whelm

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English whelmen (“to turn over, capsize; to invert, turn upside down”), perhaps from Old English *hwealmnian, a variant of *hwealfnian, from hwealf (“arched, concave, vaulted; an arched or vaulted ceiling”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwalb, from Proto-Germanic *hwalbą (“arch, vault”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷelp- (“to curve”). The noun is derived from the verb. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: whĕlm, wĕlm, IPA(key): /ʍɛlm/, /wɛlm/ Rhymes: -ɛlm === Verb === whelm (third-person singular simple present whelms, present participle whelming, simple past and past participle whelmed) (transitive, archaic) To bury, to cover; to engulf, to submerge. Synonyms: overwhelm, (Britain dialectal, Scotland) whemmel Antonym: unwhelm (transitive, obsolete) To throw (something) over a thing so as to cover it. Synonym: (Britain dialectal, Scotland) whemmel (transitive, obsolete) To ruin or destroy. (intransitive, archaic) To overcome with emotion; to overwhelm. (transitive, colloquial) To emotionally affect at an intensity in between underwhelm and overwhelm. ==== Usage notes ==== Today, the verb overwhelm is much more common than whelm. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Noun === whelm (plural whelms) (poetic, also figuratively) A surge of water. A wooden drainpipe, a hollowed out tree trunk, turned with the cavity downwards to form an arched watercourse. ==== Translations ==== === References ===