weal
English
Pronunciation
- enPR: wēl, IPA(key): /wiːl/
- Rhymes: -iːl
- Homophone: we'll; wheal, wheel (in accents with the wine-whine merger)
Etymology 1
From Middle English wele, from Old English wela (“wellness, welfare, prosperity, riches, well-being, wealth”), from Proto-Germanic *walô (“well-being, wellness, weal”). Cognate with German Wohl, Danish vel, Swedish väl.
Noun
weal (uncountable)
- (obsolete) Wealth, riches. [10th-19th c.]
- (now literary) Welfare, prosperity. [from 10th c.]
- Francis Bacon
- as we love the weal of our souls and bodies
- Milton
- to him linked in weal or woe
- Francis Bacon
- (by extension) Boon, benefit.
- 1885, Richard F. Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Night 557:
- And indeed I blamed myself and sore repented me of having taken compassion on him and continued in this condition, suffering fatigue not to be described, till I said to myself, "I wrought him a weal and he requited me with my ill; by Allah, never more will I do any man a service so long as I live!"
- 1885, Richard F. Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Night 557:
- Specifically, the general happiness of a community, country etc. (often with qualifying word). [from 15th c.]
- Macaulay
- Never was there a time when it more concerned the public weal that the character of the Parliament should stand high.
- 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter IV:
- The austerity of my tone seemed to touch a nerve and kindle the fire that always slept in this vermilion-headed menace to the common weal [...].
- 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin 2003, p. 372:
- Louis could aim to restyle himself the first among citizens, viewing virtuous attachment to the public weal as his most important kingly duty.
- Macaulay
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
community welfare
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Etymology 2
See wale.
Noun
weal (plural weals)
- A raised, longitudinal wound, usually purple, on the surface of flesh caused by a stroke of a rod or whip; a welt.
- 1796, John Gabriel Stedman, Narrative of a Five Years’ Expedition against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam, London: J. Johnson & J. Edwards, Volume 1, Chapter 12, p. 296,[1]
- […] although a few [slaves] live comfortably at Paramaribo, the greatest number are wretched, particularly those governed by a lady, who have many weals to show, but not the smallest indulgence to boast of.
- 1892, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Great Shadow in The Great Shadow and Beyond the City, Bristol: J.W. Arrowsmith, Chapter 13, pp. 140-141,[2]
- He turned as I struck him and fired full into my face, and the bullet left a weal across my cheek which will mark me to my dying day.
- 1958, T. H. White, The Once and Future King, London: Collins, 1959, Chapter 16,[3]
- He had been slashed sixteen times by mighty boars, and his legs had white weals of shiny flesh that stretched right up to his ribs.
- 2007, Tan Twan Eng, The Gift of Rain, New York: Weinstein Books, Book Two, Chapter Twenty-One, p. 422,[4]
- And I saw the green island in the immense sea, the borders of the sea curling with a lining of light, like a vast piece of rice paper, its edges alive with weals of red embers, ready to burst into flame.
- 1796, John Gabriel Stedman, Narrative of a Five Years’ Expedition against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam, London: J. Johnson & J. Edwards, Volume 1, Chapter 12, p. 296,[1]
Synonyms
Translations
a raised, longitudinal wound, usually purple, on the surface of flesh caused by stroke of rod or whip
Verb
weal (third-person singular simple present weals, present participle wealing, simple past and past participle wealed)
- To mark with stripes; to wale.
Anagrams
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- en:Dermatology