wald
English
Alternative forms
- wauld (Scotland)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /wɔːld/
Etymology 1
From Middle English walden, from Old English wealdan (“to rule, control, determine, direct, command, govern, possess, wield, exercise, cause, bring about”), from Proto-Germanic *waldaną (“to reign”), from Proto-Indo-European *waldʰ- (“to be strong, be powerful, prevail, possess”). Cognate with German walten (“to prevail, reign, dominate”), Danish volde (“to cause”), Icelandic valda (“to cause”), Lithuanian valda (“land property”), Lithuanian valdyti (“to rule”).
Verb
wald (third-person singular simple present walds, present participle walding, simple past and past participle walded)
- (Britain dialectal, transitive, intransitive) To govern; inherit.
Etymology 2
From Middle English wald, iwald, from Old English ġeweald (“might, power, possession, control, command, dominion, bridle, protection, subjection, groin, pudenda”), from Proto-Germanic *waldą (“might, power, main”), from Proto-Indo-European *waldʰ- (“to be strong, be powerful, prevail, possess”). Cognate with German Gewalt (“force, power, control, violence”), Swedish våld (“force, violence”).
Noun
wald (plural walds)
Related terms
Etymology 3
From Middle English wald, from Old English weald (“high land covered with wood, woods, forest”), from Proto-Germanic *walþuz, whence also Old High German wald (German Wald) and Old Norse vǫllr (Faroese vøllur, Norwegian voll, Icelandic völlur).
Noun
wald (plural walds)
References
Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for wald in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)
Middle English
Alternative forms
- wæld
Etymology
From Old English weald (“high land covered with wood, woods, forest”), from Proto-Germanic *walþuz, whence also Old High German wald (German Wald) and Old Norse vǫllr (Faroese vøllur, Norwegian voll, Icelandic völlur).
Noun
wald (plural walds or walden)
- a wooded area, forested land, the woods; a wooded tract, forest preserve; the forest as a wild place
- Þe wurmes & te wilde deor ... o þis wald wunieð. — St. Margaret of Antioch, c1225
- Ȝif æi mon hine mihte ifinden uppe þissere wælden, ... — Layamon's Brut, c1275
- Beliagog in þat nede Fond him riche wald To fine. — Sir Tristrem, c1330
- Was nouthire waldis in þar walke ne watir to fynde. — Wars of Alexander, 1450
References
- Middle English Dictionary
Old Danish
Alternative forms
Old High German
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *walþuz, whence also Old English weald, Old Norse vǫllr
Old Saxon
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *walþuz, whence also Old English weald, Old Norse vǫllr.