| 释义 |
▪ I. well, n.1|wɛl|
Forms: α. 1 wælla (uælla), 1, 3 wælle (1 uælle), 3–5 walle, 3–4 wall, 4–5 wal; Sc. and north. 6– wall (6 vall, 9 wal), 6–7 woll (6 vol). β. 1 wella, 1, 3–5 welle (4–5 wele), 1– well, 3–7 wel. γ. 1 wylla, willa, wielle, 1, 4 wylle, 1, 3–4 wille; 1 wyl, 1–4 wyll, 1, 5 will.
[OE. wielle (wylle), *wiell (wyll, will), str. masc., *wiella (wylla, willa; Anglian wælla, wella), wk. masc., wielle (wylle, wille; Angl. wælle, welle), wk. fem., f. the stem of weall-an to boil or bubble up: see wall v.1 Cf. OHG. wella (G. welle) wave, ON. vella boiling heat.]
1. a. A spring of water rising to the surface of the earth and forming a small pool or flowing in a stream; a pool (or, rarely, a stream) fed by a spring. Now arch. or dial.
αc825Vesp. Psalter xli. 2 Swe swe heorut ᵹewillað to wællum wetra swe ᵹewillað sawul min to ðe god. c1205Lay. 17025 Summe heo uerden a-nan þat heo comen to Alæban þat is a wælle. a1240[see 2 d.]. c1440Floriz & Bl. 291 (Cambr. MS.) Aboue þe walle stant atreo. c1450Mirk's Festial 179 Anon sprang a fayr walle. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 219 Out of ane woll discendand fra ane spring, He send that tyme cald water for to bring. 1567Rec. Burgh Lanark (1893) 39 That na personis wysche ony clathis..at the burne nor yit at Sanct Mungois wall. 1595Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 91/2 Fra the said puill eist to ane wall callit the Dokand well. 1652in Edin. Topogr. & Antiq. Mag. (1848) 152 Going..to the Kirktowne wall and washing of her daughter's eyen, & saying..All ye ill of my bairn's eyen in ye wall fall. 1775Companion to Map of Peebles 107 There is a remarkable fine spring, called Geddes's wall, near the top [of Broad Law]. a1806R. Jamieson Pop. Ballads I. 61 Tak me to yon wall fair; You'll wash my bluidy wounds o'er and o'er.
βc900Bæda's Hist. v. x. (1890) 418 Is ðæt ec sæd þætte in ðere stowe, þer hio ofsleᵹne weran, weolle an welle. c1205Lay. 19782 Heo comen to þare welle and heore bollen feolde. c1220Bestiary 62 A welle he sekeð ðat springeð ai boðe bi nigt and bi dai. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 15 Vor engelonde is vol inoȝ of frut & ek of tren, Of wellen swete & colde. a1300Cursor M. 12470 Þe spring..o well,..þof it euer vte rinnand es þe wel es neuer mar þe less. a1366Chaucer Rom. Rose 1417 About the brinkes of thise welles..Sprang up the gras. 1390Gower Conf. I. 326 He strawhte him forto drinke Upon the freisshe welles brinke. 1422Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. 245 [In autumn] Wellis wythdrawen ham, grene thynges fadyth, Frutes fallyth. c1470Golagros & Gaw. 40 Thay walkit be the syde of ane fair well. 1547Boorde Introd. Knowl. vi. (1870) 141 There be welles, the whyche doth tourne wood in to Irone. 1574T. Hill Art Garden. ii. Bees, etc. 69 And when ryuers and wels be shallower of water than customably, doe then declare raine to followe. 1603Stow Surv. 11 Then was there 3. principall Fountaines, or wels in the other Suburbs, to wit Holy well, Clements well, and Clarkes well. Neare vnto this last named fountaine, were diuers other wels. 1663R. Lowe Lancs. Diary (1876) 8, I went with Mary and other wenches to a well [at the] bottome of towne feild. 1775R. Chandler Trav. Asia M. (1825) I. 121 At a well was a marble pedestal perforated, and serving as a mouth. 1832W. Irving Alhambra I. 249, I laid myself down one noon⁓tide, and slept under a palm-tree by the side of a scanty well. 1859Jephson Brittany vi. 68 The well flows in a pure and abundant stream from the granite rock. 1870Handbk. Orkney Isl. 94 There are several mineral wells in the island. 1892J. A. Henderson Ann. Lower Deeside 169 He at last reached what proved to be a well of water.
γc893ælfred Oros. iv. vii. §10 An wæs þæt on Piceno þæm wuda an wielle weol blode. c900Bæda's Hist. i. vii. (1890) 38 And þa sona hraðe beforan his fotum wæs wyl upp yrnende... And nu seo wylle & þæt wæter [etc.]. c1000Sax. Leechd. I. 116 Ðeos wyrt [watercress]..of hyre sylfre cenned bið, on wyllon & on brocen. Ibid. II. 32 And aþweah eft þa eaᵹan on clænum wylle. c1305St. Kenelm 295 in E.E.P. 55 For þer is a wille fair ynouȝ..In þe stede as he lai on. c1315Shoreham Poems v. 55 Þe wylle þat hys in paradys Fol wel by-tokeneþ þys auys. 13..Cursor M. 20212 (B. Mus. Add.) Sche dide of hure cloþes alle, and wasche hure with water of wille.
b. A miraculous spring of water (or oil); a spring of water supposed to be of miraculous origin or to have supernatural healing powers; also, in later use, a medicinal or mineral spring.
Freq. in proper names assigning the well to a particular saint.
854–[see holy well]. c1305St. Kenelm 295, 297 in E.E.P. (1862) 55 A wil spring vp þere stod..Þat me clepeþ seint kenelmes welle: þat menie men haþ isoȝt. c1440Stacyons of Rome 828 in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903) 171 Two wellis there bethe, I tell thee, that sprynggythe oyle. c1450Mirk's Festial 14 And whan he was buryet, at þe hed of þe tombe sprong a well of oyl þat dyd medysyn to all seke. 1581Sc. Acts Jas. VI, III. 212/2 Aganis passing in pilgramage to chapellis wellis and croces. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. iv. ii. 84 Th. Where meete we? Pro. At Saint Gregories well. 1632Rowzee (title), The Queenes Welles. That is, A Treatise of the nature and vertues of Tunbridge Water. 1648Gage West Ind. 5 [Papists] encroaching upon many Houses and Farmes, enriching themselves, as namely at Winifreds Well (so termed by them) where they had bought an Inne. a1774Fergusson Poems, Daft Days 35 Reaming ale, Mair precious than the well o' Spa, Our hearts to heal. 1806P. O'Neill Tour Orkney etc. 26, I likewise visited the wells of Kildingie... These wells or springs, are situated in the Mill Bay. 1824Scott (title), St. Ronan's Well. 1882W. Taylor Researches Hist. Tain i. 27 note, A copious fountain of pure water situated on..the girth boundary in the heights of the parish..has from time immemorial borne the name of St. David's well. 1904A. C. Fraser Biog. Philos. i. 26 The Priory..and the well and chapel of St. Modan on the hill, were my favourite haunts.
c. pl. A place where medicinal springs exist, to which invalids resort; a watering-place or spa.
1673Shadwell Epsom-Wells i. i, Enter Mrs. Woodly,..to Toby and others, drinking at the Wells. 1707in J. Ashton Soc. Life Q. Anne (1882) II. 113 The New Wells at Epsom, with variety of Raffling Shops, will be open'd on Easter Monday next. 1716Lond. Gaz. No. 5459/1 The Princess set out..for the Wells of Medway. 1728Young Love Fame v. 23 Thro' every sign of vanity they run; Assemblies, Parks,..Balls, Wells, Bedlams, [etc.].
†d. Her. The representation of a stream, used as a bearing. Obs.
1486Bk. St. Albans Her. e vj b, And of hym yt beris thes armys ye most say..He berith of golde and .iij. Wellis.
e. A fountain fed by a spring; a structure erected above a spring for convenience in obtaining the water; a drinking-fountain. Chiefly Sc.
1575–6in Burgh Rec. Glasgow (1876) 457 Item, to Johne Wilsoun for four geistis to the woll in Gallowgait..viij lib. 1630Ibid. 373 The new woll in the Trongait to be sklaittet in the best forme. 1638Ibid. 390 Ane warrand..for taking doun the wall at the Croce. 1656Ibid. (1881) 351 The twa new wallis newlie buildit in Trongait and at the vennall. 1823Galt R. Gilhaize III. 34 She was mobbet, and the wells pumped upon her by the enraged multitude. 1843James Forest Days i, It had on the south side, a well, and an iron ladle underneath.
2. transf. and fig.
a. In allusive contexts directly suggestive of the nature (flowing, etc.) or uses (drinking, taking water) of a spring.
c897ælfred Gregory's Past. C. vii. 49 (MS. Hatton) Hio [the speech] aweoll of anum wille [Cott. welle]; ðeah heo an tu tefleowe, ðeah wæs sio æspryng sio soðe lufu. c1220Bestiary 341 Ðanne we ðus brennen bihoueð us to rennen to cristes quike welle,..drinken his wissing. a1225Ancr. R. 282 In hire he heldeð nout one dropemele, auh ȝeoteð vlowinde wellen of his grace. a1300Cursor M. 310 Fader is he cald for-þi þat he is welle þat neuer sal dri. Ibid. 21023 O þe wel o witt he dranc. c1315Shoreham v. 61 Þys wulle hys god self man by-come, Of hym þys ioyen beþ alle y-nome. 13..Lay Folks' Catech. (L.) 190 Crist was þe furst qwyk welle of grace. c1420Prymer 68 Mi soule þirstide to god, þat is a quyk welle! 1568T. Howell Arb. Amitie (1879) 52 O noble hart whose Well of grace, shall spring and neuer drie. 1807Crabbe Par. Reg. i. 98 Not one who, early by the Muse beguiled, Drank from her well the waters undefiled. 1840Longfellow Sp. Stud. i. v, O sleep,..Holding unto our lips thy goblet filled Out of Oblivion's well, a healing draught! 1899J. P. Fitzpatrick Transvaal i. 25 The effect of the annexation was to start the wells of plenty bubbling—with British Gold.
b. That from which something springs or arises; a source or origin.
αc825Vesp. Psalter xxxv. 10 Forðon mid ðe is waelle lifes. c825Vesp. Hymns xi. in O.E. Texts 417 Leht lehtes & waelle lehtes. 1533Gau Richt Vay (S.T.S.) 27 The bibil quhilk is the grund and vol of al godlie doctrine and hewinlie visdom. 1599A. Hume Poems (S.T.S.) Hymn vi. 110 He made the Sun a lampe of light, A woll of heate to shine by day.
βc1000Lambeth Psalter xxxv. 10 Forðan þe mid þe is welle lifes. 1340Ayenb. 80 Uayrhede, wyt, prouesse, myȝte, vridom and noblesse; þise byeþ zix wellen of ydelnesse. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xv. 30 And þat is wytte and wisdome, þe welle of alle craftes. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 271 And fro diafragma it mai go to þe brayn, þat is þe welle of alle nerues. 1475Bk. Noblesse (Roxb.) 51 Athenes, that was the welle of connyng and of wisdam. 1538Starkey England 180 Tyranny in al commynaltys ys the ground of al yl, the wel of al myschefe and mysordur. 1539Bible (Great) Prov. xvi. 22 Understandyng is a well of lyfe vnto hym that hath it. 1667Milton P.L. xi. 416 [He] purg'd with Euphrasie and Rue The visual Nerve..; And from the Well of Life three drops instill'd. 1859FitzGerald Omar xxxiv, Then to this earthen Bowl did I adjourn My Lip the secret Well of Life to learn.
γa1000Ags. Ps. (Thorpe) xxxv. 9 Forþæm mid þe is lifes wylle. 1422Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. 135 Vndyrstondynge is the begynnynge and will of al vertues.
c. Applied to persons regarded as a source or abundant manifestation of some quality or virtue.
a1225St. Marher. 11 Þu art walle of waisdom. a1310in Wright Lyric P. xxxiii. 94 Ofte y crie merci, of mylse thou art welle. 1377Pol. Poems (Rolls) I. 218 Prince Edward That welle was of alle corage. c1386Chaucer Wife's Prol. 107 Crist, that of perfeccion is welle. c1400Pilgr. Sowle v. i. (1859) 74 He is the welle of all manere of goodnes. c1440Partonope 226 That thay may say as ye passe by strete: Loo, yonder gothe the welle of gentylnesse. c1450tr. De Imitatione iii. xi. 78 O þou welle of euerlasting loue. 1500–20Dunbar Poems lxxvii. 7 Oure lustie quein, The vall of velth, guid cheir, and mirrines. 1559Mirr. Mag., Edw. IV, vi, A Salomon that was of wit the well. 1596Spenser F.Q. iv. ii. 32 Dan Chaucer, well of English vndefyled, On Fame's eternall beadroll worthie to be fyled.
d. A copious flow (of tears or blood). Also hyperbolically applied to a weeping person.
a1225Ancr. R. 156 For þui he [Jeremiah] bed welle of teares to his eien, þet heo ne adruweden nanmore þen welle. a1240Ureisun in O.E. Hom. I. 189 Þe ilke fif wallen [v.r. wellen] þet of þi blisfulle bodi sprungen and strike dun strondes of blode. 1382Wyclif Jer. ix. 1 Who shal ȝyue to myn hed watir, and to myn eȝen a welle of teres? c1530Hickscorner 19 She sawe her sone, all deed, Splayed on a crosse with the fyve welles of pyte. 1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. v. x. 19 There is a word will Priam turne to stone; Make wels, and Niobes of the maides and wiues.
e. A whirlpool.
Applied spec. to certain whirlpools in the Orkneys as a rendering of the native designation keld = ON. kelda spring. Tennyson's use may either be independent or derived from Scott.
a1654Blaeu Le Theatre du Monde v. 159–60 Map, Orcades..Souna..the Welles. Ibid., Spurness well. 1693J. Wallace Descr. Orkney 7 The Wells of Swinna, which are two Whirl-pools in the Sea. 1750M. Mackenzie Orcades 5/1 One of these Whirlpools or Wells, as they are called in Orkney. 1774G. Low Tour Orkney etc. (1879) 29 The whirlpools called the Wells of Swona, so long famous for the alledged danger in passing over or near them. 1821Scott Pirate xxxviii, Even as the wells of Tuftiloe can wheel the stoutest vessel round and round, in despite of either sail or steerage.
