welk

See also: Welk

English

Etymology 1

Probably from a continental Germanic language; compare Dutch welken, German welken.

Verb

welk (third-person singular simple present welks, present participle welking, simple past and past participle welked)

1. (obsolete) Of a plant: to wither, wilt, decay.
2. (obsolete) To diminish; to lose brightness, to wane.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.i.23:

     As gentle Shepheard in sweete euentide, / When ruddy Phoebus gins to welke in west [...].

   • Milton

     The church, that before by insensible degrees welked and impaired, now with large steps went down hill decaying.

3. (dialectal) to soak, steep.
4. (dialectal) to thrash, beat severely.
5. To contract; to shorten.
   • Spenser

     Now sad winter welked hath the day.

Etymology 2

Noun

welk (plural welks)

1. Alternative form of whelk

Anagrams

• kewl

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛlk
• IPA^(key): /ʋɛlk/

• Audio

  (file)

Etymology

From Middle Dutch welc, from Old Dutch *wilik, *welik, from Proto-Germanic *hwilīkaz.

Determiner

welk

1. which (what, of those mentioned or implied)

Inflection

Inflection of welk
uninflected	welk
inflected	welke
comparative	—
		positive
predicative/adverbial		—
indefinite	m./f. sing.	welke
	n. sing.	welk
	plural	welke
definite		welke
partitive		—

Anagrams

• kwel

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German

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

welk

1. wilted, faded

Related terms

• welken
• verwelken

Further reading

• welk in Duden online