weld 
Sound >cetd» are very difficult to make in wire, and are 
not to be trusted. R. S. Cvlley, Pract. Teleg., § 311. 
weld^t, '•■ t. A Middle English form of wield. 
weldability (wel-da-bil'i-ti), n. [< u-eldahle + 
-ity (see -bility).^ 'Capability of being welded. 
The above-mentioned elements harden malleable iron, 
and probably alfect its weldabUity by their ready oxida- 
bility. W. It. Oreenwood, Steel and Iron, p. 8. 
weldable (wel'da-bl), a. [< iceliP' + -able.'] 
Capable of being welded. 
weld-bore (weld'bor), n. A kind of woolen 
cloth made at Bradford, in Yorkshire, England. 
Diet, of XeedU'Worli. 
welder'l (wel'dfer), n. [< weW^ + -er].'\ One 
who welds, or an instrument or appliance for 
weldin". 
welder^t, »• An obsolete fonn of wielder. 
welding-heat (wel'ding-het), ?;. See heat. 
welding-machine (wel'diug-ma-shen"), «. A 
machine by which the edges of plates previous- 
ly bent are joined. The edges are made to lap inside 
a chamber, and are exposed to a gas-flame, whence the 
joint is passed l)eneatli a gang of rolls or a hammer. 
welding-powder (wel'ding-pou"der), II. A flux 
for use in heating metal for welding, consist- 
ing of a calcined powder formed from borax 
and other ingredients. 
The steel to be welded ... is then dipped into the 
welding poieder, and again placed in the Are. 
Workshop Receipts, Ist ser., p. 361. 
welding-swage (wel'ding-swaj), n. A block or 
a fulling-tool used in closing a welded joint. 
E. H. Kiiiijlit. 
weld-iron (weld'i"ern), n. A name sometimes 
applied to wrought-iron. Tliis name was recom- 
mended l)y an international committee appointed by the 
American'instituteof Mining Engineers, but has not been 
generally adopted; indeed the institute did not accept 
tlie report of its committee in so far as this modification 
of the established nomenclature of iron is concerned. 
weldless (weld'les), «. [< weUl + iexs.'] Hav- 
ing no welds ; made without welding. 
It is their intenti(»n to lay down plant for the construc- 
tion of boilers built up of weldless rings. 
The Eiiijineer, LXIX. 267. 
weld-steel (weld'stel), n. Puddled steel. This 
name was suggested l)y a committee appointed by tlie 
American Institute of Mining Engineers, but has not 
been generally adopted. 
weldy (wel'di), «. An obsolete or dialectal 
form of wield;/. 
welet. A Middle English form of iveaU, wcll'^. 
welefult, «■ Another spelling of wcalful. 
welewt, ''• A Middle English form of walloic^. 
First a man growith as dooth a gras, 
And anooii after iveleiHth as flouris of hay. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 173. 
welfare (wel'far), ». [< ME. welfare (= MLG. 
wolvare); < icelP + fare'^.'] 1. A state or con- 
dition of doing well ; prosperous or satisfactory 
course or relation ; exemption from evil ; state 
with respect to well-being: as, to promote the 
physical or the spiritual welfare of society ; to 
inquire after a friend's welfare; to be anxious 
about the welfare of a ship at sea. 
My daughter's welfare I do fe.are. 
The Merchants Daughter (Child's Ballads, IV. 332). 
He [James II. 1 seems to have determined to make some 
amends for nes^lecting the welfare uf his own soul by tak- 
ing care of the souls of others. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., vi. 
2t. A source of well-being; a blessing; agood. 
Litll Troylus, byraft of eche ivelfarc, 
Yboundeu in the blake bark of care. 
Chaucer, Troilus, iv. 228. 
welk', «. Same as whelk"^. 
welk^t (welk), ?;. i. [< ME. wclken, fade, van- 
ish, wither, = D. welken = OHG. welchen, MHG. 
