Wordwyrt

dwell

/dˈwel/DWEL
/dˈwɛl/DWEL

Meaningto lead astray, to delay

Common meaning: to live in a place

Journey through time

  1. Aryan root · reconstructed√DHWAR‘rush forth, bend, fell, stupefy, deceive’No written record; from Skeat’s list of Aryan roots, no. 173, p. 736 · scan
  2. Old Englishdwellan‘to lead into error, deceive, mislead’sourceB&T
  3. Middle Englishdwellensource
  4. Englishmeaning shiftsto lead into error, deceive, mislead → to live in a placedwell‘to live in a place’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Old English dwellan ‘to lead astray, to delay’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry DWELL, p. 183 · dictionary scan; Bosworth & Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (1898), entry DWELLAN, p. 221 · dictionary scan

Roots

  • dwellan Old English “to lead astray, to delay”

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