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Webster 1913 Edition


Dwell

Dwell

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Dwelled
, usually contracted into
Dwelt
([GREEK]);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Dwelling
.]
[OE.
dwellen
,
dwelien
, to err, linger, AS.
dwellan
to deceive, hinder, delay,
dwelian
to err; akin to Icel.
dvelja
to delay, tarry, Sw.
dväljas
to dwell, Dan.
dvæle
to linger, and to E.
dull
. See
Dull
, and cf.
Dwale
.]
1.
To delay; to linger.
[Obs.]
2.
To abide; to remain; to continue.
I ’ll rather
dwell
in my necessity.
Shakespeare
Thy soul was like a star and
dwelt
apart.
Wordsworth.
3.
To abide as a permanent resident, or for a time; to live in a place; to reside.
The parish in which I was born,
dwell
, and have possessions.
Peacham.
The poor man
dwells
in a humble cottage near the hall where the lord of the domain resides.
C. J. Smith.
To dwell in
,
to abide in (a place); hence, to depend on.
“My hopes in heaven to dwell.”
Shak.
To dwell on
or
To dwell upon
,
to continue long on or in; to remain absorbed with; to stick to; to make much of;
as, to
dwell upon
a subject; a singer
dwells on
a note
.

Syn. – To inhabit; live; abide; sojourn; reside; continue; stay; rest.

Dwell

,
Verb.
T.
To inhabit.
[R.]
Milton.

Webster 1828 Edition


Dwell

DWELL

,
Verb.
I.
pret. dwelled, usually contracted into dwelt. [See Dally.]
1.
To abide as a permanent resident, or to inhabit for a time; to live in a place; to have a habitation for some time or permanence.
God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem. Genesis 9.
Dwell imports a residence of some continuance. We use abide for the resting of a night or an hour; but we never say, he dwelt in a place a day or a night. Dwell may signify a residence for life or for a much shorter period, but not for a day. In scripture, it denotes a residence of seven days during the feast of tabernacles.
Ye shall dwell in booths seven days. Leviticus 23.
The word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. John 1.
2.
To be in any state or condition; to continue.
To dwell in doubtful joy.
3.
To continue; to be fixed in attention; to hang upon with fondness.
The attentive queen dwelt on his accents.
They stand at a distance, dwelling on his looks and language, fixed in amazement.
4.
To continue long; as, to dwell on a subject, in speaking, debate or writing; to dwell on a note in music.
Dwell, as a verb transitive, is not used. We who dwell this wild, in Milton, is not a legitimate phrase.

Definition 2024


dwell

dwell

English

Noun

dwell (plural dwells)

  1. (engineering) A period of time in which a system or component remains in a given state.
  2. (engineering) A brief pause in the motion of part of a mechanism to allow an operation to be completed.
  3. (electrical engineering) A planned delay in a timed control program.
  4. (automotive) In a petrol engine, the period of time the ignition points are closed to let current flow through the ignition coil in between each spark. This is measured as an angle in degrees around the camshaft in the distributor which controls the points, for example in a 4-cylinder engine it might be 55° (spark at 90° intervals, points closed for 55° between each).

Verb

dwell (third-person singular simple present dwells, present participle dwelling, simple past and past participle dwelt or (mostly US) dwelled)

  1. (intransitive, now literary) To live; to reside.
    • Peacham
      the parish in which I was born, dwell, and have possessions
    • C. J. Smith
      The poor man dwells in a humble cottage near the hall where the lord of the domain resides.
  2. (intransitive) To linger (on) a particular thought, idea etc.; to remain fixated (on).
  3. (intransitive, engineering) To be in a given state.
  4. (intransitive) To abide; to remain; to continue.
    • Shakespeare
      I'll rather dwell in my necessity.
    • Wordsworth
      Thy soul was like a star and dwelt apart.

Related terms

Translations

See also

References

  1. According to ODS "(eng. dwell er laan fra nord.)", "English dwell is a loanword from Old Norse"
  2. Oxford-Paravia Concise - Dizionario Inglese-Italiano e Italiano-Inglese (in collaborazione con Oxford University Press). Edited by Maria Cristina Bareggi. Torino: Paravia, 2003. ISBN 8839551107. Online version here
  • dwell in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • dwell in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913