Welle

See also: welle, wèlle, and wélle

German

Etymology

From Middle High German welle, from Old High German wella, from Proto-West Germanic *wallijā, from Proto-Germanic *wallijǭ (“wave, swirl”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“to turn, coil”). Cognate to Old English wealca (“billow”), Albanian valë (“wave”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɛlə/

• Audio (Austria):

  (file)

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

• Homophone: Wälle

Noun

Welle f (genitive Welle, plural Wellen, diminutive Wellchen n)

1. wave (of water)

   Synonym: Woge

2. wave, curve, anything wave-shaped (e.g. hair)
3. shaft (mechanical component)
4. craze, fad (fashion, etc.)

Declension

Declension of Welle [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Welle	die	Wellen
genitive	einer	der	Welle	der	Wellen
dative	einer	der	Welle	den	Wellen
accusative	eine	die	Welle	die	Wellen

Hyponyms

• Brandungswelle
• Empörungswelle
• Flutwelle
• Gegnerwelle
• Getriebewelle
• Gravitationswelle
• Haarwelle
• Hitzewelle
• Kältewelle
• Lichtwelle
• Meereswelle
• Modewelle
• Reisewelle
• Riesenwelle
• Schallwelle
• Schaumwelle
• Trägerwelle

Derived terms

• wellig
• wellenartig
• wellenförmig

Related terms

• Wellblech
• Wellen schlagen
• Wellenbad
• Wellenberg
• Wellenbrecher
• Wellengleichung
• Wellenkamm
• Wellenlänge
• Wellenleiter
• Wellenreiher
• wellenreiten
• Wellenreiten
• Wellensittich

Descendants

• → Polish: fala
  • → Belarusian: хва́ля (xválja)
  • → Ukrainian: хви́ля (xvýlja)

Further reading

• “Welle” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “Welle” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.
• “Welle” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Welle” in Duden online

Hunsrik

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvelə/
• Rhymes: -elə
• Syllabification: Wel‧le

Noun

Welle f

1. plural of Well

Low German

Alternative forms

• Well

Etymology

From Middle Low German wel, *welle, from Old Saxon wella, walla, from Proto-West Germanic *wallijā (“spring, bubbling, welling, overflowing”). More at well.

Noun

Welle f (plural Wellen) (German Low German)

1. A well; fountain; spring