G. welken, wither; from an adj. seen in OHG. 
u-elc, weleh, JIHG. G. ti'elk, moist, mild, soft, 
withered; cf. OBulg. rlaga, moisture, damp- 
ness, vliKjUku, moist, Lith. viUjijti, make moist; 
prob. from a root *ii;elg, be moist. Cf. welkin.'] 
1. To fade; decline; decrease. 
But nowe sadde Winter rvelked hath the day. 
Spenser, Shop. Cal., November. 
Now seven times Phoebus had his wclked wain 
Upon the tup of Cancer's tropic set. 
JJrayton, Baron's Wars, iv. 1. 
2. Towitlier; wrinkle; shrivel. 
Ful pale and wclked is my face. 
Chaucer, Pardoner's Tale, 1. 276. 
welk'S n. Same as whelk'^. 
welked, «. See whelked. 
welkin (wel'kin), n. and a. [< ME. wclken, 
welkine, welkne, walkyn, wolkne, wolcne, weolcne, 
the welkin, the sky, the region of clouds, orig. 
' the clouds,' < AS. wolcnn, clouds, pi. of wolcen, 
a cloud, = OS. wolkan = OFries. loolkcn, iilken 
= MD. wolcke, D. tcolk = LG. wttlkc = OHG. 
wolehan, also wolcha, MHG. wolken, ivolkc, G. 
6874 
wolke, a cloud ; prob. orig. ' mist, fog, moisture,' 
< •/ *welg, be moist : see welk'^. For the transi- 
tion from ' cloud ' to ' sky,' cf. sky"^, heaven, orig. 
' cloud.'J I. n. The sky ; the vault of heaven ; 
the heavens. [Now used chiefly in poetry.] 
The see may ebbe and flowen more or lesse, 
The welkne hath might to shyne, reyne, or hayle. 
Chaucer, Fortune, 1. 62. 
All the heavens revolve 
In the small welkin of a drop of dew. 
Lowell, Under the Willows. 
II. a. Sky-blue. [Rare.] 
Come, sir page. 
Look on me with your welkin eye : sweet villain ! 
Shak., W. T., i. 2. 136. 
welky, a. See whelky. 
well! (wel), V. i. [< ME. wellen, < AS. wellan, 
wyllan, well or spring up (= OHG. wellon, MHG. 
G. wellen, well up, = Icel. velUi, make to boil), a 
secondary form, associated with the noun icell'^, 
from the orig. strong verb AS. leeallan (= 
OFries. walla = OS. OHG. wallan = Icel. vella = 
Sw. vcilla = Dan. veelde), boil, well up: see wal!2, 
and cf. jt-eHl, n. Cf. also weld^.~i I. intrans. 
To issue forth, as water from the earth or from 
a spring; spring; flow up or out. 
She no lenger myght restreyne 
Hir teres, they gonne soo up to welle. 
Chaucer, Troilus, iv. 709. 
From out the sounding cells 
What a gush of euphony voluminously wells ! 
Poe, The Bells, ii. 
The springs that welled 
Bet]eath the touch of Milton's rod. 
Whittier, Rautoul. 
II. trans. If. To boil. 
He made him drynke led [lead] iweld and In is mouth 
halde it tliere. Holy Rood (E. E. T. S. ), p. 58. 
2. To pour forth from or as if from a well or 
spring. Spenser. 
It was like visiting some classic fountain, that had once 
welled its pure waters in a sacred shade, but finding it dry 
and dusty. Irving, Sketch-Book, p. 30. 
well^ (wel), )(. [< ME. wel {well-), also welle, 
iculle, wille, < AS. well, icyll, also wella, wylla, a 
well, spring (= MD. icelle, t>. wel = OHG. wella, 
MHG. G. welle, a wave, billow, surge, = Icel. 
