well met

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English

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Etymology

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A shortening of It is well that we have met.

Interjection

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well met

  1. (archaic) A greeting.
    • c. 1599, William Shakespeare, Henry V, act II, scene I:
      Bardolph: Well met, Corporal Nim.
    • 1833, Unknown translator, “The Death Song of Regner Lodbrog”, in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, volume 33, page 915:
      " Well met ! Well met ! Thou'lt soon be set
      Before the ale-cup flowing."
    • 2011, James A Owen, The Dragon's Apprentice, →ISBN, page 120:
      "Ho, Fios," Verne said as he raised a hand in greeting.
      "Well met, Master Verne," the smallest of the dogs replied.

Adjective

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well met (not comparable)

  1. (archaic) Welcome, greeted.
    • c. 1599, William Shakespeare, As You Like It, act I, scene IX:
      Clown: Here comes Sir Oliver: Sir Oliver Mar-text, you are well met.
    • 1902, Emerson Hough, The Mississippi Bubble, →ISBN, pages 280–281:
      Mother of God! but we are well met here, in this wilderness, among the savages.
    • 2009, Kage Baker, (Please provide the book title or journal name), →ISBN, page 109:
      "Lord Vergoin, you are well met. I trust my poor table will not too gravely disappoint you."
  2. Greeted by a person of high respect or social status.
    Lady Merlumina?! You were well met. She is an ancestor of mine.
  3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see well,‎ met.