Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Welk
Welk
,Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Welked
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Welking
.] [OE.
welken
; cf. D. & G. welken
to wither, G. welk
withered, OHG. welc
moist. See Welkin
, and cf. Wilt
.] To wither; to fade; also, to decay; to decline; to wane.
[Obs.]
When ruddy Ph[GREEK]bus ’gins to
welk
in west. Spenser.
The church, that before by insensible degrees
welked
and impaired, now with large steps went down hill decaying. Milton.
Welk
,Verb.
T.
1.
To cause to wither; to wilt.
[Obs.]
Mot thy
welked
neck be to-broke [broken]. Chaucer.
2.
To contract; to shorten.
[Obs.]
Now sad winter
welked
hath the day. Spenser.
3.
To soak; also, to beat severely.
[Prov. Eng.]
Welk
,Noun.
(Zool.)
A whelk.
[R.]
Webster 1828 Edition
Welk
WELK
,Verb.
I.
When ruddy Phoebus gins to welk in west.
WELK
,Verb.
T.
Now sad winter welked hath the day-- [This word is obsolete. But its signification has heretofore been misunderstood.]
Definition 2024
welk
welk
English
Verb
welk (third-person singular simple present welks, present participle welking, simple past and past participle welked)
- (obsolete) Of a plant: to wither, wilt, decay.
- (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.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.i.23:
- (dialectal) to soak, steep.
- (dialectal) to thrash, beat severely.
- To contract; to shorten.
- Spenser
- Now sad winter welked hath the day.
- Spenser
Etymology 2
Noun
welk (plural welks)
- Alternative form of whelk
Anagrams
Dutch
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -ɛlk
- IPA(key): /ʋɛlk/
Etymology
From Middle Dutch welc, from Old Dutch *wilik, *welik, from Proto-Germanic *hwilīkaz.
Determiner
welk
- 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 | — | |||