welkne

== Middle English == === Alternative forms === welken, welkene, welcon, welkyn walcne, walken, walkene, walkne, walkon, walkyn, walkyne (East Anglia, East Saxon, West Midland) weolcne, weolkene, weolkne, weolkyn, wolcne, wolken, wolkene, wolkne, wolkon, wolkyn (Southern, West Midland) === Etymology === Inherited from Old English wolcnu, plural of wolcen, wolcn, from Proto-West Germanic *wolkn. Forms with /ɛ/ reflect either an Old English collateral form *welcn, *welcne or a dissimilatory change from /wɔ/ to /wɛ/ (West Midland /wœ/; compare dwele, Wednesday); Middle English forms with /ɔ/ possibly reflect a further development of this rather than a direct continuation of the vocalism of Old English wolcn. In the West Midlands, forms with /a/ reflect the Mercian Old English development from /o/ to /ɑ/ between a labial and /l/, /r/ (see morwe), while in East Anglia and Essex, they presumably reflect a later and more restricted development from /wɔl/ to /wal/. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈwɛlkən/, /ˈwɛlk(ə)nə/ IPA(key): /ˈwalkən/, /ˈwalk(ə)nə/ (East Anglia, East Saxon, West Midland) IPA(key): /ˈwœlkən/, /ˈwœlk(ə)nə/, /ˈwɔlkən/, /ˈwɔlk(ə)nə/ (Southern, West Midland) === Noun === welkne (uncountable) The upper sky or atmosphere (as occupied by weather). Outer space as visible from Earth; the firmament or heavens. (medieval cosmology) One of the celestial spheres. (Early Middle English) A cloud (mass of water droplets) ==== Descendants ==== English: welkin (literary) ==== References ==== “welken, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.