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Welter

 - 4 dictionary results

wel⋅ter

1  [wel-ter]
Use Welter in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to roll, toss, or heave, as waves or the sea.
2. to roll, writhe, or tumble about; wallow, as animals (often fol. by about): pigs weltering about happily in the mud.
3. to lie bathed in or be drenched in something, esp. blood.
4. to become deeply or extensively involved, associated, entangled, etc.: to welter in setbacks, confusion, and despair.
–noun
5. a confused mass; a jumble or muddle: a welter of anxious faces.
6. a state of commotion, turmoil, or upheaval: the welter that followed the surprise attack.
7. a rolling, tossing, or tumbling about, as or as if by the sea, waves, or wind: They found the shore through the mighty welter.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME, freq. (see -er 6 ) of welten to roll, OE weltan; c. MD welteren, LG weltern to roll

Synonyms:
6. confusion, tumult.

wel⋅ter

2  [wel-ter]
–noun
1. Informal. a welterweight boxer or wrestler.
–adjective
2. (of a steeplechase or hurdle race) pertaining to, or noting a race in which the horses bear welterweights.
Origin:
1785–95; welt + -er 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Welter
wel·ter   (wěl'tər)   
n.  

  1. A confused mass; a jumble: a welter of papers and magazines.

  2. Confusion; turmoil.

intr.v.   wel·tered, wel·ter·ing, wel·ters

  1. To wallow, roll, or toss about, as in mud or high seas.

  2. To lie soaked in a liquid.

  3. To roll and surge, as the sea.


[From Middle English welteren, to toss about, as in high seas, from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch, to roll; see wel-2 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

welter  (v.)
"to roll or twist," c.1300, from M.Du. or M.L.G. welteren "to roll," from P.Gmc. *waltijanan (cf. O.E. wieltan, O.N. velta, O.H.G. walzan "to turn, revolve," Ger. wälzen "to roll," Goth. waltjan "to roll"), from PIE base *wel- "to turn, revolve" (see vulva). The noun meaning "confused mass" is first recorded 1851.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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