1850Tennyson In Mem. x, If..the roaring wells Should gulf him fathom-deep in brine. Ibid. cviii, To scale the heaven's highest height, Or dive below the wells of Death.
3. a. A pit dug in the ground to obtain a supply of spring-water; spec. a vertical excavation, usually circular in form and lined with masonry, sunk to such a depth as to penetrate a water-bearing stratum.
αc950Lindisf. Gosp. John iv. 6 Uæs..ðer uælle iacobes. c1275Wom. Samaria 12 in O.E. Misc. 84 Iesus at ore walle reste him seolf al one. a1300Cursor M. 13229 Here nu quat herodias did, In a wall his heued sco hid. c1395Plowman's T. 298 They folowe Christ that shedde his blodde To heven, as bucket in-to the wall. 1882‘Jack Robinson’ Auld Tales 11 (E.D.D.) T' horrator war prayan fer a girt wal et he cud drop intul.
β, γc1000Ags. Gosp. John iv. 6–7 Þær wæs iacobes wyl; Se hælend sæt æt ðam wylle. c1250Gen. & Ex. 2947 In euerilc welle, in euerilc trike, men funden blod al witterlike. c1275Lay. 19810 Þo wende to þan wille cnihtes swiþe snelle. a1300Cursor M. 11701 Mak vs a well for mine sake, þat all mai plente o water take. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 1584 Or as a welle that were botemeles Ryght so can fals Iason haue no pes ffor to desyryn [etc.]. c1440Jacob's Well 3 Whanne ȝoure welle is made..ȝe muste haue a wyndas, & a roop, & a bokett, a drawyn vp watyr to drynke, be-cause ȝoure welle is so deep. 1485Rec. St. Mary at Hill 29 For the well a Bokett with a cheyne of yryn. 1530Palsgr. 287/2 Well made of stone, puis, putelle. 1553Brende Q. Curtius vii. 146 The ryuer of Oxus..being a water vnholsom to be dronke..the Macedons fell to digging of welles. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iii. i. 99 No: 'tis not so deepe as a well, nor so wide as a Church doore, but 'tis inough. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. 281 A Well of an exceeding depth. 1625N. Carpenter Geogr. Delin. ii. iv. (1635) 60 Starres from the darke bottome of a deepe Well or Mine will shew themselues at mid-day. 1698Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 155 A little out of the Way is erected an high-wall'd Well. 1700Dryden Fables, Pal. & Arc. ii. 82 Now up, now down, as Buckets in a Well. 1745tr. Columella's Husb. i. vi, The ground being dug after the manner of wells, which they call siros, receives the fruits. 1842Tennyson St. Sim. Styl. 63 For many weeks about my loins I wore The rope that haled the buckets from the well. 1858Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. (1871) I. 337 There is no familiar object connected with daily life so interesting as a well. 1888Encycl. Brit. XXIV. 402/2 When the population of a district is scattered it is possible to supply individual wants by means of streams, springs, or shallow wells.
fig.c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 193 Now we han medycyns drawen of .ij. wellis & of manie maistris. a1591H. Smith Serm. (1592) 998 The well of Gods secrets is so deepe, that no bucket of man can sound it. 1611Bible Isaiah xii. 3 With ioy shall yee draw water out of the wels of saluation. 1655W. Spurstowe (title), The Wels of Salvation opened. 1781Cowper Convers. 564 Hearts may be found..Whose wisdom, drawn from the deep well of life, Tastes of its healthful origin. 1848Dickens Dombey xviii, After stating this curious and unexpected fact, Mr. Toots fell into a deep well of silence.
b. Her. A bearing representing the stone curb or border of a well.
1780R. Glover's Ord. Arms Augm. 49 in Edmondson Her. II. O, Gu. three wells ar. water az. 1828–40Berry Encycl. Her. I.
4. a. In various proverbial sayings or phrases. (See also pitcher1 1 b.)
(a)1546J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 70 Well well (quoth she) many wels, many buckets. 1757B. Franklin Poor Richard (1890) 278 Then as Poor Dick says, When the Well's dry, they know the Worth of Water. 1832J. J. Blunt Reform. Eng. 140 We know not, says the proverb, what the well is worth till it is dry. 1860G. J. Whyte-Melville Mkt. Harb. xiii, ‘He's as deep as a well, is my master,’ answered old Isaac.
(b)1691Hartcliffe Virtues 181 If Truth, as Democritus fansied, lies at the bottom of a deep Well. 1848Dickens Dombey xxxii, He tried a glass of grog; but melancholy truth was at the bottom of that well, and he couldn't finish it. 1888J. M. Cobban By Telegraph iv, The depth of the well at the bottom of which truth is hid was nothing to the unfathomableness of his designs.
b. to put (a person) in the well (see quot.). slang.
1812Vaux Vocab. Flash Lang. (1819) s.v. Garden, To put a person in the garden..or in the well, are synonymous phrases, signifying to defraud him of his due share of booty by embezzling a part of the property, or the money it is fenced for.
5. transf.
†a. = fontanelle 1 a. Obs.
c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 216 Make him .iij. cauterijs:..oon bihinde þe nolle in þe welle þerof, [etc.]. Ibid. 309 Also in þe welle vnder þe eeris & bihinde þe eeris þou schalt make cauterijs for passiouns of iȝen.
b. a well of a (place): like a well, as being damp and cold or deep and dark.
1843Dickens Christmas Carol ii, He then conveyed him..into the veriest old well of a shivering best-parlour that ever was seen. 1869Blackmore Lorna D. xliv, She had gotten it in a great well of a cupboard.
6. Naut.
a. A vertical shaft protecting the pump below the lower (or upper) deck in a ship's hold. to sound the well, to ascertain, by means of a sounding-rod, the depth of water accumulated in the hold.
1611Cotgr., Lossec, the sinke, or well, of the pumpe of a ship. 1626Capt. J. Smith Accid. Yng. Seamen 11 The Pumpe, the pumpes-well, the pumpes brake, [etc.]. 1627― Sea Gram. ii. 9 The Dutch men vse a Burre pumpe..to pumpe vp the Billage water that..cannot come to the well. 1750T. R. Blanckley Nav. Expositor. 1762–9Falconer Shipwr. ii. 464 They sound the well. 1825T. Hook Sayings Ser. ii. Passion & Princ. xv. III. 401 The ship seemed rapidly settling..yet no one dared to sound the well. 1836Marryat Pirate iv, The well was again sounded. Nine feet water in the hold. 1881Daily Tel. 14 Feb., So long as the sounding-rod gave a dry well, the men's courage kept tolerably steadfast.
b. A cistern or tank in a fishing-boat, in which the catch of fish is preserved alive. Cf. well-boat 1.
1614T. Gentleman Eng. Way Wealth 19 Fresh fish, which they of purpose do keepe aliue in their boates in Wells. 1720De Foe Capt. Singleton ii. (1840) 37 This well [was of] the same kind which the small fisher-boats in England have to preserve their fish alive in. 1828Davy Salmonia 49 He..is landed. A fine well-fed fish, not much less than 4 lbs. Throw him into the well. 1848Johns Week at Lizard 259 The store-pot is emptied and its contents transferred to a well in the hold of the vessel. 1912Daily News 29 Mar. 4 The Betsy was running for harbour for all she was worth. Her ‘well’ was full of live cod.
7. A shaft or pit bored or dug in the ground. In various specific applications.
a. An excavation for the storage of ice.
1681Cal. Treas. Bks. 8 Building an ice well for his Majesty's use in Windsor Great Park. 1850Gardeners' Mag. of Bot. I. 82 Section of ice well... a, well; b, porch. 1873Spon Workshop Rec. Ser. i. 364/1 There must be perfect drainage insured from the bottom of the well, so that the ice will be kept dry.
†b. Mil. = shaft n.3 2.
1702–11Milit. & Sea Dict. (ed. 4) i, Well, a Depth the Miner sinks into the Ground, and thence carries on the Branches, or Galeries, to find out, and disappoint the Enemies Mines, or to prepare one. 1736J. Campbell Milit. Hist. Pr. Eugene etc. I. 217 We now began to perceive that their Miners were in search of our Mines, and that they worked in sinking Wells in order to get into our Galleries.
c. (See quot.)
1706Phillips (ed. Kersey) s.v. Observatory, The Royal Observatory..furnish'd with all sorts of Instruments..and a dry Well for Discovery of the Stars in the Day-time.
d. A shaft sunk to obtain oil, brine, gas, etc.
1799Asiatic Researches VI. 127 An Account of the Petroleum Wells in the Burmha Dominions. 1885Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 713 In 1819 a well bored for brine in Wayne county, Kentucky, yielded so much black petroleum that it was abandoned. 1892[see gusher 2]. 1901Munsey's Mag. XXV. 743/2 The first flowing [petroleum] well, or ‘gusher,’..was struck in 1861.
e. A shaft to carry water through a retentive to a porous stratum or to a drain; a sink for sewage.
1856J. C. Morton Cycl. Agric. I. 692 It will be proper..to cut a drain of four feet in depth only, and then to sink small wells down to the watery bed. 1865Daily Tel. 27 Oct. 5/2 The system of drainage adopted is that of running the pipes of each house into a dead well... These wells are made of bricks, without any cement.
f. Engin. A hollow cylinder or shaft of masonry sunk and filled in solid to form a foundation.
1885L. F. Vernon-Harcourt Harbours & Docks I. 405 Where the thickness of the mud exceeded 13 feet, square masonry wells were sunk through it on to the rock... These wells, being..filled in solid with masonry, form piers for arches. 1920in Webster.
8. a. The central open space, from roof to basement, of a winding, spiral, or elliptical staircase; the open space in which a lift operates.
a1700Evelyn Diary 7 Nov. 1644, 2 paire of oval stayres all of stone and voide in the well. 1783Phil. Trans. LXXIII. 138 Which, passing over pullies.., was fastened to a scale that descended into the well of an adjoining stair⁓case. 1817J. Evans Excurs. Windsor etc. 161 In the well of the staircase, by a cord of black and yellow, hangs a Gothic lantern. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair lxi, If you choose to consider it, and sit on the landing, looking up and down the well! 1886Stevenson Kidnapped iv, The same passing brightness showed me the steps were of unequal length, and that one of my feet rested that moment within two inches of the well. 1890B. Hall Turnover Club viii. 87 But Gean hustled the man out to the elevator shaft and dropped him into the well beneath. 1901Scotsman 8 Mar. 6/8 Fall down a hoist well. Ibid., The cage..was at the bottom of the well.
b. The space on the floor of a law-court (between the Judge's bench and the last row of seats occupied by Counsel) where the solicitors sit.
1853Dickens Bleak Ho. i, The various solicitors in the cause..ranged in a line, in a long matted well..between the registrar's red table and the silk gowns. 1879Escott England II. 209 In the ‘well,’ a seat a step below that of the Queen's counsel, sit the solicitors. 1883D. C. Murray Hearts xxviii, Wigged heads went together in the well of the court, and papers were rustled to and fro on the table.
c. A deep narrow space formed by the surrounding walls of a building or buildings, serving for the access of light and air.
1859Dickens T. Two Cities ii. v. (end), Climbing to a high chamber in a well of houses, he threw himself down in his clothes on a neglected bed. a1861T. Winthrop Cecil Dreeme v. (1896) 64 Through a most unsavoury alley into a court, or rather space, serving as a well to light the rear range of a tenement house. 1915Spectator 29 May 742/2 The back-rooms look south—into the well.
d. = orchestra pit s.v. orchestra 4.
1933P. Godfrey Back-Stage i. 15 The orchestra are in position in the ‘well’. 1951Oxf. Compan. Theatre 836/2 The Orchestra Well for the accommodation of the theatre musicians is in front of and below the stage itself.
9. a. A space left, in stacking hay, to serve as a ventilating shaft. dial.
1710D. Hilman Tusser Rediv. Aug. (1744) 102 Some prescribe leaving a Hole or Well in the Middle of the Mow..by keeping therein a Basket or Barrel, and raising it as the Mow increases. 1842C. W. Johnson Farmer's Encycl. 1261 Well, a..vent hole left in a rick or mow of hay or other similar materials, to prevent its overheating.
b. In Ship- and Boat-building applied to various vertical apertures: see quots.
1874Thearle Naval Archit. §192 When it is not considered necessary to provide a well for raising the propellor. 1894Paasch From Keel to Truck 108 Well. The deepening between the ends of two waterballast-tanks, or between the ends of a double-bottom and a bulkhead. 1897–8Encycl. Sport I. 179 Well, the opening in a decked canoe to admit the putting in of cargo and to accommodate the crew.
10. a. A box-like receptacle in the body of a vehicle, for articles of luggage.
1783Morn. Chron. 14 Mar. 4/2 Advt., A very roomy crane-necked Travelling Coach, with well to the bottom, and luggages behind. 1794W. Felton Carriages (1801) II. 199 The Well of a Carriage is a strong box conveniently placed at the body to carry luggage. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair lxvi, The baggage was strapped on. Francis came out with his master's sword, cane, and umbrella tied up together, and laid them in the well. 1911Sir W. Butler Autobiog. xx. 354 He..took three or four brace of grouse from the bag, and..put the birds in the ‘well’ of the vehicle [an Irish car].
b. A comparatively deep receptacle at the bottom of a piece of furniture, esp. of one fitted with trays, drawers, compartments, etc.
1841Savage Dict. Printing. 1842Lytton Zanoni vii. ii, He peered into the well [of an escritoire], and opened the drawers. 1879M. E. Braddon Vixen III. 47 There was an old-fashioned work-table, with a faded red silk well, beside the open window. 1888Jacobi Printers' Vocab., Well, a receptacle under the cases in the upper part of a composing frame, for holding copy, etc. 1905H. G. Wells Kipps iii. iii. §4 Kipps..draws out the marvellous till; here gold is to be, here silver, here copper—notes locked up in a cash⁓box in the well below.
11. A hole or cavity containing or to contain a liquid. In various applications.
a. The water-tank at the base of a shot-tower, into which the drops of melted lead fall.
1851–4Tomlinson's Cycl. Useful Arts (1867) II. 514/1 For the carrying out of this invention shot-towers and shot-wells have been constructed. 1884Lock Workshop Rec. Ser. iii. 362/1 They are sufficiently hardened by cooling to bear the shock of striking the surface of the water in the well below.
b. A cavity at the bottom of a furnace, into which the molten metal falls.
1864Webster. 1881Raymond Mining Gloss. s.v., Well. The crucible of a furnace.
c. A sunk receptacle for a liquid, as ink, etc.; also, an indentation or cavity in a dish, tray, etc.; spec. in Ceramics, the depressed central portion of a plate, saucer, or dish.