vella, boiling, ebullition, = Dan. rseld (for *vsell), 
a spring), < loeallan, boil : see icaW^, and cf . icall^, 
«., and weHl, t'.] 1. A natural source of water ; 
a place where water springs up in or issues 
from the ground ; a spring or well-spring ; a 
fountain. As soon as a spring begins to be utilized as a 
source of water-supply it is more or less tlioronghly trans- 
formed into a well. (See def. 4.) This is necessary, both 
for remlering the access to it convenient, and for giving 
the water a chance to accumulate and be protected when 
not needed for use. Hence the word spring is much used 
by geologists in describing the natural sources of water- 
supply, and well, by those indicating the manner in which 
the supply has been made available. There is, however, no 
sharp distinction possible between the two words. Thus, 
Prestwich speaks of the "beautiful spring [between Ci- 
rencester and Cheltenham] known as tlie Seven Wells," 
and Phillips of a "feeble intermittent spring [issuing from 
Giggleswick Scar, In Yorkshire] known as the Ebbing and 
Flowing Well." 
Ther were a fewe welles 
Came renning fro the clitfes adoun. 
Chaucer, Death of Blanche, 1. 160. 
Ther sprong welles thre, . . . 
Of watyr bothe fayr & good. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 118. 
Begin then. Sisters of the sacred well 
Tliat from beneath the seat of Jove doth spring. 
Milton, Lycidas, 1. 15. 
He deep comfort hath 
Who, thirsting, drinks cool waters from a well. 
R. W. Gilder, The Celestial Passion, Love and Death. 
Hence — 2. The source whence any series or 
order of things issues or is drawn; a well- 
spring of origin or supply; a fount in the fig- 
urative sense. 
He that is of worthinesse the welle. 
Chaucer, Troilus, ii. 178. 
Dan Chaucer, u'cll of English nndefyled, 
Spenser, F. Q., IV. ii. 3'2. 
3. That which flows or springs out or up from 
a source ; water or other fluid issuing forth. 
And from his gored wound a well of blond did gush. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. iii. 86. 
The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well 
of water springing up into everlasting life. John iv. 14. 
4. A pit, hole, or shaft sunk in the ground, 
either by digging or by boring through earth and 
rock, to' obtain a supply of water, or of other 
fluid, as mineral water, brine, petroleum, or 
natural gas, from a subterranean source, and 
walled or otherwise protected from caving in. 
Wells are generally cylindrical, and are sometimes bored 
to a de]tth of several hundreds or thousands of feet. (See 
Artesian well, imder Artesian. See also oil-well, tube-well.) 
From ordinary wells for domestic use the water is raised 
in vessels — generally buckets hung in pairs to a windlass 
well 
or singly to a well-sweep — or, as from deeper wells, by 
pumping. 
'Tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church-door ; 
but 'tis enough. Shak., R. and J., iii. 1. 99. 
The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket, 
The mosB-covered bucket which hung in the well. 
S. Woodworth, The Old Oaken Bucket. 
You were certain, by a sort of fate, to stop, in passing, 
at the well in the front yard for a drink. 
W. M. Baker, New Timothy, p. 51. 
5. A cavity, or an inclosed space, shaft, or the 
like, in some way comparable to or suggestive 
of an ordinary well, but of some other origin or 
use : as, an ink-well. 
The veriest old well of a shivering best parlour. 
Dickens, Christmas Carol, ii. 
Through a most unsavory alley into a court, or rather 
space, serving as a well to light the rear range of a tene- 
ment house. T. Winthrop, Cecil Dreeme, iv. 
She had gotten it in a great well of a cupboard. 
R. D. Blackmore, Lorna Doone, xliv. 
The well . . . must be a square hole, a little larger than 
the plate [for etching], and about an inch deep. 
Workshop Receipts, Ist ser., p. 166. 
There must be perfect drainage insured from the bot- 
tom of the well [the receptacle for ice in an ice-house], so 
that the ice will be kept dry. 
Workshop Receipts, Ist ser., 'p. 364. 
