Etymology

weal

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Today it means: Wealth, riches. Full definition →

First used 10th–19th c.Middle English wele ← Old English wela ← Proto-West Germanic *welō
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weal · noun1

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*walô“well-being, wellness, weal”
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*welō
  3. Old English · inherited fromwela“wellness, welfare, prosperity, riches, well-being, wealth”
  4. Middle English · inherited fromwele
  5. English todayweal

From Middle English wele, from Old English wela (“wellness, welfare, prosperity, riches, well-being, wealth”), from Proto-West Germanic *welō, from Proto-Germanic *walô (“well-being, wellness, weal”). Cognate with German Wohl, Danish vel, Swedish väl.

weal · noun, verb2

See wale.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishwele all →

weel

Old Englishwela all →

wealth

Proto-Germanic*walô all →

wealth

First known use, by meaning

  • 10th–19th c. Wealth, riches.
  • from 10th c. Welfare, prosperity.
  • from 15th c. Specifically, the general happiness of a community, country etc. (often with qualifying word).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.