1873Spon Workshop Rec. Ser. i. 166/2 The bath should be..larger than the well, which must be a square hole, a little larger than the plate, and about an inch deep. 1881Pharmaceut. Jrnl. 165 A small glass ‘naphtha well’, set in the case, similar to an ‘ink well’. 1937Crockery & Glass Jrnl. Nov. 28 The Fleurette shape..with flower grouping in the well and repeated on the shoulder. 1971Country Life 21 Oct. 1055/1 The saucer is decorated with a circular medallion of The Bull and the Mouse, its well with four sprigs of flowers, the bowl with the Bull and the Frogs.
12. Physics. = potential well s.v. potential n. 4 c.
1942Rep. Progress Physics VIII. 302 The..way to estimate the depth of the well is to postulate that the binding energy of the least strongly bound particle shall be equal to the experimental value for this quantity. 1972Sci. Amer. Apr. 27/1 The original aim was to create a well so deep (from 10 to 20 million volts deep) that the ion-ion collisions could be energetic enough for nuclear transmutations to occur.
13. attrib. and Comb., as well-conductor, well-covering, well-drill, well-grating, well-hook, well-mouth, well-plate, well-pulley, well-pump, well-roof, well-rope, well-shaft, well-side, well-site, well-stage, well-tubbing (tubbing vbl. n. 2), well-yard; well-maker; well-like adj.
1974BP Shield Internat. Oct. 2/1 The jacket..wraps round the *well-conductors which go down into the ground.
1845G. Petrie Eccl. Archit. Ireland 449 *Well Coverings.
1875Knight Dict. Mech., *Well-drill, a tool for boring wells.
1886W. J. Tucker E. Europe 410 It is the duty..of the eldest boy in the school..to see that the *well gratings are closed.
1585Higins Junius' Nomencl. 302/1 Lupus,..a *well hooke.
1854Thoreau Walden 195 We have one other pond just like this, White Pond..but I do not know a third of this pure and *well-like character. 1910Rider Haggard Q. Sheba's Ring xvi. 241 [He] pointed to a jagged, well-like hole blown out..by the recoil of the blast.
1666Despauterii Grammat. Instit. vii. (Jam.) Aquilex,..a *wel maker. 1895Daily News 21 Dec. 5/4 When the second slip took place, the well-maker was suffocated.
1537–8Rec. St. Mary at Hill 377 Paid for j lode of bryk for his *well mowthe. 1869H. F. Tozer Highl. Turkey II. 130 The well-mouth, from being dry, becomes full of water.
1888Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin., *Well Plate. A cast-iron plate put over the mouth of a well to carry the pumps, &c.
1940W. Faulkner Hamlet i. i. 18 He had already begun to hear the mournful..plaint of a rusted *well-pulley.
1889Daily News 5 Aug. 2/7 A substantially constructed set of *well pumps, even if fitted down a well 100 or 200 feet from the ground level, may be utilised as a fire engine in large establishments.
1886F. Caddy Footsteps Jeanne D'Arc v. 88 Chemillé has a romanesque church and the usual domical stone *well-roofs.
1424Mem. Ripon (Surtees) III. 151 It. Roberto Raper pro ij wellerapis. 1575Aldeburgh Rec. in N. & Q. 12th Ser. VII. 227/1 For a bucket ye hoopes, and a *well Roape..xiiiid. 1752Rec. Elgin (New Spald. Club 1903) I. 465 Rigwoodies, tethers, wallropes. 1908Westm. Gaz. 21 July 2/1 He went to a well and clambered down the well-rope.
1857Dickens Dorrit i. iv, In one corner of the hall..there was a little waiting-room, like a *well shaft.
1656Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. i. xcvii. (1674) 131 The Rope which hung upon the Bucket by the *well-side. 1818Scott Br. Lamm. xx, For all she can sit idle by a well-side the whole day, when she has a handsome young gentleman to prate with.
1972L. M. Harris Introd. Deepwater Floating Drilling Operations iii. 22 The *wellsite geologist should..provide technical assistance to the drilling supervisor. 1979Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts CXXVII. 406/2 This led in due time to the adoption of a system of deep ditches around the various well sites.
1888Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin., *Well Stage. A framing of timber erected over the mouth of a well to carry the pumps and pipe connections.
1898F. Davis Silchester 41 Roman wine casks that have served the purpose of *well tubbing.
1480Coventry Leet-bk. 446 Their plum house by þe *well-yarde yate.
14. Special comb.: well-basket, a long deep basket formerly used by street-hawkers; well-beam, the wooden beam or roller over which the rope of a well-bucket runs; well-borer, (a) one who bores wells; (b) a machine or apparatus for boring a well; well-boring vbl. n., the process of sinking a well by drilling through earth or rock; also concr., the shaft of a well; well-brick (see quot. 1889); well-bullock, one used (in India) to turn the windlass at a well; well-cabin (see quot.); † well-carse (see well-cress); well-chapel, one enclosing a holy well; well-cistern, one fed by a spring; well crane (see quot. 1888); † well crank, a windlass for raising and lowering a bucket at a well; well-curb, (a) the stone border round the mouth of a well; (b) see quot. 1892; well-digger, one who digs or bores wells as a profession; well-dish, a meat-dish with a depression at one end as a receptacle for gravy; well-drag (see quot.); well-drain Agric., a drain for wet land, made after the manner of a well, with a boring through which the water rises to be carried off by the drain; well-draining, a system of land drainage (see quot. and prec.); hence well-drain v. (Webster 1847–54); well-dresser, one who takes part in well-dressing; well-dressing = tap-dressing (tap n.1 8); well-eye Sc. and north., a spot in a bog where a spring rises to the surface; a small pool of spring-water; fig. a source; † well fern, the maiden-hair Adiantum Capillus-Veneris; well-fire = well-grate below; well-flowering = tap-dressing (tap n.1 8); well-girse, -grass Sc. = well-cress; well-god, a tutelary deity of a well; well-grate (see quot. 1910); well-horse, a horse that turns the windlass of a well; well-house, a small building or room enclosing a well and its apparatus; well-karses, -kerses Sc. and north. (see well-cress); well-kerb = well-curb; well-kick, the exerting by an oil-well of pressure in excess of that of the drilling fluid pumped into it, leading to loss of circulation; well-packing (see packing vbl. n.1 2 note); † well-pipe, a conduit-pipe; in quot. fig.; well plum, a local name of the pochard, Fuligula ferina; well-pole, (a) a well-sweep; (b) see quot. 1893; † well-reeve (see quot. and reeve n.1 2); well-rig (see quot.); well-room, (a) the place on the floor of a boat or ship where the water collects, and lies until it is pumped out; (b) = well-house; (c) see quot. 1858; well-shanker Sc. = well-sinker; well shrimp, a fresh-water crustacean found in wells; well-sinker = well-borer, -digger; well-sinking vbl. n. = well-boring; well-smack = well boat1; well-spherometer, ‘a form of spherometer for accurately measuring the radius of curvature of a lens’ (Cent. Dict. 1891); well-staircase, -stairs, -stairway, a winding or geometrical staircase with a well or open centre; wellstead [stead n. 7], a site for a well; well-sweep (see sweep n. 24); well-tomb, a prehistoric tomb having a well or shaft for an entrance; well-trap, (a) a depression in a drain, in which water lies and prevents the escape of foul air; (b) see quot. 1893; well-tube, the casing-pipe of a driven well; well-way, the shaft of a well; well-wheel, the wheel that turns the axle of a windlass at a well; well-work, the making of a well; well-worship, the worship of a well or its guardian spirit; also well-worshipping vbl. n. and ppl. a. Also well-boat, -bucket, -cress, etc.
1851Mayhew Lond. Labour (1861) II. 485/1, I give two shillings for a ‘shallow’; that's a flat basket with two handles; they put 'em a top of ‘*well-baskets’, them as can carry a good load.
1895Kipling Soldiers Three, etc. (1917) 273 He will hang him by the heels from the *well⁓beam.
1786Phil. Trans. LXXVII. 50 George Naylor, of Louth, in the County of Lincoln, *Well-borer. 1852Mechanics' Mag. 6 Nov. 370 Thomson's Artesian Well-borer. 1884Lisbon (Dakota) Star 10 Oct., Experienced well-borers..will endeavor to find petroleum.
1835Ure Philos. Manuf. 57 Mine and artesian *well-boring. 1890Hardwicke's Sci. Gossip XXVI. 74/1 Many years ago, in a well-boring,..the flanks of the buried Primary rocks were reached at a depth of 1100 feet.
1784Phil. Trans. LXXV. 3 To build a wall of clay against the morassy sides of the well, with a wall of *well-bricks internally, up to the top of it. 1889N.W. Linc. Gloss., Well-bricks, curved bricks used for lining wells.
1879Mrs. A. G. F. E. James Ind. Househ. Managem. 72 One of the *well-bullocks had a violent attack of the malady.
1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., *Well-cabins, those in brigs and small vessels, which have no afterwindows or thorough draught.
1858J. T. Blight Anc. Crosses E. Cornw. 94 *Well-chapel, Menacuddle, St. Austell... The length of this building is 11 feet... The spring rises in the east end.
1898Dulbin Rev. July 150 A *well-cistern of clear spring water. 1905W. Holman Hunt Pre-Raphaelitism II. xi. 289 To judge from the company round the well-cisterns..it [Cana of Galilee] was at the time a happy neighbourhood.
1849J. Glynn Constr. Cranes 35 The *well crane having been found inconvenient for raising great weights, because of the insufficient resistance of the ground at the well top. 1888Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin., Well Crane, a fixed post crane, one-half of whose post is above ground and the other sunk in a pit, or well, dug to receive it.
c1440Promp. Parv. 520/2 *Welle crank, tollinum.
1877Talmage Fifty Serm. 23 Will you sit down in front of the *well-curb, when a few more turns of the windlass might bring up the..buckets? 1886Kipling Departm. Ditties, etc. (1899) 56 We have trodden the mart and the well-curb. 1892Dict. Arch. (Arch. Publ. Soc.), Well-curb. The ring of elm or metal upon which the lining of a well is built.
1693Moxon Mech. Exerc. (1703) 254 A Borer (such as *Well-Diggers use). 1883Harper's Mag. Oct. 708/2 By trade he is a well-digger.
1880Blackmore Mary Anerley xlvii, When a coal comes to table in a *well-dish.
1857Wright Obs. & Provinc. Dict., *Well-drag, a three-pronged drag to bring the bucket up when it falls in. Leic. 1881Leicestersh. Gloss.
1819Rees Cycl., *Well-drain, in Agriculture, that sort of vent or discharge for the wetness of land, which is constructed in somewhat the well or pit manner.
Ibid., *Well-draining, that means of clearing lands from wetness, which..is accomplished by making large deep pits or wells.
1898R. M. Gilchrist Willowbrake i, Within five minutes the curtain would be drawn aside and the *well-dressers set free to join the turbulent outside revellers. 1860*Well-dressing [see tap-dressing s.v. tap n.1 8]. 1882C. F. Keary Outl. Prim. Belief ii. 87 Fetichism survives in the honours paid to wells and fountains,..in England known under the name of ‘well⁓dressing’.
1536Bellenden Cron. Scot. (1821) I. 170 Thay knew nocht the ground, and fell sometimes in swards of mossis, and sum time in *well-eys. 1820Marmaiden of Clyde ii. in Edin. Mag. VI. 422 An' the marmaid's goun was green as grass In the cauld wall-ee that grows. 1826Galt Last of Lairds xxxv, The cause o' our national decay, and agricultural distress,..come a' thegither frae anither well-ee.
1565Cooper Thesaurus, Adiantum..It may be called Venus heare..other name it to be *well ferne.
1906Studio XXXVIII. 127/1 *Well-fires are used in all the rooms.
1824E. Rhodes Peak Scenery 315 An ancient custom still prevails in the village of Tissington... It is denominated *Well-Flowering. 1874Murray's Handbk. Derbysh. etc. (ed. 2) 188 An ancient..custom of dressing the 5 wells or springs of this village..is still kept up, and is known as ‘Tap Dressing’, or ‘Well Flowering’.
1903Seccombe & Allen Age Shaks. I. i. 44 His [Browne's] Devonshire has a large population of river-gods, *well-gods, and nymphs.
1673D. Wedderburn Voc. 18 (Jam.) Nasturtium aquaticum, *well⁓grass. 1825Jamieson, Well-grass, Well-girse, Well-kerses, Water-cresses.
1910Encycl. Brit. XII. 378/2 In the closing years of the 19th century a ‘*well-grate’ was invented, in which the fire burns upon the hearth, combustion being aided by an air-chamber below. 1927W. E. Collinson Contemp. Eng. 90 Fires..are more often well-grates (i.e. low) than basket-grates (with hobs for the kettle).
1894Meredith Lett. (1912) II. 461, I am under an engagement..to deliver a novel in the Spring, and have to go the round of a *well-horse daily.
1354–5Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 555 In una sera reparanda pro le *Welhousdore. 1466–7Ibid. 641 Pro punctuacione super stabulum hospitum et le Wellehouse infra abbathiam. 1597in Archaeologia LXIV. 369, 1500 ston lat nail for ye well house. 1895Crockett Men of Moss-Hags xxvii, I made a rush swiftly round the corner, and entered the well-house.
1889Kipling Soldiers Three (ed. 3) 67 Losson..lowered the cage [of the parrot] into the cool darkness of a well, and sat on the *well-kerb.
1972L. M. Harris Introd. Deepwater Floating Drilling Operations x. 97 Closing in around the drill pipe and circulating a conventional *well kick. 1974P. L. Moore et al. Drilling Practices Manual xi. 277 Failure to recognize a well kick could be disastrous.
1875Knight Dict. Mech., *Well-packing.
1540Coverdale Fruitf. Lessons T 4 b, Here are opened the conduites and *well pipes of life.
1862Johns Brit. Birds 625 *Wellplum, the Red-headed Pochard. 1885Swainson Prov. Names Birds 160 Well plum.
1826Longfellow in S. Longfellow Life (1886) I. 86 There is so little..to remind one that he is out of town: no corn-fields..no slab⁓fences: no *well-poles. 1893S.E. Worc. Gloss., Well-pole, a pole having at the end a hook, with which the bucket is lowered into the well for the purpose of bringing up water.
1613Coventry Leet Bk. ii. 21 Apr. 11 Jas. I. leaf 63 (MS.) Such said aldermen..and such ten persons..shall choose and elect two persons dwelling in everie particular ward where any comon well is..to be *well-reeves for one whole year.
