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welter

Today it means: A general confusion or muddle, especially of a large number of items. Full definition →

Middle English welteren

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welter · noun, verb¹

Middle English · inherited fromwelteren
English todaywelter

From Middle English welteren, equivalent to welt + -er (frequentative suffix). Cognates include German Low German weltern (“to wallow; roll”), Old Norse velta (Danish vælte), German wälzen, Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌻𐍄𐌾𐌰𐌽 (waltjan). Akin to wallow and Latin volvō.

welter · verb²

Compare wilt (intransitive verb).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.