wall

wall · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*welH-“to turn, wind, roll”
2. Latin · derived fromvallum“wall, rampart, entrenchment, palisade”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*wall“wall, rampart, entrenchment”
4. Old English · inherited fromweall“wall, dike, earthwork, rampart, dam, rocky shore, cliff”
5. Middle English · inherited fromwal
6. English todaywall

From Middle English wal, from Old English weall (“wall, dike, earthwork, rampart, dam, rocky shore, cliff”), from Proto-West Germanic *wall (“wall, rampart, entrenchment”), from Latin vallum (“wall, rampart, entrenchment, palisade”), from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“to turn, wind, roll”). Perhaps conflated with waw (“a wall within a house or dwelling, a room partition”), from Middle English wawe, from Old English wāg, wāh (“an interior wall, divider”), see waw. Cognate with North Frisian wal (“wall”), Saterland Frisian Waal (“wall, rampart, mound”), Dutch wal (“wall, rampart, embankment”), German Wall (“rampart, mound, embankment”), Swedish vall (“mound, wall, bank”). More at wallow, walk.

wall · verb²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*welH-“wave”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*wallaną“to fount, stream, boil”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*wallan
4. Old English · inherited fromweallan“to bubble, boil”
5. Middle English · inherited fromwallen
6. English todaywall

From Middle English wallen, from Old English weallan (“to bubble, boil”), from Proto-West Germanic *wallan, from Proto-Germanic *wallaną (“to fount, stream, boil”), from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“wave”). Cognate with Middle Dutch wallen (“to boil, bubble”), Dutch wellen (“to weld”), German wellen (“to wave, warp”), Danish vælde (“to overwhelm”), Swedish välla (“to gush, weld”). See also well.

wall · noun³

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*wallô
2. Old English · inherited from*wealla
3. Middle English · inherited fromwalle
4. English todaywall

From Middle English walle, from Old English *wealla, *weall (“spring”), from Proto-Germanic *wallô, *wallaz (“well, spring”). See above. Cognate with Old Frisian walla (“spring”), Old English wiell (“well”).

Wall · proper noun⁴

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*wel-“to turn, wind, roll”
2. Latin · derived fromvallum“wall, rampart, palisade”
3. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*wallaz
4. Old English · inherited fromweall“wall, dike, rampart”
5. Middle English · inherited fromwall
6. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*walhaz“foreigner, stranger”
7. Old English · inherited fromwælisc
8. English todayWall

Of various origins, principally from Old English wælisc etc. ("non-Germanic speaker, stranger") from Proto-Germanic *walhaz (“foreigner, stranger”), the source of numerous other surnames such as Walsh and Wales and from Middle English wall, from Old English weall (“wall, dike, rampart”), from Proto-Germanic *wallaz or *wallą (“wall, rampart”), from Latin vallum (“wall, rampart, palisade”), from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“to turn, wind, roll”). Also from transcribed foreign surnames such as German Wahl and Swedish Wahlberg.

Wall · proper noun⁵

See wall.

Wall · proper noun⁶

1. Mandarin · calque of壁宿
2. English todayWall

Calque of Mandarin 壁宿 (Bìxiù).

Words from the same roots