1875Knight Dict. Mech. 2759/1 *Well-rig is the term applied to the whole plant for well-boring, consisting of the derrick, its engine [etc.].
1769Falconer Dict. Marine (1780), s.v. Limbers. The water..is conveyed to the *well-room, where the pumps are fixed. 1852Hist. Co. Oxford 278 A very curious well-room of the time of Henry II has been discovered in the centre of the keep tower. 1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, Well-room, an apartment or building containing a mineral spring or spa, where the waters are drunk by invalids. 1882*Well-shanker [see shanker 4].
1853Gard. Chron. 23 Apr. 260/2 A *Well Shrimp, a small white crustaceous animal, about half an inch long. 1914Brit. Mus. Return 171 Well-shrimp.
1604Shuttleworths' Acc. (Chetham Soc.) 156 A *well-sinker, vj days sinkinge the well..iijs. 1884B'ham Daily Post 24 Jan. 3/4 Wanted..three good Well-sinkers.
1858Q. Rev. Jan. 6 All sorts of earthwork, in embanking, boring, and *well⁓sinking. 1915Daily News 20 Sept. 1 The authorities have requisitioned all workmen with a knowledge of well-sinking..and are sending them..to work on drilling artesian wells.
1765Museum Rust. IV. 238 The *well⁓smacks employed in our cod-fisheries.
1840Dickens Old C. Shop xlviii, A little out-of-the-way door at the foot of the *well staircase flew briskly open. 1868Daily News 4 Aug., If space is an object, two or three well-staircases..might be employed.
1892Dict. Arch. (Arch. Publ. Soc.), *Well-stairs.
1883Harper's Mag. Feb. 347/1 The central column around which these *well-stairways usually wind.
1546Yorks. Chantry Surv. (Surtees) I. 152 For a *wellsteede..for a wellstede and a fysshyng. 1876Whitby Gloss., Wellsteead, the site of a well.
1828–32Webster, *Well-sweep. 1836C. A. Goodrich Universal Traveller (ed. 2) i. i. 27 Here and there, by the side of the older houses, may be seen a well-sweep, a primitive contrivance to draw up water by a pole, which is attached to a beam, moving up and down on an axle. c1850–60Alice & Phœbe Cary in M. C. Ames Mem. (1873) 252 A grape vine, shaggy and rough and red, Swings from the well-sweeps high, sharp head. 1886E. S. Morse Jap. Homes ii. 73 In this sketch a regular New England well-sweep is seen.
1889Nation 11 Apr. 303/1 The graves belong to the type of ‘*well-tombs’.
1850Ogilvie, *Well-trap, the same as stench-trap. 1893J. Watson Confess. Poacher 133 The well-trap is a square, deep box, built into the ground opposite to a smoot-hole in the fence through which the rabbits run. As the rabbits run, the floor opens, and they drop into the well.
1875Knight Dict. Mech., *Well-tube.
1753Hanway Trav. (1762) I. ii. xvi. 69 The method of keeping them clear of water, is by a large scoop which is suspended..over the *well-way. 1900Engineering Mag. XIX. 772/2 A sea-going hydraulic dredge having the ladder for the suction-pipe and cutter in a well-way in the centre.
1535MS. Rawl. D. 777 fol. 84 b, ix new storoppes to staye the Rynge of the *well wheell to the spokes. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 24 marg., The scoldyng of brathels is no more to bee passed on, then the squekyng of welle wheles. 1895Atlantic Monthly Mar. 308 You take insult like a donkey on a well wheel.
1858Skyring Builders' Prices 76 The digging will only be applicable to *Well-work, as that for Drains must of course depend upon their depth.
1810C. O'Conor Columbanus's Third Let. 84 Origin of Irish *Well-worship. 1882Proc. Berw. Nat. Club IX. 510 Well-worship continues to this day, and votive gifts..are still thrown into the clear spring waters.
1810C. O'Conor Columbanus's Third Let. 79 *Well-worshipping was a Druidic superstition. 1892Catholic News 23 July 5/5 A race of well-worshipping semi-pagans.
▪ II. † well, n.2 Obs.
[f. well adv., substituted for weal n.1 under the influence of F. bien.]
1. Well-being, welfare, advantage, profit.
a. In contrast to woe.
c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 687 Neuere..Ȝe nere out of myn hertis remembraunce For wel or wo, for carole or for daunce. c1420J. Page Siege Rouen in Hist. Coll. Citizen Lond. (Camden) 35 Thes were the syghtys of dyfferauns,..That one of welle and þat othyr of wo. 1450–1530Myrr. Our Ladye iii. 320 For the soulle when yt ys departed fro the body by dethe receyueth anon welle or wo. 1550Crowley Last Trumpet 160 But do thou nothing wickedly, Neyther for wel nor yet for wo. 1600W. Watson Decacordon (1602) 350 A resolute intent..in well, and in woe, to remaine constant.
b. In general use; freq. in for the well of —.
1424Coventry Leet Bk. 72 Ȝif it so be þat thei towche the well of the kyng..or his realme. 1440in Wars Eng. in France (Rolls) II. 588 My saide lorde desireth that it like the king of his goode grace, for the grete welle of bothe his royaumes, to ordeyn,..that [etc.]. 1497in Lett. Rich. III & Hen. VII (Rolls) II. 74 For the welle of hys saule he can noo lesse doo then sue for absolucion. 1509Barclay Shyp of Folys 229 For worldy ryches, the trouth nat playne to tell, Puttynge bodely profyte before eternall well. 1525Ld. Berners Froiss. II. xx. 17 b, For y⊇ well of the peace..we desyre them to sette to their seales. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. ii. 43 That may restore you to your wonted well. 1632Lithgow Trav. ix. 414 Hungary aboundeth..in all things the earth can produce for the well of man. a1645Ld. Napier Mem. (1793) 43 My Lord Lowdon..might have thought me willfull against my owne well.
2. well public = weal-public 2. rare—1.
1579Lodge Def. Plays 6 Though Plato could wish the expulsion of Poetes from his well publiques,..yet the wisest had not all that same opinion.
3. Good or honourable report.
c1500Melusine 135 She..desired moche to see him for the well that it was said of hym. [1802Coleridge Ode to Rain 28 I'll nothing speak of you but well.]
▪ III. well, a.|wɛl|
Forms: 3–7 wel, 4–6 wele, 5 welle, 5– well; Sc. and north. 5 weyll, 6–7 weill (6 weil), 6– weel.
[From well adv. in predicative use: see sense 1.]
1. Used predicatively to denote a state of good fortune, welfare, or happiness:
†a. With the dative of the personal pronouns, esp. in the formula well is me, thee, him, etc., or well worth him, etc. Obs. (Cf. L. bene est mihi, etc.)
Beowulf 186 Wel bið þæm þe mot æfter deaðdæᵹe Drihten secan. c825Vesp. Psalter xxxiv. 21 [Hie] cwedon: wel ðe, wel ðe [L. euge]. c1000ælfric Gen. xii. 13 Þæt me wel siᵹ for þe, and min sawul lybbe for þinum intingan. Ibid. Num. xi. 18 Wel us wæs on Egipta lande. 12..Moral Ode (Egerton MS.) 388 in O.E. Hom. I. 183 Of him to sene nis no[n] sed, wel hem is þe hine bi-healeð. c1205Lay. 13079 Wel wurðe þe Vortiger þat þu ært icumen her. a1225Ancr. R. 124 Wel is me uor mine gode, & wo is me þauh for þin vuel. c1250Gen. & Ex. 2387 ‘Wel me,’ quað he, ‘wel is me wel, ðat ic aue abiden ðus swil[c] sel!’ 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 5751 A voys sede, as him þoȝte, þes wordes þoru þe soun, Wel is þe, wel is þe, as he vel adoun. a1310in Wright Lyric P. xviii. 59 Suete Jhesu, wel may him be, That the may in blisse se! c1374Chaucer Troylus i. 350 Lord wel is hym þat may be of yow oon. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. I. 256 And so at þe daie of dome, God shal not seie, Wel be þee. 1423Jas. I. Kingis Q. liii, A! wele were him that now were In thy plyte! 1470–85Malory Arthur x. lxxxii. 558 Wel is me that I haue mette with yow. 1523Skelton Garl. of Laurel 718 O wele were hym that herof myght be sure. 1535Coverdale Ps. cxxviii. 2 O well is the, happie art thou. 1599T. Storer Life & D. Wolsey B 3 b, But well is me where e're my ashes lie, If one teare drop from some religious eie. 1650J. Carstaires Lett. (1846) 63 If so, weils me for evermore. 1690W. Walker Idiomat. Anglo-Lat. 512 Well is me if this be true. 1825Brockett N.C. Words, Weel's-mon-thee! God bless you.
†b. With nouns, orig. in the dative, but latterly (by loss of inflection) capable of being construed as nominatives. Also rarely with to or for. Obs.
c1000Laws Cnut lxxxiv. (Lieberm.) 368 Wel þære heorde ðe ᵹefolᵹað þam hyrde. a1300Assump. Virg. 99 Wel beo þe time þat þu were ibore, For al þis wordle were forlore. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 1797 A place to pleye, ordeyned Brutus,—Corineus was wel of þat graunt—ffor to wrastle wyþ þat geaunt. a1352Minot Poems ii. 5 It es wrokin, I wene, wele wurth þe while. c1400Destr. Troy 477 Well were that woman might weld hym for euer. c1430How Good Wijf tauȝte hir Douȝtir 213 in Babees Bk. (1868) 47 For weel is þe child Þat wiþ synne wole not be filid. c1450Merlin xiv. 225 Well were that maiden that so feire a knyght wolde requere hir of love. 1509Barclay Shyp of Folys 135 Well is that londe, and ioyous may it be, Whiche is defendyd by suche a noble estate. 1593G. Harvey Pierces Super. 141 Yet well-worth the Master-Ape. 1597Bp. Hall Sat. iii. ii. 19 Well were thy name and thee Wert thou inditched in great secrecie. 1602Carew Cornwall i. 37 In times past..Holdings were so plentifull and Holders so scarce, as well was the Land-lord who could get one to bee his Tenant. 1606Rollock 1 Thess. 84 Well is that man in whose mouth this word is put: and well is that people that hes a man in whose mouth the Lord hes put his word. 1678Sprat Serm. Gal. vi. 10, 16 Charity..is made the constant Companion..of all Virtues..and well it is for that Virtue, where it most enters, and longest stayes.
c. With the nominative forms of the personal pronouns, or with nouns clearly construed as nominatives.
In this usage freq. placed, like other adjectives, after the vb.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 5765 He wende to heuene & was wel ynou. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 1452 Now er men wele, now er men wa. a1375Joseph Arim. 33 He þat ledes vs þis wei vre herborwe schal wisse. Þei founden hit newely, so wel weore þei neuere. Ibid. 659 We weore so wel of vr-self, we nuste what we duden. 1406Hoccleve La Male Regle 12 Whil thy power [O Health!]..Regned in me & was my gouernour, Than was I wel, tho felte I no duresse. c1450Cov. Myst., Counc. Jews 91 Cayphas. Fare wel, sere, and wel ȝe be. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xxiv. 528 Now wold I be well in my ship in the myddes of the see, for if I abyde him, he shall make an ende of me. 1513Douglas æneis vii. iii. 38 All haill our native goddis, weill ȝe be! a1547Surrey æneid ii. 301 And well were they whoes handes might touch the cordes. 1563–83Foxe A. & M. 983 They fell to singyng... Well was he that could reache the hyest note. 1595J. King Serm. Queen's Day in Lect. Jonas (1597) 703 O well were wee in the daies of Queene Elizabeth. 1597Beard Theatre God's Judgem. 183 Wel was he that could hide himself in a corner. 1688S. Penton Guardian's Instruction 24 He was never well but when he was managing or talking of the Dogs. 1818Shelley To Mary ― 11 Mary dear, come to me soon, I am not well whilst thou art far.
2. a. In favour, in good standing or estimation, on good terms, with (a person). Also rarely with together.
Originally with to be (see also the special senses below); now common only with keep or stand (see stand v. 15 e), with approach to an adverbial force. The gap in the evidence between the 15th and 18th cent. is remarkable.
a1300Cursor M. 9521 He had an anlepe son, Þat wit his fader was sa wele Þat [he] wist his wisdom ilk dele. c1300Havelok 2878 She is fayr, and she is fre,..Þertekene she is wel with me. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. iii. 152 There she [Meed] is wel with þe kynge, wo is þe rewme. c1435Torr. Portugal 1948 That man was well with god all-myȝt. c1450Godstow Reg. 26 She was fayre and comly, and well was with the kyng almyhty.
1709Mrs. Manley Secret. Mem. (1720) III. 76 There was nothing I outwardly omitted to be well with her Majesty. 1739tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist. xvii. ii. (ed. 2) VIII. 30 Antigonus..had..intreated Philip to keep well with Aratus. 1741Chesterfield Lett. 8 Aug., The last [report] I had from Mr. Maittaire was so good a one, that you and I are at present extremely well together. 1750Ibid. 26 Apr., He is well with..many people of the first distinction at Paris. 1753Richardson Grandison II. xii. 87 That he might stand well with a son, whose character..made his father half afraid of him. 1770in Earl Malmesbury Diaries & Corr. (1844) I. 66 For although they are by no means well together, yet they would both find their advantages in a war. 1811Ora & Juliet II. 66 She chose to keep well with the Dudleys in all appearance. 1881Mrs. E. Lynn Linton My Love I. i. 13 He desired to keep well with Stella's father. 1883D. C. Murray Hearts xiv, The new heir..had good reasons for standing well with his neighbours.
fig.1820T. Brown Lect. Philos. Human Mind IV. c. 608 ‘The true secret of happiness’, says Fontenelle, ‘is to be well with our own mind.’
b. spec. On terms of intimate friendship or familiarity with (a woman).
1704Cibber Careless Husb. v. iii, But it's so natural for a prude to be malicious when a man endeavours to be well with anybody but herself. 1784R. Bage Barham Downs I. 91 You must know Sir, I have the honour to be well with Mrs. Gadbury, Lady Conollan's woman. 1809Malkin Gil Blas iii. v. ⁋2 All our set were well with some fine woman or other. Ibid. iii. vii. ⁋3 Do not suppose that you are well with a Duchess.
†c. Pleased or satisfied with (oneself). Also well to do. Obs.
