded.^(EWN)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Used to contradict a negation, often stressed: ''Ik heb het wél gedaan!''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Expressing confirmation: ''Dat weet ik wel.''^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # [[m|en|well]], properly, rightly: ''Als ik het wel heb, begint het om acht uur.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(WNT)

+ # Fairly, reasonably: ''Het eten was wel lekker.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Expressing probability or supposition: ''Ze zal wel moe zijn.''^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # Conceding a point: ''Hij is wel aardig, maar niet erg handig.''^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # Stressing a large number, as many as: ''Er stonden wel honderd mensen.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(predicative)'' Healthy, all right: ''Ik voel me niet wel.''^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ===Interjection===

+ # Well: introducing a question or expressing surprise: ''Wel, wel!''^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(het wel)'' Well-being, [[m|en|weal]], especially in ''wel en wee'', “weal and woe”.^(Wiktionary)^(WNT)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[welzijn]]

+ * [[welvaart]]

+ * [[welstand]]

+ * [[welkom]]

+ * [[wellicht]]

+ * [[weliswaar]]

+ * [[welles]]

+ * [[weldra]]

+ * [[weleer]]

+ * [[wellust]]

+ * [[welgevallen]]

+ * [[evenwel]]

+ * [[hoewel]]

+ * [[jawel]]

+ * [[ofwel]]

+ * [[oftewel]]

+ * [[danwel]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|spring}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1001–1100, Old Dutch (place name)|origins=gem-pro *wallaną}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ʋɛl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''wel''' ''f'' (plural wellen, diminutive welletje n)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The noun meaning “spring” is [[inh|dum|welle]], [[inh|odt|*wella]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*wallijā]], [[inh|gem-pro|*wallijǭ]], a derivative of [[gem-pro|*wallaną|t=to boil, bubble up]].^(EWN)^(Wiktionary) That verb survives in Middle Dutch [[m|dum|wallen|t=to boil, seethe]] and in [[wellen]]; a spring bubbling up was likened to boiling water, as with [[bron]].^(EWN)^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004)^(De Vries 1971) The same noun is [[ofs|walla]] and [[ang|wielle]] (modern [[en|well]]).^(EWN)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912)

+

+ With other ablaut grades the root gave [[goh|wella|t=wave]] (modern [[de|Welle]]), from ⟨*wel-nā⟩, and outside Germanic [[lt|vilnis|t=wave]] and [[cu|влъна|tr=vlŭna|t=wave]].^(De Vries 1971)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912)

+

+ ==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).^(EWN)^(Van der Sijs 2001) 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.^(EWN)^(WNT)

+

+ ==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”.^(WNT) Early senses “spring water” (1551), “quicksand” (1567) and “whirlwind” (1590) have long been obsolete.^(WNT) Kiliaan already marked the sense “spring, spring water” as old.^(De Vries 1971)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912)

+

+ 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.^(WNT) Today the word is rare;^(Wiktionary)^(Van Dale 2014) Van Dale also gives it the sense of the normal groundwater level.^(Wiktionary)^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1001–1100 – Old Dutch ''VUalli'' “Wel” appears as a place name in Gelderland.^(EWN)^(Van der Sijs 2001)

+ * 1197–1212 – ''Wella'' is recorded as a place name in Zeeland.^(EWN)

+ * 1551 – ''Borne oft welle'' “spring or well” is recorded.^(EWN)^(WNT)

+ * 1567 – ''Welle'' glosses “quicksand”.^(WNT)

+ * 1626 – The figurative “spring of sorrows” appears.^(WNT)

+ * 1637 – A Bible translation has ''eene beslotene welle'', “a spring shut up”.^(WNT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|spring]], a place where groundwater bubbles up: ''In het bos ligt een wel.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(WNT)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The normal level of the groundwater.^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # A well or [[m|en|shaft]] for extracting mineral resources.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[welput]]

+ * [[welwater]]

+ * [[welzand]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[willen]]

+ * [[wellen]]

+ * [[walm]]

+ * [[bron]]

+ * [[de|wohl]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Limburg and Brabant dialects ''wel'' is also a land roller, a separate word formed from ''wellen'' “to roll”.^(Weijnen 2003)^(Debrabandere 2010) In the north-east of the Netherlands a pronoun ''wel'' means “who”.^(WNT)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}