wald

See also Wald

English

Alternative forms

• wauld (Scotland)

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 rix, 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)

1. (UK 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)

1. (UK dialectal) Power; strength.
2. (UK dialectal) Command; control; possession.

Related terms

• wield

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)

1. Forest; woods.
   • 1812, Walter Scott, Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, edition Digitized, page 124:

     … we still recognize the ancient traditions of the Goths, concerning the wald-elven,…

   • 1853, Robert Simpson, History of Sanquhar^[1], page 16:

     the romantic pass of the "wald path," along which runs a spur of an old Roman road

   • 1857, George Bradshaw, Bradshaw's illustrated hand-book to Switzerland and the Tyrol^[2], edition Digitized, published 2006, page 1:

     MARDEN and STAPLEHURST—All this part of the line, through the Weald of Kent, i.e., the wald or forest, which still prevails here.

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 The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.

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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)

1. 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

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Old High German

Etymology

Proto-Germanic *walþuz, whence also Old English weald, Old Norse vǫllr

Noun

wald m

1. forest

Descendants

• Middle High German: walt ("forest")
  • German: Wald ("forest")
• Mòcheno: bòlt

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Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *walþuz, whence also Old English weald, Old Norse vǫllr.

Noun

wald m

1. a forest

Descendants

• Middle Low German wolt
  • Low German wold