1786A. M. Bennett Juvenile Indiscr. I. 11 He could not avoid being extremely well with himself. 1854Surtees Handley Cr. vii. (1901) I. 62 He went on 'Change with..a strut that plainly told how well he was to do with himself. 1865‘Annie Thomas’ On Guard I. iv. 61 His horses..rattled over the stones..at a rate he would not have driven them had he been well with himself just then.
†d. Without const. In favour. Obs.
1694M. Prior in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 213 Neither the Dauphin or Monsr Luxemberg are very well in Court. 1752Chesterfield Lett. 22 Sept., However, be as well at court as you possibly can. Ibid., In short, make yourself well there, without making yourself ill somewhere else. 1776in Sparks Corr. Amer. Rev. (1853) I. 203, I have the pleasure to inform you that I am extremely well in the opinion of the senatorial part.
3. a. In a state of prosperity or affluence; more explicitly well in goods or cash, well in the world; = well off 1 c. (See also well to do, to live, to pass.) Now rare. exc. in well to do, well off.
to leave (a person) well, to be well left: to leave or be left well off by devise or inheritance.
c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 68 Thanked be ffortune and hire false wheel, That noon estat assureth to be weel. 1463Ashby Prisoner's Refl. 78 Whiche greuyd me sore..To be in pouert and of goodes bad, That before was well in goodes and rest. 1606Dekker Sev. Sinnes v. (Arb.) 36 Richmens sonnes that were left well, and had more money giuen by will, then they had wit how to bestow it. 1682in N. & Q. 12th Ser. IX. 436/2 He has left euery body that is related to him good Legaseys and his wife extreame well. 1686tr. Chardin's Coronat. Solyman 130 A Family that is not very well in the World. 1746W. Horsley Fool (1748) I. 189 Vanesius was well in Cash. 1780Mirror No. 97 He imperceptibly became, ‘in easy circumstances, well in the world, of great credit, [etc.]. 1809Malkin Gil Blas ii. vii. ⁋4 He must be very well in the world. 1835Politeness & Good-breeding 97 Two boys..the one high-born as to rank, and..the other well in the world as to riches. 1875[see leave v.1 2 b].
†b. well and warm: in comfortable and affluent circumstances. Obs.
1571Campion Hist. Irel. ii. ix. (1633) 114 But you are well and warme and so hold you. a1670Wood Life (O.H.S.) I. 129 A. W. seemed very sorry at this news, because he was well and warme where he was. 1673Hickeringill Greg. F. Greybeard 4, I shall not get a penny by your custome; neither do I desire it. For I am well and warm.
c. Favourably circumstanced; having things as one wishes them to be; = well off 1 a. Now rare.
c1440Partonope 5281 When wymmen be well they can not cese. 1598Shakes. Merry W. i. i. 278 An. Wil't please your worship to come in, Sir? Sl. No, I thank you forsooth, hartely; I am very well. 1606― Ant. & Cl. ii. v. 33 We vse To say, the dead are well. 1643J. Burroughes Exp. 1st 3 ch. Hosea ii. v. 351 You who are thorough Gods mercy in his way, you are now well, know when you are well, and keep you wel. c1645Howell Lett. (1650) III. 24, I am afraid we have seen our best days, we knew not when we were well. 1784R. Bage Barham Downs I. 64 But every body, Mrs. Susan, don't know when they are well. 1865M. Arnould Ess. Crit., Academies ⁋2 Not without a little hesitation—for apparently they found themselves very well as they were..—they consented.
4. In a sound or undamaged state; spec. in marine insurance, of a vessel.
c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 475 God shewed meruaile in apert. Þe bell was wele al swythe. 1580H. Smith in Hakluyt Voy. (1589) 470 Wee were afraid that she [the ship] had taken some hurt, but she was well. 1667Earl of Orrery St. Lett. (1742) 288 He..came..to inform me..that the Rupert was driven from them by force of weather, but doubts not, that she is well. 1848J. Arnould Marine Insur. I. 586 In order to protect himself from liability to any loss before a given day, the underwriter frequently causes a warranty to be inserted in the policy that the ship was ‘all safe’, or ‘well’, on the day.
5. a. Sound in health; free or recovered from sickness or infirmity: more explicitly well in health. Const. of (a sickness, wound). Also not well (Sc. no weel) = unwell a. 2 († formerly with of a sudden, o' th' sudden).
1555Card. Pole in Eng. Hist. Rev. (1913) July 529 Thoȝ my passage over the see was not so quyet..yet after I was londed I found myself very wel. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 428 b, She was not very wel in health. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. iii. ii. 238 Not sicke my Lord, vnlesse it be in minde, Nor wel, vnlesse in minde. 1598― Merry W. i. i. 80 M. Page. I am glad to see your Worships well. 1599― Much Ado iv. i. 63 Is my Lord well, that he doth speake so wide? 1634Milton Comus 1000 Where young Adonis oft reposes, Waxing well of his deep wound. 1650Cromwell Let. 30 July in Carlyle, The Major-General will, I believe, within few days be well to take the field. 1711Swift Jrnl. to Stella 1 Dec., He..drinks no claret yet, for fear of his rheumatism, of which he is almost well. 1782Cowper Gilpin 220 This shall be yours when you bring back My husband safe and well. 1831Scott Ct. Rob. xxxii, Ursel..is restored to you well in health. 1853Dickens Bleak Ho. xxiii, I hope you are well. I am happy to see you. 1864Trollope Small House at Allington xx, ‘The fact is this; I'm very well, you know;—as strong as a horse.’ ‘You look pretty well.’
(b)1608Middleton Trick to catch Old-one v. H 2 b, Troth I am not well of a suddaine. a1616Beaum. & Fl. Wit without Money iii. i, A proper Gentleman: I am not well o' th' sudden. 1667Dryden Secret Love i. iii, Dear Asteria lead me, I am not well o'th sudden. (She faints.)
†b. well in (one's) wits: of sound mind. Obs.
1561Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtier i. (1900) 90 A manne may assuredly thinke him not to be wel in his wittes. 1577tr. Bullinger's Decades ii. viii. 206 What man that were wel in his wittes would say to kinges [etc.]. 1581G. Pettie tr. Guazzo's Civ. Conv. i. (1586) 4 If I shuld say it, rather I (than you) might be thought scarce wel in my wits. 1645Sir R. Weston Husb. Brabant (1652) 26 Such profitable Terms, as no man, that is well in his wits, but will venture at them. 1686W. Clagett 17 Serm. (1699) App. 18 No body, well in his wits can be misled by it. 1720Waterland Eight Serm. 90 A Man would hardly be supposed well in his Wits, that should seriously entertain any the least Doubt..concerning it.
c. Used attributively, esp. as well man († sometimes hyphened).
1628Digby Voy. Mediterr. (Camden) 14, I tooke a view of my well men. 1654Whitlock Zootomia 95 Our division of the living is not so much into Physitian, and Patient, as into well Physitian, and sick Physitian. 1666Pepys Diary 12 Feb., In spite,..ill people would breathe in the faces, out of their windows, of well people going by. 1672Wiseman Wounds ii. vii. 50 He..could take no rest until his wounded finger was digested, yet his pain was not so great in his Wound, as in his well fingers. 1700Dryden Fables, Cock & Fox 401 But neither Pills nor Laxatives I like, They only serve to make a well-man sick. 1737B. Franklin Poor Richard (1890) 73 Poor Dick eats like a well man, and drinks like a sick. 1759Ann. Reg. 62 One of the ships..with no more than 65 guns..and but 472 well men at quarters. 1841Catlin N. Amer. Ind. (1844) II. xlv. 80 Of those who are alive, there are not well ones enough to take care of the sick. 1874Howells Chance Acquaint. iv. (1882) 97 Calling Kitty's attention to his ingenuity by a pressure with her well foot. 1879― L. Aroostook (1883) II. 10 They welcomed him back to animation with the patronage with which well people hail a convalescent. 1900‘Mark Twain’ Man that corrupted etc. 128 Two days later he ‘began to eat like a well man’.
(b) Comb., as well-baby, used attrib. to designate clinics or health care arrangements for routine checking of healthy children, as a form of preventive medicine; well woman (usu., with hyphen, attrib.), a woman who has undergone satisfactory gynæcological tests. orig. N. Amer.
1921Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 5 Oct. 6/4 A well⁓baby clinic will be held at the Saanich Health Centre..An invitation is extended to all mothers to bring their infants. 1963Jrnl. Amer. Med. Assoc. 2 Nov. 459/1 She had been advised to bring the child to the well-baby clinic. 1976G. E. Godber Brit. National Health Service i. 5 Many of the elected councils of cities and counties had not used their powers to provide antenatal and well-baby care. 1977PEN Broadsheet No. 3. 3/3 A range of leaflets on contraceptive methods, well-women care, sex-related diseases. 1980Brit. Med. Jrnl. 29 Mar. 958/2 The new hospital will have a 40-bed gynaecological unit with a wide range of outpatient services and a specially designed ‘well woman clinic’ to provide urgently needed health screening. 1981‘G. Gaunt’ Incomer xxvi. 173 That Thursday's well-baby clinic functioned with the slick accuracy of a Jesuit mass. 1984S. Townsend Growing Pains A. Mole 13 She says she needs the money for her ‘Well Woman’ test. She is having primary and secondary sexual organs checked. 1985Observer (Colour Suppl.) 14 Apr. 23/3 She looked every inch the part of the world's most glamorous well-woman.
d. absol. (as pl.). Those who are sound in health.
1676Princ. Chymists Lond. 104 For our S. P. never worketh on the Well, either by Vomit or Stool. 1783Johnson Let. Dr. Brocklesby 29 Aug., in Boswell, It is great consolation to the well, and still greater to the sick. 1841Catlin N. Amer. Ind. (1844) II. xlii. 69 Leaving about 30 sick, and about an equal number of well to take care of and protect them. 1886Besant Childr. Gibeon xxv, Every body feels it, the sick and the well, the patient and the nurses. 1908Westm. Gaz. 22 Feb. 16/1 It should be the business of the doctors to prevent the well from getting sick.
e. well day: a day on which one is free from sickness, esp. from an attack of an intermittent disorder. (Sometimes hyphened.)
1652Wood Life Aug. (O.H.S.) I. 176 What in the well⁓days his stomach had contracted, he would on the sick-day vomit it out. a1657R. Loveday Lett. (1663) 175, I scarce enjoy'd one well day in ten Weeks absence. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 96 The 30th was my Well-day..and I went abroad with my Gun. 1760–72H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) II. 113 As it was one of his well days, he walked in without help. 1799Underwood Dis. Childhood (ed. 4) I. 301 Repeated cold and hot fits..with one or more well-days between them. 1869Carlyle New Lett. (1904) II. 251, I struggle to hang by my ‘Work’..and generally do get a particle or two of it done every well-day.
f. Of a person's health or spirits: Sound, good. Of sickness: Cured.
1712Swift Jrnl. to Stella 9 Oct., Lord-treasurer has had an ugly fit of the rheumatism, but it is now near quite well. 1760–2Goldsm. Cit. W. v, His health, thank Heaven, is still pretty well. 1801E. Helme St. Marg. Cave III. 186 Your health is, I fear, not well. 1836Southey Cowper's Wks. III. 137 Yet he described his spirits as tolerably well in the day. 1847Surtees Hawbuck Grange iv. 74 Indeed he had fully determined, if his cold was well enough, to ride over to Snailswell.
6. In the phrase (it is) well (that) or to:
a. Advisable, desirable, to be recommended.
1475Bk. Noblesse 82 It is welle to undrestonde that ye haue no protectoure, kepar, ne defendour but it come of God. 1605Shakes. Macb. i. vii. 2 Then 'twer well, It were done quickly. 1820Keats Eve St. Agnes xxxviii, If thou think'st well To trust, fair Madeline, to no rude infidel. 1848Dickens Dombey xlvi, I never thought to look at him again,..but it's well I should, perhaps. 1864‘Annie Thomas’ D. Donne III. 97 Suggestions as to the seat it would be well for him to take. 1910Encycl. Brit. II. 28/1 When a trout rises it is well to count ‘ten’ before striking.
b. Gratifying, fortunate, lucky; forming a matter for satisfaction or thankfulness.
1665Dk. Ormonde in 11th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 13 It is well wee have time to looke about us before the next assault. 1701De Foe Trueborn Eng. 23 'Tis well that Virtue gives Nobility. 1717Atterbury Serm. (1734) I. 161 It is well they afford us both these. 1779Warner in Jesse Selwyn & Contemp. (1844) IV. 271 Such a dinner as we had to-day! it was well it was a christening! 1842Dickens Amer. Notes xiv, It was well for us, that we were in this humour, for the road [etc.]. 1859Tennyson Guinevere 421 Well is it that no child is born of thee. 1865Le Fanu Guy Deverell III. 149 It is well when these sudden collapses of the overwrought nerves occur.
c. as well..if or that, in preceding senses.
1753–4Richardson Grandison II. xxvii. 209 Perhaps in this case..it were as well they did not. 1801Marvellous Love-Story II. 288, I think it would be as well if John was to go off..this afternoon. 1889Mrs. E. Kennard Landing a Prize vii, Perhaps it was just as well..that Ebenezer remained in his cabin.
7. a. Of a state of things, work, an undertaking, etc.: Satisfactory; of such a nature, or in such a condition, as to meet with approval or give content.
1381in Knighton Chron. (Rolls) II. 139 For if the ende be wele, than is alle wele. 1523–34Fitzherb. Husb. §14 If it be thynne, sowe thycker the nexte yere; and if it be well, holde his hande there other yeres. 1523Skelton Garl. Laurel 763 He can neuer leue warke whylis it is wele. 1580H. Smith in Hakluyt Voy. (1589) 471 We did tarrie for her to know whether all was well with her. 1581A. Hall Iliad v. 76 The warre they deeme not well for them. 1604Shakes. Oth. iii. i. 45 Goodmorrow (good Lieutenant) I am sorrie For your displeasure: but all will sure be well. 1620T. May Heir i. (1633) B 1, That's well, that's very well. 1746Francis tr. Hor., Sat. ii. vi. 10, I have enough in my possessing, 'Tis well. 1798–1803Jane Austen Northang. Abb. x, Though it is vastly well to be here for a few weeks, we would not live here for millions. 1820W. Irving Sketch Bk., Wife (1821) I. 35 She saw..with the quick eyes of affection, that all was not well with him. 1859E. FitzGerald Omar Khayam lxiv, He's a Good Fellow, and 'twill all be well.
