Welden

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An archaic past participle of wield, describing something that was held, handled or exercised with authority or force
2. An old-fashioned form of the past participle of wield, meaning that a tool, weapon or power was actually held or controlled
3. A dated past-tense form of wield, signifying that an object or authority had been grasped and put into use

Etymology: "Welden" is an older form of "wield," and it meant to rule, command, or have power over something rather than to brandish a weapon. It comes from Old English "wealdan," a verb for exercising authority, which also gave "walten" in modern German and "waldan" in Gothic. The sense of physically handling a tool or weapon developed later, so the modern "wield" has narrowed a broader idea of control into a more literal one. Middle English spellings such as "welden" and "wilden" show the verb moving between forms during the centuries after the Norman Conquest, when English spelling was unsettled. Forms like "welden" are now mostly found in historical texts, and modern readers meet the verb almost only in "wield" itself.