wald

W4A1L1D2
/wɔːld/

verb

To govern; inherit.

OriginNorthern Middle English walde ← Old English wealdan ← Proto-West Germanic *waldan →
Less commonScrabble 8
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Meanings

wald1

verbwald (third-person singular simple present walds, present participle walding, simple past and past participle walded)

present singular third person walds · participle present walding · participle past walded · past walded · alternative Scotland wauld

  1. UKambitransitivedialectalTo govern; inherit.

wald2

nounwald (countable and uncountable, plural walds)

plural walds · alternative Scotland wauld

  1. UKcountabledialectaluncountablePower; strength.
  2. UKcountabledialectaluncountableCommand; control; possession.

wald3

nounwald (plural walds)

plural walds · alternative Scotland wauld

  1. Forest; woods.

    the romantic pass of the "wald path," along which runs a spur of an old Roman road

    1853, Robert Simpson, History of Sanquhar, page 16
    2 more examples

    … we still recognize the ancient traditions of the Goths, concerning the wald-elven,…

    1812, Walter Scott, Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, Digitized edition, page 124

    MARDEN and STAPLEHURST—All this part of the line, through the Weald of Kent, i.e., the wald or forest, which still prevails here.

    1857, George Bradshaw, Bradshaw's illustrated hand-book to Switzerland and the Tyrol, Digitized edition, published 2006, page 1

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
power

Origin

wald · verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*waldʰ-“to be strong, be powerful, prevail, possess”
  2. Proto-Germanic*waldaną“to reign”
  3. Proto-West Germanic*waldan
  4. Old Englishwealdan“to rule, control, determine, direct, command, govern, possess, wield, exercise, cause, bring about”
  5. Northern Middle Englishwalde
  6. Englishwald

From Northern Middle English walde, from Old English wealdan (“to rule, control, determine, direct, command, govern, possess, wield, exercise, cause, bring about”), from Proto-West Germanic *waldan, from Proto-Germanic *waldaną (“to reign”), from Proto-Indo-European *waldʰ- (“to be strong, be powerful, prevail, possess”). Cognates Cognate with German walten (“to prevail, reign, dominate”), Danish volde (“to cause”), Icelandic valda (“to cause”), Lithuanian valda (“land property”), Lithuanian valdyti (“to rule”).

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wald · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*waldʰ-“to be strong, be powerful, prevail, possess”
  2. Proto-Germanic*waldą“power”
  3. Old Englishweald“power, authority”
  4. Northern Middle Englishwald
  5. Englishwald

From Northern Middle English wald, from Old English weald (“power, authority”), from Proto-Germanic *waldą (“power”), from Proto-Indo-European *waldʰ- (“to be strong, be powerful, prevail, possess”). Cognate with German Gewalt (“force, power, control, violence”), Swedish våld (“force, violence”).

More words from Northern Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

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wald · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*wel-“to perceive, see”
  2. Proto-Germanic*walþuz“forest”
  3. Proto-West Germanic*walþu
  4. Old Englishwald
  5. Northern Middle Englishwald
  6. Englishwald

From Northern Middle English wald, from Old English wald, weald, from Proto-West Germanic *walþu, from Proto-Germanic *walþuz (“forest”), possibly from a Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“to perceive, see”) or *welH- (“to roll, undulate”). Largely displaced by forest. Cognates Compare North Frisian wald, walt (“forest”), Saterland Frisian Woold (“forest”), West Frisian wâld (“forest”), Alemannic German and German Wald (“forest, woods”), Bavarian Woid (“forest, woods”), Cimbrian balt (“forest, woods”), Dutch woud (“forest, woods”), Low German Woold, Woolt (“forest”), Luxembourgish Wal (“forest”), Mòcheno bòlt (“wood, woodland”), Yiddish וואַלד (vald, “forest”), Danish val (“plain”), vold (“field, meadow”), Faroese vøllur (“lawn; field”), Icelandic völlur (“lawn; field”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk voll (“meadow”), Swedish vall (“field, pasture”); also Hittite 𒌑𒂊𒂖𒇻𒍑 (ú-e-el-lu-uš, “meadow, pasture”). See also weald, wold, ultimately of the same origin.

More words from Northern Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

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Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with wald

calledinstalledbaldwalledscaldskaldmaldspald
All rhymes →

Anagrams

awdl
Cite this entry
APA

wald. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wald

MLA

“wald.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wald. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wald,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wald.

Source: wald on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.