Prov.1381[see above]. 1562J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 21 Well aunt (quoth Ales) All is well that endes well. 1600F. L. Ovid's Remedie of Love etc., To Rdr. E 3 b, Yet take this old Prouerbe with a right application..All is well that endeth well. And so end I. 1724P. Walker Peden (1827) Pref. p. xxvii, The old Saying holds, that All's well that ends well. 1905‘G. Thorne’ Lost Cause iv. 106 All's well that ends well! You won't have the services disturbed again.
b. of material things.
1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 118 It [sc. a cheese] is, saith an other, well as can bee. 1595in Archaeologia LXIV. 389 Because the walles ryse and be not well nor all of one collore, the most be wheyted at the plasterers charge. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. iv. i. 172 Kate. The meate was well...Pet. I tell thee Kate, 'twas burnt and dried away. 1599Minsheu Span. Dial. 3 This water is now well [Ya esta buena est agua], you may now wel wash Sir. 1600Shakes. Sonn. ciii, Were it not sinfull then striuing to mend, To marre the subiect that before was well. 1761Foote Lyar i. ii. (1786) 14 Do you know now, that..I honour the Park? forty thousand million of times preferable to the play house! Don't you think so, my dear? Miss Godfrey. They are both well in their way.
absol.1589Greene Menaphon (Arb.) 78 Sweet Censors take my silly worst for well.
c. to let (or leave) well alone: to refrain from trying to make better that which is already well.
1740Cheyne Regimen Pract. Ess. p. xxxvi, When a Person is tolerably well, and is subject to no painful or dangerous Distemper, I think it his Duty..to let Well alone. 1830[see let v. 18 b]. a1865Mrs. Gaskell Wives & Dau. xxxii, Why can't you leave well alone? 1883D. C. Murray Hearts xii, Tom was very near yielding... But Mr. Carroll could not let well alone, and unfortunately he went on, ‘Whom am I to believe, [etc.].’
d. all's well: a sentry's reply when he has received the password in answer to his challenge. (See also quot. 1769.)
1769Falconer Dict. Marine (1780), All's well! an acclamation of safety or security pronounced by a centinel..at the time of striking the bell each half-hour during..the night watch. 1802C. James Milit. Dict. s.v. Pass, All's Well, a term used by a British sentry after he has challenged a person that comes near his post, [etc.]. 1803T. Dibdin Engl. Fleet iii. ii. Duet, ‘Who goes there? Stranger—quickly tell;’ ‘A friend,’—the word—‘Good night—All's well’.
e. Sc. Quite ready. rare.
1805A. Scott Poems 40 With hunger smit, may hap they seem to feel, Or cry, perhaps, oh! is the hodgil weel! 1825Jamieson s.v. Weill, Is the denner weel?
8. a. In conformity with approved standards of action or conduct; right, proper. Now arch.
1534Star Chamber Cases (Selden Soc.) II. 315 John..toke the seid iiij horsez..and theym impounded, as well and lawfull it was..for hym to doo. 1540Palsgr. Acolastus ii. v. N ij, That is well, or well done, let hym be brought in. 1713Addison Cato iii. ii, O Portius, was this well!—to frown on her, That lives upon thy Smiles!
†b. qualifying a noun of action. Obs. (For the similar use with verbal ns., see well adv. 30.)
1583in Neal Hist. Puritans (1754) I. 267 The archbishop has power to make laws for the well government of the church. 1635Strafford Lett. (1739) I. 482 That he see to the upholding of my Houses and well Usage of my Grounds. 1677Earl of Essex in Essex Papers (Camden) II. 148 The well payment of their Rents depending much upon the well paying of the Army.
c. Good; of a character or quality to which no exception can be taken. Now arch. or Obs.
1661Marvell Corr. Wks. (Grosart) II. 70 The things [clauses in the Act] seem to me generally well and desirable. Ibid. 344 Which thing, as it hath a well and certain foundation, so it is your wisdome [etc.]. 1671Milton Samson 1723 Nothing is here for tears,..no weakness, no contempt, Dispraise, or blame, nothing but well and fair. 1695A. Charlett in Wood Life (O.H.S.) III. 499 His behaviour was very well during his Illnesse; was very patient and Quiet. 1766Goldsm. Vicar xi, Our honest neighbour's goose and dumplings were fine... It is true, his manner of telling stories was not quite so well. 1773― Stoops to Conq. ii. i, Yet the fellow, but for his unaccountable bashfulness, is pretty well too. He has good sense. 1780Johnson in Boswell (1887) IV. 24 Yes, they are very well, Sir; but you may observe in what manner they are well. They are the forcible verses of a man of a strong mind, but not accustomed to write verse. 1798–1803Jane Austen Northang. Abb. v, It is really very well for a novel.
9.
†a. Of good or satisfactory appearance. Obs.
1600Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. v. 119 Hee'll make a proper man:..His leg is but so so, and yet 'tis well. 1611― Wint. T. v. iii. 20 But here it [sc. a statue] is:..behold, and say 'tis well. c1710C. Fiennes Diary (1888) 248 In this parke stands another pallace St. James, wch is very well. 1742Richardson Pamela III. 162 He is a lively Gentleman, well enough in his Person. 1748― Clarissa (1768) I. 7 But then, stepping to the glass, she complimented herself, ‘That she was very well’.
b. well to see, well to be seen: (of a person) good to look upon, comely. rare.
1804R. Anderson Cumbld. Ball. (c 1850) 111 To be seer she's a sarvant, but weel to be seen. 1808–9Lamb Poetry for Children, Three Friends 23 Well to do and well to see Were the parents of all three. 1902Crockett Dark o' Moon vii. 43 In person she was short, well-to-see, rosy-cheeked, buxom.
10. In concessive use, followed by an objection or contrary view expressed or implied:
a. it is all very well: it is right and proper in itself or under certain circumstances.
1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 82 And where as they saye that the Gospell must be taught after the interpretations approued by the churche (that is very well) but all the stryfe is, which is the trewe church. 1779Warner in Jesse Selwyn & Contemp. (1844) IV. 283 It is all very well, sir; I know what you will say—that you [etc.]. 1864Trollope Small House at Allington xxiii, That's all very well, Amelia. 1879Ruskin Let. 31 Oct. Wks. 1908 XXXIV. 238 Written contracts are all very well, but if the contractor stops payment—where are you? 1905‘G. Thorne’ Lost Cause v, Oh, it's all very well, vicar,..we know you never say anything against anyone.
b. he (it, etc.) is all very well: there is no fault to be found with him, it, etc.
For the force of the appended phrase in his (her, its, their) way see way n. 14 f.
1835Dickens Sk. Boz, Parish ii, As to the curate, he was all very well; but..the curate wasn't a novelty, and the other clergyman was. 1837Partington's Brit. Cycl. Nat. Hist. III. 746/2 As a curiosity the black swan is all very well..but it has none of the beauty and grace of the white swan. 1898‘Merriman’ Roden's Corner xxvii. 288 Mr. Cornish is all very well in his way. But we're not fools.
c. Similarly with well enough.
1798Wordsw. Goody Blake 37 'Twas well enough, when summer came... But when the ice [etc.]. 1823Scott Quentin D. Introd., Their higher wines, indeed, are well enough..yet I cannot but remember the generous qualities of my sound old Oporto. 1842Dickens Amer. Notes xv, This is well enough, but nevertheless I cannot..incline towards the Shakers.
d. Without vb.: well and good. Also (? Obs. or dial.) good and well.
1699Boyer Royal Dict., Eng.-Fr., Well and good, à la bonne heure. 1749Smollett Gil Blas x. x. (1782) IV. 71 My mother's predictions were always favourable to those who solicited them: if they proved true, good and well; but when they came back to reproach her [etc.]. 1809Malkin Gil Blas x. x. (Rtldg.) 364 My mother always sold good luck for good money; if the accomplishment trod on the heels of the prediction, well and good. 1854Surtees Handley Cr. viii. (1901) I. 74 These people arrive to-day. If you..can find anything out about them, you know, well and good. 1888‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms vii, ‘If you like to bow and scrape to rich people, well and good’, I said.
e. For very well, without verb, see well adv. 25.
†11. Quite sufficient (as a statement). Obs.
1673Ray Journ. Low C. 152, I have been often told that there are in Paris a million and a half of people, whereas it is well if there be half a million. Ibid. 379 A free State..as the Inhabitants boast, for above 1000 years, but its well if half so long.
12. Easy (to deal with). rare—1.
1816Jane Austen Persuasion iii, In the way of business, gentleman of the navy are well to deal with.
Add:[5.] [c.] well man, used attrib. to designate clinics which aim to offer health care information and preventive medicine to men.
1984Health Visitor July 204/1 For two years, we have been running a well man clinic for men aged between 40 and 60 years... The clinic was intended to identify those..who had health risks due to hypertension, smoking, obesity and diabetes. 1989Daily Tel. 13 Feb. 26/1 The few Well Men clinics pioneered by the FPA and still running in tandem with female services charge around {pstlg}60 for comprehensive screening.
▪ IV. well, v.1|wɛl|
pa. tense and pa. pple. welled (weld). Forms: 1 wiellan, wyllan, wællan, 1–2 wellan, 4 wellen; 2–6 welle, (6 wel), 3– well (4 will); Sc. 9 wall. pa. tense 3 welden (pl.), 4 wellyd, 4–5 wellyde, 5 wellede, 5–7 wellid, 6 weld, 4– welled. pa. pple. 3 iweld, 3–4 iwelled, 4–5 wellid, wellyde, 5 wellyd, Sc. wellit, 4– welled.
[OE. wiellan (wyllan; Anglian wællan, wellan), causative verb from the stem of weallan to boil, wall v.1 Cf. MDu. and Du., MLG. and LG., MHG. (and G. dial.) wellen, to cause to boil, to boil or well up, etc., WFris. welje to well up, NFris. wêl to boil, ON. and Icel. vella (p. t. veldi) to boil (trans.).
The form is appropriate only to the trans. senses; in the intr. it has taken the place of the original strong verb wall.]
†1. trans. To boil (a liquid, ingredients, etc.).
a1000Sax. Leechd. I. 72 Ᵹenim þa ylcan wyrte betonican & wyl on ealdan wine. Ibid. II. 22 Ᵹenim wudurofan & wudu merce..& wel on buteran. Ibid. 374 Ᵹepuna ða wyrte to somne & wæl to somne. c1290St. Lucy 145 in S. Eng. Leg. 105 Þo nomen huy pich and brumston, and welden it wel faste. a1400Morte Arth. 1736, I walde be wellyde alle qwyke, and quarterde in sondre, Bot I wyrke my dede. c1420Liber Cocorum 19 Take brede and peper and ale, And temper þo brothe..And welle hit to-geder. 14..Lydg. Horse, Goose & Sheep 375 in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903) 31 [Mutton] Wellid with growel.
†b. fig. (Cf. 3 b.) Obs.—1
c1450Holland Houlate 499 The wyis quhar the wicht went war in wa wellit.
†c. To thicken or curdle (a liquid, esp. milk) by boiling or heating. Obs.
c1440Promp. Parv. 520/2 Welle, mylke or oþer lycure, coagulo.
d. spec. (See quot.)
1876Whitby Gloss. s.v. Welling, ‘They're welling livers’, obtaining the oil from the livers of fish, in the way of making it flow by an adapted heat.
†2. To liquefy (metal) by heat; to melt down, cast, found. Obs.
a1225Ancr. R. 284 Þe caliz þet was imelt iðe fure & stroncliche iwelled, and seoððen..so swuðe ueire afeited. c1290St. Patrick's Purg. 272 in S. Eng. Leg. 208 Þe feondes welden led and brass, and in heore mouþes caste. a1300Holy Rood (Ashm.) 501 He made him drynke led iweld. 138.Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 136 Men schal welle [1388 Isa. ii. 4 welle togidere: Vulg. conflabunt] hor swerde into plowgh-schares. 1388― 2 Chron. xxxiv. 17 Thei han wellyd togidere [Vulg. conflaverunt] the siluere, which is foundun in the hous of the Lord. c1440Promp. Parv. 520/2 Welle, metel, fundo. 1570Levins Manip. 55/14 To wel iron, conflare.
b. To soften (metal) by intense heat; to join while heated, to weld. Obs. exc. dial.
Du. and LG. wellen also have this sense.
1424Mem. Ripon (Surtees) III. 152 Pro scharpyng et wellyng of wegges de ferro. a1500Hist. K. Boccus & Sydracke (?1510) R iij, As two peces of Iron fare In the fyre whan they wellyd are. Ley that one that other vpon And geue them a stroke anon, Throughe hete they together bynde. 1513Douglas æneis viii. vii. 174 A huge gret semely targat, or a scheild..In every place sevin ply thai well and call. 1599Churchw. Acc. Pittington, etc. (Surtees) 275 For wellinge the springe and for makinge nailles to the cocke [clock ?] bordes, iij d. 1616Ibid. 172 Pd to Thomas Pearson for mendinge the greate bell tounge, vj s...Pd..about the wellinge and helpinge Thomas Pearson, xij d. 1808Jamieson s.v., To wall, To beat two masses into one. 1824[Carr] Craven Gloss., Well, to weld. 1825–in various northern glossaries.
3. intr. To boil. (Said of a liquid, of ingredients, and also of the containing vessel.) Also with up.
a1400Stockholm Med. MS. 210 in Archaeologia XXX. 356 Take..y⊇ whyte of tweyne eyre And a porcyon of rye mele, And late it well to geder welle. c1420Liber Cocorum 5 Take sope, cast in hys potage; Þenne wylle þe pot begyn to rage And welle on alle. c1425Macro Plays, Cast. Persev. 3594 Go þou to helle, þou devyl..In bras & brimston to welle! c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 3371 When þe caldroun began to well þe tempest sest. 1483Cath. Angl. 413/2 To Welle, bullire, ebullire. 1554–9Songs & Ball. Phil. & Mary (Roxb.) 12 Full lean be thi pottage where the pote wellis. 1869Lonsdale Gloss., Well, to boil.
†b. fig. Chiefly in the phrase to well in woe.
Cf. welling woe, welling wood: welling ppl. a. 1 b, c.
a1300Cursor M. 23166 Gas to þe deuil, þar sal yee ga, for to well þar in his wa. a1310in Wright Lyric P. xi. 40 In such wondryng for wo y welle. c1325Metr. Hom. (1862) 29 Thar thai sal euermare duelle, And wafullic in pines welle. a1400Min. Poems fr. Vernon MS. xliv. 8 Þe Mon þat is taken in dedly synne, He may wel witen In wo to wellen. c1440York Myst. i. 131 For-thi efter þaire warkes were, in wo sall þai well.
