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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

English

well

/ˈwɛl/
Accurately, competently, satisfactorily.

    Etymology graph

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    • derived
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    • meaning component
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    Origin

    Etymology 1

    From Middle English wel, wal, wol, wele, from Old English wel (“well, abundantly, very, very easily, very much, fully, quite, nearly”), from Proto-Germanic *wela, *wala (“well”, literally “as wished, as desired”), from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“wish, desire”).

    Cognates

    Cognate with Yola vella, waal, wel, well, wull (“well”), Cimbrian boll, bóol (“well”), Dutch wel (“well”), German wohl, wol, woll (“well”), Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk vel (“well”), Faroese væl (“well”), Swedish väl, waͤl (“well”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐌻𐌰 (waila, “well”). Related to will.

    Etymology 2

    From Middle English welle, from Old English wielle (“well”), from Proto-West Germanic *wallijā, from Proto-Germanic *wallijǭ (“well, swirl, wave”), from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“to turn; wind; roll”).

    Cognate with West Frisian wel (“well”), Dutch wel (“well”), German Low German Well (“well”), German Welle (“wave”), Danish væld (“well; spring”), Swedish väl (“well”), Icelandic vella (“boiling; bubbling; eruption”).

    Etymology 3

    From Middle English wellen, from a merger of Old English weallan (intransitive) and wiellan (transitive), both meaning “to boil.” Further from Proto-Germanic *wallaną and *wallijaną. Doublet of wall.

    Cognate with German wallen (“boil, seethe”), Danish vælde (“gush”), Norwegian Nynorsk vella and outside Germanic, with Albanian valë (“hot, boiling”).

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishwel “happy”
      • inheritedOld Englishwel “well, abundantly, very, very easily, very much, fully, quite, nearly”
        • inheritedProto-Germanic*wela
          • derivedProto-Indo-European*welh₁- “wish, desire”
            • derivedProto-Indo-European*-tis
    • rootProto-Indo-European*welH- “to turn, wind, roll”
    • inheritedMiddle Englishwelle
      • inheritedOld Englishwielle “well”
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*wallijā
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*wallijǭ “well, swirl, wave”
    • inheritedMiddle Englishwellen
      • inheritedOld Englishweallan “to bubble, boil”
        • inheritedProto-Germanic*wallaną “to fount, stream, boil”

    Related: Yola vella, Cimbrian boll, Dutch wel, German wohl, da,is,nb,nn vel, Faroese væl, Swedish väl, Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐌻𐌰, West Frisian wel, German Low German Welle, German Welle, Danish væld, Icelandic vella, German wallen, Danish vælde, Norwegian Nynorsk vella, Albanian valë

    Words built on it: well-will, well-set, full well, well-thought-out

    Meanings

    adv
    1. Accurately, competently, satisfactorily.
    2. Completely, fully.
    3. To a significant degree.
    4. Very (as a general-purpose intensifier).
    5. In a desirable manner; so as one could wish; satisfactorily; favourably; advantageously.
    adj
    1. In good health.
    2. Highly satisfactory
    3. Good, content.
    4. Prudent; good; well-advised.
    5. Good to eat; tasty, delicious.
    intj
    1. Used as a discourse marker.
    2. Used as a hedge.
    3. Expressing reluctance to say something.
    4. An exclamation of sarcastic surprise (often doubled or tripled and in a lowering intonation).
    5. An exclamation of indignance.
    6. Used as a greeting, short for "Are you well?"
    noun
    1. A hole sunk into the ground as a source of water, oil, natural gas or other fluids.
    2. A place where a liquid such as water surfaces naturally; a spring.
    3. A small depression, e.g. suitable for holding liquid or other objects.
    4. A source of supply.
    5. A vertical, cylindrical trunk in a ship, reaching down to the lowest part of the hull, through which the bilge pumps operate.
    6. The cockpit of a sailboat.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: well