Specifically — (a) In a building, a compartment or shaft 
extending through the different floors, or from top to bot- 
tom, in which the stairs are placed, or round which they 
turn ; or one in which an elevator or lift moves up and 
down ; or one which serves for the admission of air or 
light to interior rooms, etc. The kinds of well named are 
distinctively called a well-staircase or (for the space inte- 
rior to the stairs) tiwellhole, a.n elevator-shaft, and an atr- 
OT tight-shaft, (b) In aship: (1) Aconjpartmentformedby 
bulkheads round the pumps, for their protection and for 
ease of access to them. (2) A shaft through which to raise 
and lower an auxiliary screw-propeller. (3) The cockpit, 
(c) In a fishing-vessel or on a float, a compartment with a 
perforated bottom for the admission of water, in which 
fish are kept alive: distinctively called lire-well. (d) In 
a military mine, ashaftwith branches or galleries ruiniing 
out from it. (e) In a furnace, the lower part of the cav- 
ity into which the metal falls. (/) In an Irish janntiug- 
car, the hollow space for luggage between tlie seats. Q) 
In some breeeh-loading small arms, a cavity for the breech- 
block in the rear of the chamber, {h) In an English court 
of law, the inclosed space for the lawyers and their assist- 
ants, immediately in front of the judges' bench. 
Solicit4)rs . . . ranged in a line, in a long matted well, 
. . . between the registrar's red table and the silk gowns. 
Dickens, Bleak House, i. 
6. In her., a bearing representing a well-curb, 
usuall.v seen in perspective, circular, and ma- 
soned of large stones. — 7. A whirlpool; an 
eddy ; especially, a dangerous eddy in the sea, 
as about the Orkne:j and Shetland Islands. 
The wells of Tuftiloe can wheel the stoutest vessel round 
and round, in despite of either sail or steerage. 
Scott, Pirate, xxxriU. 
O to us, 
The fools of habit, sweeter seems 
To rest beneath the clover sod . . . 
Than if with thee [a ship] the roaring wells 
Should gulf him fathom-deep in brine. 
Tennyson, In Memoriam, x. 
AbBorblnK-'weU. See «isor6.— Artesian well. See^r- 
tesian (with cut).— Driven 'Well, or drive-'welL See 
tube-well.^TlO'Wilie well. See /oirin,';.— Negative 
welL Same as absorbing-well.— The Wells, or WellS, in 
England, wells or springs of mineral waters, or a place 
where such wells are situated : as, to drink of or go to 
the wells at Bath ; Tunbridge WelXs. 
The New WVH» at Epsom, with variety of BafBing Shops, 
will be open'd on Easter Monday next. 
Quoted in Ashton's Social Life in Seign of Queen Anne, 
(IL 113. 
= Syn. 4. Well, Spring, Fountain, Cistern. A well is an ar- 
tificial pit sunk to such a depth that water comes into the 
bottom and rises to the wat«r-Ievel, ready to be drawn up. 
X spring is a place where water comes naturally to the 
surface of the ground and flows away : a spring may be 
opened or struck in excavation, but cannot be made. A 
fountain is characterized by the leaping upward of the 
water : it may be natural, and thus be a kind of spring, or 
it may be artificial, as in a public square. A cistern is an 
artificial receptacle for the storage of water, as that which 
is ccnnlncted from roofs ; figuratively, the word may be 
applied to similar natural subterranean reservoirs. 
well" (wel), flrfr. ; compar. better, snperl. best. 
[Also E. dial, wall; Sc. weel, weil; < ME. trel, 
weel, wal, wol, welle, wele, sometimes wela. < AS. 
wel, tcell = OS. wel = OFries. wel, wal, wol = D. 
wel = MLG. wol, wal, wole. LG. wol = OHG. 
wela, wola, MHG. wol, G. wohl. wol = leel. rel 
(sometimes val) = Sw. ral = Dan. rel = Goth. 
waila, well ; orig. ' as wished,' ' as desired.' from 
the root of wiW^ ; cf. 6r. fUATrpoc. better, Skt. 
vara, better, vara, a wish. Skt. \f tar, choose-, 
see «'(7/l. Well has come to be used as the ad- 
verb of good.] 1. In a good or laudable man- 
ner; not ill; worthily; rightly: properly; 
suitably : as, to act or reason well : to work 
or ride well ; to be well disposed ; a irf/?-built 
house. 
The poets did irell to conjoin music and medicine in 
Apollo. Bacon, Advancement of Learning, ii. 189, 
