Wieldan

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Old English verb meaning to grip and handle a weapon or tool so as to use it ; to hold and exercise power, control or authority over others
2. An Old English term for handling a sword, axe or other implement in combat ; a word for commanding influence or authority over people or affairs
3. Describing the act of brandishing a blade or instrument in hand ; also the exercise of rule, command or dominance over others

Etymology: Old English "wieldan" meant to have power over something, to rule or govern. Its ancestor, a Proto-Germanic verb, carried the same core idea of control, and it has close relatives in Gothic "waldan" (to rule) and Old Norse "valda" (to cause or bring about). The modern verb descends from Middle English forms such as "welden" and "wielden," which kept the sense of governing and authority. The meaning of physically handling a weapon or tool grew out of that idea of holding something under control. Traces of the older sense survive in phrases like "wield power" or "wield influence," where the abstract authority comes first and the hand-held object is only implied.