†c. Of metal: To melt and boil up. Obs.
c1430Chev. Assigne 166 And I breke me a cheyne & halfe leyde in þe fyer, And it wexedde in my honde & wellede so faste, That I toke þe oþur fyve & fro þe fyer caste.
†d. fig. To unite as by welding.
159.Jas. I Basil. Doron iii. (MS. = ed. 1599, p. 153) Mixing..the men of euerie Kingdome with another, as maye with tyme make thaime to grow & well all in ane. [Cf. weld v. 1.]
4. Of liquids, esp. of a well or spring of water: To rise up to the surface (of the earth) and flow in a copious stream. Also with up, out, forth. † Const. of.
1387Trevisa Higden II. 59 In þis citee welleþ vp and springeþ hote baþes. 1398― Barth. De P.R. xiii. i. (MS. Add. 27944) Other watir spryngeþ and welleþ owte of the ynner parties of the erthe as welles watir and pittes watir. a1400Morte Arth. 3377 Thane cho wente to the welle by the wode euis, That alle wellyde of wyne. c1425Seven Sag. (P.) 135 Fayre welles there wellyde fast. a1500Hist. K. Boccus & Sydracke U ij b, That [earth] turneth to brym⁓stone Which wellyth vp somtyme anon. 1530Palsgr. 778/2, I well up, as water that bobylleth, or cometh out of the yerthe. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. i. 34 Thereby a Christall streame did gently play, Which from a sacred fountaine welled forth alway. 1614Bp. Hall Contempl. v. iii. 62 Hee might (if he had pleased) haue caused a spring to well out of the plaine earth. 1727–46Thomson Summer 807 From his two springs,..Pure welling out, he..rolls his infant stream. 1787Burns Death Sir J. H. Blair ii, Lone as I..mus'd where limpid streams, once hallow'd, well. 1795Southey Joan of Arc iii. 21 Fast by a spring, which welling at his feet With many a winding crept along the mead. 1831James Phil. Augustus xvii, A clear small stream, that welled from a rock hard by. 1869H. F. Tozer Highl. Turkey I. 39 The..fountains were..believed to well up from the Scamander. 1877Huxley Physiogr. 190 The molten matter, which wells up the throat of a volcano.
fig.1812D'Israeli Calam. Auth. xxii. (1879) 178 A few of those public works whose waters silently welled from the spring of Leland's genius. 1838Lytton Leila i. ii, As the water glides from yonder rock,..I see the tide of empire welling from my hands. 1846Keble Lyra Innoc. (1873) 71 O who may count The drops from that eternal Fount Of heavenly Intercession, welling night and day?
b. transf. of vapours, etc., that rise up to the surface, or flow forth in a stream; poet. of sound.
(a)1842Dickens Amer. Notes iii, What sparkling bubbles glanced upon the waves, and welled up every moment to the surface. 1860Pusey Min. Proph. 82 The smoke..ascendeth, swelleth, welleth, vanisheth. 1863Dana Man. Geol. 710 The heat as gradually welled up from below, penetrating the moist and yielding beds. 1895S. Crane Red Badge v, Smoke welled slowly through the leaves.
(b)1848Kingsley Saint's Trag. iv. iv, What sweet sounds from her fast-closed lips are welling. a1849Poe Bells i, Keeping time..To the tintinabulation that so musically wells From the bells. 1867Morris Jason xiv. 45 White bodies moving,..Wherefrom it seemed that lovely music welled.
c. to well over, to overflow. lit. and fig.
1843James Forest Days i, It had a pond, which was kept clear by a spring at the bottom, welling constantly over at the side next the road. 1883D. C. Murray Hearts viii, His heart welled over with joy. 1885‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay i, The spring of imaginative passion..lay there, ready to bubble up and well over into a strong current at the touch of the divining-rod.
5. Of tears: To rise (up) to the eyes in a copious flood; to flow down.
c1374Chaucer Troylus v. 215 But þo by-gan a lytel his herte vnswelle Thorugh teris which þat gonnen vp to welle. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xix. 375 And þanne welled water for wikked werkes, Egerlich ernynge out of mennes eyen. 1600Fairfax Tasso iv. xciv, Downe from her eies welled the pearles round, Vpon the bright Ennamell of her face. 1601Weever Mirr. Mart. E 4, Still the pearles round Stil through her eies, and wel vpon her face. 1791Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest iv, Tears welled into her eyes as she spoke these words. 1858G. Macdonald Phantastes xiii. 157 She lay with closed eyes, whence two large tears were just welling from beneath the veiling lids. 1863M. E. Braddon Aurora Floyd ii, As she looked, the tears welled slowly up to her eyes which had been dry before. 1894J. A. Steuart In Day of Battle vii, My heart welled into my eyes in thankfulness.
6. Of blood or corrupt matter: To flow from the body, a wound, or sore.
1387Trevisa Higden IV. 287 Herodes..was..i-tormented..wiþ wormes þat welled þat sprang out of his prive harneys. Ibid. 289. 14.. St. Mary of Oignies (MS. Douce 114) in Anglia VIII. 140 Wormys wellynge oute of seint Symeouns woundes. 1532More Confut. Tindale Wks. 491/2 As the water welled out wyth the blood oute of hys blessed heart vpon the crosse. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. viii. 47 Her dried dugs..Hong downe, and filthy matter from them weld. 1697Dryden æneis x. 1184 With clotted Locks, and Blood that well'd from out the Wound. 17..Broome Iliad x. Poems (1727) 128 Blood o'er the crimson Field Well'd from the Slain. 1777Potter æschylus, Agamem. 271 When forth-welling from the wound, The purple-streaming blood shall fall. 1835–6Todd's Cycl. Anat. I. 238/2 The blood..wells up abundantly from the bottom of the wound. 1858G. Macdonald Phantastes xiii. 182 His hand was pressed against his side... The blood was welling from between the fingers. 1890Brit. Med. Jrnl. 29 Mar. 707 Many small cavities were exposed. They were tensely filled with foul pus, which welled out freely from them.
b. transf. of the source or a place. Const. of.
1387Trevisa Higden V. 235 (MS. γ) He wellede ful of wormes. a1400Morte Arth. 3819 Alle wellys fulle of blode, thare he awaye passes. c1482Monk of Evesham (Arb.) 32 Also y behylde the right syde of the ymage of oure lordis body and hit wellid oute of blode.
7. fig. To spring or originate; to issue or flow forth or out. Of qualities, conditions: To emanate † of, out of, from a person or thing as a source.
13..tr. ælred in Engl. Studien VII. 311 Þyse ryueres beþ holy scriptures, þat welleþ out fro þe welle of wysdom, þat is Crist. 1387–8T. Usk Test. Love i. ii. 151 Trewly, al maner of blisse and preciousnesse in vertue out of thee springen and wellen. c1400Pety Job 438 in 26 Pol. Poems xxv. 135 Vertues, lorde, though I haue none, Late thy grace in me now welle. c1450tr. De Imitatione iii. x. 77 Considre all þinges as welling of þe hyest & most souereyn good. 1548Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Luke iv. 20–24 The woordes whiche proceded from the mouth of Jesus..welled foorth from a brest replenished with the heauenly spirite of God. 1590Spenser F.Q. iii. vi. 25 With sugred words and gentle blandishment, Which as a fountaine from her sweet lips went, And welled goodly forth. 1834H. Miller Scenes & Leg. xv. (1857) 223 Those old artless compositions which have welled out from time to time from among the people. 1846Eclectic Rev. Feb. 134 The Pilgrim's Progress..welled up from the deep fountains of the author's own mind, and..flowed on without reserve. 1883R. W. Church Spenser v. 129 The abundance of his ideas, as they welled forth in his mind day by day.
8. trans.
a. Of a spring: To pour forth (water, etc.). Also with adv., as up.
1387Trevisa Higden VII. 391 Þis ȝere at Fynchamstede in Barrokschire a welle was i-seie welle blood fiftene dayes. c1400Destr. Troy 340 There was wellit to wale water full nobill, In yche place of the playne with plentius stremes. 1729Savage Wanderer v. 22 Rills..Meet in yon Mead, and well a River's Source. 1820Irving Sketch Bk. I. 32 Some classic fountain, that had once welled its pure waters in a sacred shade. 1853G. Johnston Nat. Hist. E. Bord. I. 227 Another green bank from which a spring wells up to the light its sparkling waters.
b. fig. To pour out (something) in or as a stream. Also with out, forth, up.
a1425Cursor M. 17076 (Trin.) Mary welle of mercy, wellyng [Laud willyng] euer pite. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 112 Wherfore it is deuyded in two partes: on the one parte it welleth vp all mocyons of concupyscence. 1590Spenser F.Q. ii. ii. 8 She sate, Welling out streames of teares. Ibid. x. 26 Behold the boyling Bathes at Cairbadon, Which seeth with secret fire eternally, And..to their people wealth they forth do well. 1610G. Fletcher Christ's Vict. in Heaven xlviii, How nimbly will the golden phrases flie, And shed forth streames of choycest rhetorie, Welling celestiall torrents out of poesie? 1834De Quincey Autob. Sk. Wks. 1853 I. 24 Deep is the solitude of millions who, with hearts welling forth love, have none to love them.
▸ intr. Of the eyes: to fill or brim with tears. Hence also of a person: to (begin to) cry. Freq. with up.
1848Graham's Mag. Feb. 87/1, I have seen those expressive eyes well up with tears when together we would read some old story or poem. 1898Middletown (N.Y.) Daily Argus 3 Mar. 1/2 Not a few eyes welled up through remembrance of some act of kindness received from his hands. 1975A. Carter in Iowa Rev. 6 146 She raises her hands to unfasten the neck of her dress and her eyes well with tears, they trickle down beneath the rim of her dark glasses. 1991Newsweek 18 Nov. 60/1 Occasionally his eyes welled but no tears ran down his cheeks. 1997Neon Sept. 42/2 It made me well up, I admit. He hastens to reassure me. ‘That scene made Clint Eastwood misty too.’ 2006Evening Times (Glasgow) (Nexis) 26 May 10 Men north of the border are quite open about welling up over a tearjerker on television.
▪ V. well, v.2
[f. well n.1]
1. slang. To defraud (one's confederates) by embezzling part of the booty; to conceal (booty) from one's confederates; to conceal (a portion of one's estate) from creditors.
1812Vaux Flash Dict. (1819) s.v. Well, To well your accomplice, or put him in the well. 1823Egan Grose's Dict. Vulgar Tongue, Well, to divide unfairly... A cant phrase used by thieves, where one of the party conceals some of the booty, instead of dividing it fairly amongst his confederates. 1824Compl. Hist. Murder Mr. Weare 255 Probert frequently alluded to the money..and his apprehensions lest Thurtell should well it (meaning keep it to himself). 1893Illustr. Sporting & Dram. News 22 July 766/1 Out of the salvage of my fortune—for something had been safely ‘welled’, you may be sure—I purchased a tricycle.
2. Naut. (See quot.)
1820Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. II. 450 To well the ship.—This operation [for stopping a leak], consisting in the building of a bulk-head or partition on the fore part of the leak, and caulking it, so as to confine the water within it.
▪ VI. well, adv.|wɛl|
Forms: α. 1–7 wel (1 uel, 3 wuel, wæl), 1, 5– well (2 wæll, 5 whell), 5 welle. β. 4–5 (8–9 Sc. and north.) weel, 4 wiel, Sc. 5 veill, 5–6 weill, 6 wyell, 7 weell (weall); 4–5, 7 (6 Sc.) wele, 5 weile, Sc. veyle, 6 weele. γ. (Chiefly north.) 4–5 will (5–6 wyll), 5 wil, 5–6 wyl; 4 wille, 5 wile, wyle, wylle. See also wol adv.
[Common Teutonic: OE. wel, well = OFris. wel (NFris. wel, well, WFris. wel, wol), MDu. and Du. wel, OS. wel, ON. and Icel. vel (Norw., Da. vel, Sw. väl); also OS. wela, wola (MLG. and LG. wala, wal), OHG. wela, wala, wola, wol (MHG. wole, wol, G. wohl), Goth. waila. The stem is regarded as identical with that of the verb will.
An early lengthening of the vowel is indicated by the ME. weel (wiel, wele, etc.), which appears in northern and Scottish texts from the 14th cent., and is still the current form in Scottish, northern, and north midland dialects. The forms will and wol probably originated in unstressed positions.]
I.
1. a. In accordance with a good or high standard of conduct or morality; in a way which is morally good. Chiefly with do vb.
c825Vesp. Psalter xxxv. 4 [He] nalde onᵹeotan ðæt [he] wel dyde [L. bene ageret]. a1000Doomsday 119 Welan ah in wuldre se nu wel þenceð! a1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xii. 12 Hyt ys alyfed on reste-daᵹum wel to donne [L. bene facere]. a1122O.E. Chron. (Laud) an. 1086 Litel rihtwisnesse wæs on þisum lande..buton mid munecan ane þær þær hi wæll ferdon. c1175Lamb. Hom. 131 Ðe mon þe wel deð, he wel ifehð. a1200Moral Ode 37 Ne scal na mon..slawen wel to done. c1300Relig. Songs i. in Owl & Night. etc. (Percy Soc.) 63 Mon, let sunne and lustes thine; Wel thu do and wel thu thench. c1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 288 He says he has no wille to fele Ne to understand for to do wele. Ibid. 1987 Þe last day of man is hyd,..For he shuld kepe wele al þe other dayes. c1400Rule St. Benet vii. 12 For þi lokys þat ye do wel. c1440Gesta Rom. 1 Þerfore gouerne the wele the while til I come home aȝen. c1481Caxton Dialogues 47 Qui bien fera bien aura, Who doth well shall well haue. 1562J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 21 Doo well, and haue well, men say. a1591H. Smith Serm. (1601) 299 It is better to doe well then to doe good: for a man cannot offend in doing well. 1663S. Patrick Parab. Pilgr. (1687) 355 Let me see a Man that keeps his shop and buys and sells, and yet lives well and keeps the Laws of Christ. a1703Burkitt On N.T. Mark x. 17 It is not talking well, and professing well, but doing well, that entitles us to heaven and eternal life. 1805Wordsw. Prelude viii. 527 That, by acting well, And understanding, I should learn to love The end of life. 1860Pusey Min. Proph. 606 If thou livest well and teachest well, thou wilt be a judge of all; if thou teachest well and livest ill, thine own only.
b. Satisfactorily in respect of conduct or action.
a1000Riddles l[i]. 5 He him wel hereð, þeowaþ him ᵹeþwære. c1325Spec. Gy Warw. 82 Wisdom in godes drede Vse wel, þat be my rede. c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 968 And they him sworen his axyng faire and weel. c1420Chron. Vilod. 4838 To loue god & serue hym wyle. 1450–1530Myrr. Our Ladye ii. 65 Deuoute redyng..causeth moche grace and comforte to the soulle yf yt be well and dyscretely vsed. 1471Caxton Recuyell (Sommer) 60 The same Archas gouerned hym so wele and so wisely that [etc.]. 1526Tindale 1 Tim. v. 17 The seniours that rule wele are worthy of double honoure. 1534Cal. Irish Chancery Rolls I. 11 Ye swear that ye well and trulie shall serve our Sovraigne Lord the King. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 349 If any charge do come vpon the king and his realme, howe it may be well and honourably supported. 1710Steele Tatler No. 212 ⁋4 A Woman must think well to look well. 1881Med. Temp. Jrnl. XLIX. 13 He there worked well and never touched alcohol. 1883Whitelaw Sophocles, Antigone 1323 'Tis counselled well, if well with ill can be.
