English
welk
Welk comes from Middle English welken.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500welken
- Englishearliest quotation 1579welk
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history not traced here.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500welken
- Englishearliest quotation 1579welk
Earliest quotation: 1579, Immeritô pseudonym; Edmund Spenser, Nouember. Ægloga Vndecima.: “But nowe ſadde Winter welked hath the day, /…”
The story
From Middle English welken, probably from a continental Germanic language; compare Middle Dutch welken (Dutch welken) and Middle Low German welken.
Linked words
through Middle English welken
Today it means
verb Of a plant: to wither, wilt, decay.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English welken / welk