wield - Definitions from Dictionary.com

7 results for: wield

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

wield

–verb (used with object)

1.	to exercise (power, authority, influence, etc.), as in ruling or dominating.

2.	to use (a weapon, instrument, etc.) effectively; handle or employ actively.

3.	Archaic. to guide or direct.

4.	Archaic. to govern; manage.

[Origin: bef. 900; ME welden, OE wieldan to control, deriv. of wealdan to rule; c. G walten, ON valda, Goth waldan; akin to L valére to be strong, prevail

]

—Related forms

wield·a·ble, adjective

wielder, noun

—Synonyms 1. exert, employ, utilize. 2. manipulate, control.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
wield

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

wield Audio Help (wēld) Pronunciation Key
tr.v. wield·ed, wield·ing, wields

To handle (a weapon or tool, for example) with skill and ease.
To exercise (authority or influence, for example) effectively. See Synonyms at handle.

[Middle English welden, from Old English wealdan, to rule, and wieldan, to govern; see wal- in Indo-European roots.]

wield'a·ble adj., wield'er n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
wield

O.E. weldan (Mercian), wieldan, wealdan (W.Saxon) "to govern, possess, have control over" (class VII strong verb; past tense weold, pp. gewealden), merged with weak verb wyldan, both from P.Gmc. *wal-t- (cf. O.S., Goth. waldan, O.Fris. walda "to govern, rule," O.N. valda "to rule, wield, to cause," O.H.G. waltan, Ger. walten "to rule, govern"), probably from PIE *waldh- (cf. O.C.S. vlado "to rule," vlasti "power;" Lith. veldu "to rule, possess"), from base *wal- "to be strong, to rule" (see valiant).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

wield
verb
1.	have and exercise; "wield power and authority"
2.	handle effectively; "The burglar wielded an axe"; "The young violinist didn't manage her bow very well"

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
wield1 [wiːld] verb

to use
Example: He can certainly wield an axe.

Arabic:	يَسْتَعْمِل
Chinese (Simplified):	使用
Chinese (Traditional):	使用
Czech:	zacházet, ovládat
Danish:	bruge
Dutch:	hanteren
Estonian:	käsitsema
Finnish:	käsitellä
French:	manier
German:	handhaben
Greek:	χρησιμοποιώ, χειρίζομαι
Hungarian:	kezel
Icelandic:	nota, fara með
Indonesian:	menggunakan
Italian:	maneggiare

Japanese:	使う
Korean:	휘두르다, 쓰다
Latvian:	prast rīkoties ar; valdīt
Lithuanian:	naudotis, valdyti
Norwegian:	håndtere, føre, bruke
Polish:	władać
Portuguese (Brazil):	manejar
Portuguese (Portugal):	manejar
Romanian:	a folosi
Russian:	владеть
Slovak:	zaobchádzať, používať
Slovenian:	uporabljati
Spanish:	manejar
Swedish:	hantera, bruka
Turkish:	kullanmak

wield2 [wiːld] verb

to have and use
Example: to wield authority

Arabic:	يَكون لَدَيْهِ ويَسْتَعْمِل
Chinese (Simplified):	行使
Chinese (Traditional):	行使
Czech:	mít
Danish:	udøve
Dutch:	uitoefenen
Estonian:	evima, kasutama
Finnish:	käyttää
French:	exercer
German:	ausüben
Greek:	ασκώ
Hungarian:	gyakorol
Icelandic:	beita
Indonesian:	memanfaatkan
Italian:	esercitare

Japanese:	ふるう
Korean:	행사하다
Latvian:	turēt savās rokās; izmantot
Lithuanian:	naudotis
Norwegian:	utøve
Polish:	dzierżyć, sprawować
Portuguese (Brazil):	exercer
Portuguese (Portugal):	controlar
Romanian:	a exercita
Russian:	обладать
Slovak:	mať
Slovenian:	uveljavljati
Spanish:	ejercer
Swedish:	utöva
Turkish:	kullanmak

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Wield

Her"ald\, n. [OE. herald, heraud, OF. heralt, heraut, herault, F. h['e]raut, LL. heraldus, haraldus, fr. (assumed) OHG. heriwalto, hariwaldo, a (civil) officer who serves the army; hari, heri, army + waltan to manage, govern, G. walten; akin to E. wield. See Harry, Wield.]

1. (Antiq.) An officer whose business was to denounce or proclaim war, to challenge to battle, to proclaim peace, and to bear messages from the commander of an army. He was invested with a sacred and inviolable character.

2. In the Middle Ages, the officer charged with the above duties, and also with the care of genealogies, of the rights and privileges of noble families, and especially of armorial bearings. In modern times, some vestiges of this office remain, especially in England. See Heralds' College (below), and King-at-Arms.

3. A proclaimer; one who, or that which, publishes or announces; as, the herald of another's fame. --Shak.

4. A forerunner; a a precursor; a harbinger.

It was the lark, the herald of the morn. --Shak.

5. Any messenger. "My herald is returned." --Shak.

Heralds' College, in England, an ancient corporation, dependent upon the crown, instituted or perhaps recognized by Richard III. in 1483, consisting of the three Kings-at-Arms and the Chester, Lancaster, Richmond, Somerset, Windsor, and York Heralds, together with the Earl Marshal. This retains from the Middle Ages the charge of the armorial bearings of persons privileged to bear them, as well as of genealogies and kindred subjects; -- called also College of Arms.

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