Hwealfian

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Old English verb meaning to curve something into an arch or vault ; to tip something over so that it is upside down
2. An Old English verb for bending a thing into a rounded arch shape ; for causing an object to roll over or overturn
3. Meaning in Old English to form a curved, vaulted shape over something ; to upend or capsize an object so it lies on its side

Etymology: Hwealfian is an Old English verb meaning "to arch" or "to vault," and it is the ancestor of the modern English "helve"? No, that is a different story, so let us be precise: hwealfian is the Old English word from which "vault" descends, and its root points to something curved or rounded over. The verb belongs to the Germanic family of words for arching and curving, and in Old English it was used of things bent into a rounded shape, such as the sky or a roof built over a space. The surviving English descendant is "vault," which entered the language through Old French "voute" (from Latin "volvere," to roll), a borrowing that later reinforced the native sense. The native verb itself did not survive into modern English as a common word, so its significance lies mainly in showing how the English language once had its own word for the arched form.