verb (used with object)
1.
to submerge; engulf.
2.
to overcome utterly; overwhelm: whelmed by misfortune.
verb (used without object)
3.
to roll or surge over something, as in becoming submerged.
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English whelme, apparently blend of dial. whelve (Old English gehwelfan to bend over) and helm2 (v.) (Old English helmian to cover)
1250–1300; Middle English whelme, apparently blend of dial. whelve (Old English gehwelfan to bend over) and helm2 (v.) (Old English helmian to cover)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To whelm
Collins
World English Dictionary
whelm (wɛlm) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to engulf entirely with or as if with water |
| 2. | another word for overwhelm |
| [C13: whelmen to turn over, of uncertain origin] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Whelm
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
| to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle. |
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
whelm
c.1300, probably from a parallel form of O.E. -hwielfan (W.Saxon), -hwelfan (Mercian), in ahwelfan "cover over;" probably altered by association with O.E. helmian "to cover" (see helmet).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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