Weallan

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An Old English verb meaning to boil, seethe, or bubble up as water or another liquid does when heated
2. Old English term for a liquid that seethes, bubbles, or rises up in a boiling motion
3. Describing the action of water or similar matter boiling or welling up with bubbles in Old English

Etymology: In Old English, "weallan" meant to bubble, boil, or surge up, the way hot water or a spring rises from the ground. It was a strong verb, so its past forms changed their vowel, as in "wēoll" for "welled." The modern English "well," meaning a spring of water, comes from the Old English noun "wella," which grew from this same verb, so a well is literally a place where water wells up. The same root produced the German "wallen," which still means to billow, surge, or bubble, as with steam or waves. Its older sense of wandering or journeying also gave German "Wallfahrt," meaning pilgrimage. English "wallop," meaning to strike hard, is not related, and neither is "wall," which comes from Latin "vallum."