†c. Justifiably, rightly. Obs.—1
1382Wyclif Jonah iv. 4 And the Lord saide, Gessist thou, wher thou art wel [L. bene] wroth? Ibid. 9.
2. a. In such a manner as to constitute good treatment or confer a benefit; kindly, considerately; generously; charitably.
c825Vesp. Psalter cxx[i]v. 4 Wel doa [L. bene fac], dryhten, godum & rehtum on heortan. c897ælfred Gregory's Past C. xli. 304 Far mid us, ðæt we ðe mæᵹen wel don. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. v. 44 Doð wel þam þe eow yfel doð. c1175Lamb. Hom. 59 Þene Mon he lufede and welbiþohte. 1424E.E. Wills 57 No man merueil þogh I do well to him, for, [etc.]. 1540Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) II. 270 Your grace was veray moch displeasyd Saying I am not well handelyd. 1565Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Bene, To be well vsed for little coste. 1712Swift Jrnl. to Stella 11 Oct., Opportunities will often fall in my way, if I am used well. 1896Gladstone in Daily Chron. 8 Oct. (1903) 5/2 My danger is the danger of being too well used..by my biographers.
b. to deserve well of: to be entitled to gratitude or good treatment from (a person). See deserve 3 b. Cf. L. bene mereri de, F. bien mériter de.
1585–6Earl of Leicester Corr. (Camden) 423 He can tell you whether I dyd use Paul Buis, and deservyd well at his handes, or no. 1709Addison Tatler No. 117 ⁋1 A great Man, who has deserved well of his Country. 1709–1840 [see deserve v. 3]. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. iii. ii, You do right, child,..to speak well of those who deserve well of you.
c. With verbs of greeting, receiving, etc.: In a kindly and friendly manner; with friendly words; with favour or welcome.
Cf. to stand well with, s.v. well a. 2.
c1000in Kemble Cod. Diplom. IV. 214 Eadward king gret wel Willem biscop. a1122O.E. Chron. (Laud) an. 675, Ic Agatho..grete wel seo wurðfulle æðelred. Ibid. an. 1137, He for to Rome & þær wæs wæl underfangen fram þe pape. c1205Lay. 15084 Uortigerne..grette wel Hengest. c1250Gen. & Ex. 1420 Laban and his moder..fagneden wel ðis sondere man. c1325Spec. Gy Warw. 52, [I] grete þe wel, fadyr myn. 1443Hen. VI in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. I. 79 Right dere in God we grete you wele. 1483Rich. III. Ibid. Ser. ii. I. 159 Right reverend Fadre in God, right trusty and welbeloved, we grete you wele. 1706tr. De Piles' Art Painting 336 He was well receiv'd at Court, and in favour with Four Kings successively. 1885‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay v, You receive him very well considering you do not like him?
d. With verbs denoting feeling or intention.
1659Nicholas Papers (Camden) IV. 87 Not as intending well to the King, for they are vowed rebells. 1661J. Barwick in Extr. S.P. rel. Friends Ser. ii. (1911) 128 A Gentleman that wishes well to the King. 1729T. Innes Crit. Ess. (1879) 17 At least I meant well, and aimed only at truth. 1831Scott Cast. Dang. iv, I am an Englishman, and wish dearly well to my country. 1836Dickens Sk. Boz, Shops & Tenants, We wished the man well, but we trembled for his success. 1847Marryat Childr. N. Forest xxv, There is a great difference between wishing well to a cause and supporting it in person.
e. With verbs of thinking or speaking († also of hearing) of a person, etc.
1445tr. Claudian in Anglia XXVIII. 269 Easyly with the thus thi men live, thou seith of hem evir wele. c1450tr. De Imitatione iii. xxxiii. 102 Wheþer þei say wel, wheþer þei say evel, þou art not þerfore a noþer man. 1526Tindale 1 Tim. v. 10 Soche a wone as was..well reported off in good workes. 1538Elyot Dict. Add., Bene audire, to be well spoken of. 1576R. Peterson G. della Casa's Galateo 22 Eache man desireth to bee well thought of. 1596Harington Metam. Ajax Answ. Let. A iv b, If you haue heard so well of my poore house. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. iv. iv. 37 Signior Baptista, of whom I heare so well. 1610― Temp. ii. ii. 95 His forward voyce now is to speake well of his friend. 1698M. Henry Christianity no Sect (1847) 190 Ill-will never speaks well. 1753–4Richardson Grandison II. xlviii. 388 One would be willing to be well thought of by the worthy. 1848Dickens Dombey xliii, Papa thinks well of Mrs. Pipchin. 1865[see 2 b]. 1895Bookman Oct. 12/2 ‘The Ebb Tide’ was practically by Mr. Stevenson himself, and he was disposed to think very well of it.
f. With equanimity or good nature; without resentment. Chiefly with take.
† to take (a thing) well a worth: see worth n.
1753–4Richardson Grandison III. x. 133 They did not suffer her to go out of her chamber; which she took not well. 1923R. A. Freeman Dr. Thorndike's Case-Bk. i. 31 ‘And how did the coloured gentleman take it?’ ‘Not very well.’
3. With courage and spirit; gallantly, bravely.
1338R. Brunne Chron. (1725) 24 So many douhty dyntes was bituex tham tueye, Wele þei did togidere, better may noman seye. 1447J. Shillingford Lett. (Camden) 20 Douryssh acquytted hym well. c1450Merlin vi. 97 Alle the barouns that weren of valoure and wele hadde don. Ibid. xxxii. 654 Sir Gawein and his felowes dide merveiles and wele. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. i. i. 134 Hee that escapes me without some broken limbe, shall acquit him well. 1667Milton P.L. vi. 29 Servant of God, well done, well hast thou fought The better fight. 1819Scott Ivanhoe xxxi, Well and chivalrous did De Bracy that day maintain the fame he had acquired.
II.
4. Faithfully, heedfully, carefully, attentively: a. With verbs of holding, keeping, attending to, etc.
c831in Sweet O.E. Texts 446 Ic..bebiade Eadwealde..ðet he ðis wel healde. a900Cynewulf Christ 1236 Þreo tacen..þæs þe hi hyra þeodnes wel wordum and weorcum willan heoldon. 971Blickl. Hom. 109 Hit is..nytlic þæt hie heora fulwiht-hadas wel ᵹehealdan. c1200Ormin 1033 Þatt follkess haliȝdomess..wærenn inn an arrke þær Wel & wurrþlike ȝemmde. c1300Havelok 209 And preide, he shulde yeme hire wel. a1300Cursor M. 6849 Haldes þis wille [Gött. wele], i bid yow now. c1375Ibid. 438 (Fairf.) He gaf an mast of al þat wele hif he coude a keppet hit weel. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 118 Ȝe suld..Haiff chosyn ȝow a king, that mycht Have haldyn veyle the land in rycht. 1433Rolls of Parlt. IV. 477/1 And well and truly kepe the seid godes. 1482Cely Papers (Camden) 124 I hawhe promysyd hym a bow and I trwste that he wyll se whell to yowr hors. 1573–80Tusser Husb. (1878) 130 To cart gap and barne, set a guide to looke weele. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. 53 Touchyng seede, this is to be well seen to. 1611Bible Jer. xxxix. 12 Take him and looke well to him, and doe him no harme. 1782Burns I'll go & be a Sodger 6, I gat some gear wi' meikle care, I held it weel thegither.
b. With verbs of observing, considering, studying, etc.
971Blickl. Hom. 203 Mid þy þe þa Cristenan leode þæt wel sceawodan, ða ᵹesawon hie [etc.]. c1200Ormin 1829 Wel birrþ uss lokenn þær whatt uss Þatt name maȝȝ bitacnenn. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 202 And gyff ony thar-at war wrath, Thai watyt hym wele with gret scaith. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. (Fairf.) 335 Of thyn answere avise the ryght weel. c1400Rule of St. Benet (Prose) 11 And tat ye recorde wel þe cumantemens of god. 1436Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 191 Loke wele aboute,..Unfayllyngly, unfeynynge, and unfeynte. 1513Bradshaw St. Werburge 1338 She well consydered with due dyscrecyon Of this present lyfe the great wretchydnesse. a1529Skelton Agst. Garnesche iii. 97 Note and marke wyl thys parcele. 1538Starkey England 117 Me thynke you pondur not al wel and depely. 1603Harsnet Popish Impost. 36 Heere is her lesson read ouer: and marke the scholler how well she conned it. 1611Bible Prov. xiv. 15 The prudent man looketh well to his going. 1746Francis tr. Hor., Epist. i. vii. 117 Philip, who well observ'd our simple Guest, Laughs in his Sleeve. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 610 Feversham..had looked at himself well in the glass. 1873Punch 4 Jan. 9/2 After thinking the matter well over, we have determined not to compete.
5. In a way appropriate to the facts or circumstances; fittingly, properly:
a. With verbs of saying or speaking. † Also rarely in other contexts (quot. c 1175). well taken: of a point in an argument, aptly or judiciously raised (orig. U.S.).
To be distinguished from the phr. to take (someone's) point, where take = to understand the significance of.
c897ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xxi. 151 Be ðære ildinge suiðe wel Dryhten ðreade Iudeas, ða he ðurh ðone witᵹan cuæð. a900Cynewulf Christ 547 Ðæt is wel cweden swa ᵹewritu secgað, þæt [etc.]. c950Lindisf. Gosp. John iv. 17 Cueð to hir se hælend, uel ðu cuede þætte ic ne hafu uer. 971Blick. Hom. 9 Wel þæt wæs ᵹecweden, forþon þe [etc.]. c1175Lamb. Hom. 83 He com bi þis forwundede mon. Wel he com bi him, þa he bicom alswich alse he. 13..K. Alis. 3097 Þou hast wel spoken, Dalmadas. 1340Ayenb. 19 Zuych folie is wel y-clepede onwythede. 1382Wyclif Matt. xv. 7 Ysay, the prophete, propheciede wel of ȝou. c1440Generydes 1835 Whanne the Sowdon had hard hym sey so will, ‘Generydes’, quod he, ‘I geue yow grace’. 1470–85Malory Arthur x. xxxvi. 471 This is wel sayd, saide Morgan le fay. 1561Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtier i. (1900) 94 And you say wel, that [etc.]. 1590Marlowe 2nd Pt. Tamburl. v. i, Wel said, let there be a fire presently. 1610Donne Pseudo-Martyr 170 Sepulueda..saies well..That the soule doth exercise Herile Imperium vpon the body. 1638Junius Paint. Ancients 7 It is well observed by an ancient Orator [etc.]. 1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ iii. ii. §1 If so, as Maimonides well observes, the whole Religion of Moses is overthrown. 1725Pope Odyss. viii. 153 Well hast thou spoke (Euryalus replies). 1779Mirror No. 37 ⁋8 The delightful occupations of a country life, which Cicero well said..are next in kindred to true philosophy. 1809Roland Fencing 119 It was well suggested..that it would be better [etc.]. 1855Paley æschylus (1861) Pref. p. vi. note, Hermann himself well says of certain critics of the old school [etc.]. 1863A. Lincoln Coll. Works (1953) VI. 245 The point made in your paper is well taken. 1883Whitelaw Sophocles, Electra 252 If I speak not well Have thou thy way. 1907Nation (N.Y.) 14 Feb. 146 One of Mr. Hearst's points seems to us well taken. 1936E. B. White in New Yorker 14 Mar. 16/2 The question is well taken. 1943[see point n.1 28 c].
b. With verbs expressing fitness, suitability, etc.
a900Cynewulf Christ 3 Wel þe ᵹeriseð, þæt þu heafod sie healle mærre. 971Blickl. Hom. 13 Wel þæt ᵹeras þæt heo wære eaðmod. Ibid., Wel þæt eac ᵹedafenaþ þæt he to eorðan astiᵹe. c1050O.E. Chron. (MS. C.) an. 1036 Syððan hine man byriᵹde, swa him wel ᵹebyrede, ful wurðlice, swa he wyrðe wæs. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 11914 Nys non on lyue..Þat semeþ so wel his beryng. 13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 793 Wlonk whit was her wede, & wel hit hem semed. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 394 And in spek wlispyt he sum deill; Bot that sat him rycht wonder weill. a1400Morte Arth. 170 Sone the senatour was sett, as hyme wel semyde, At the kyngez ownne borde. 1502W. Atkynson tr. De Imitatione iii. xxxiv. (1893) 223 It acordeth nat to well to my hert. 1513Douglas æneis vii. Prol. 165 As our buik begouth his weirfair tell, So, weill according, dewlie bene annext Thow drery preambill. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. Induct. i. 126 An Onion wil do well for such a shift. 1600― A.Y.L. iv. ii. 4 It would doe well to set the Deares horns vpon his head. 1622Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. ii. 167, I haue inlarged my selfe in speaking more already, then may well become mee. 1753–4Richardson Grandison II. xxiv. 185 She is dissatisfied with what she has written: But I tell her, I think it will do very well. 1832G. R. Porter Porcelain & Gl. 274 Almost any..inflammable vegetable matter will probably answer equally well. 1848T. Aird Chr. Bride ii. i, Yea, well that forehead's beauty undebased Beseems the scion of a prince's side.
c. to do well: to act prudently or sensibly. Also ironically.
1476Stonor Papers (Camden) II. 12 Ye do Ryghte welle to set hyt in a suerete. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon vii. 176 Ye have well doon, swete knyghte, for to have brought your horse here. c1530Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 535 It were well done that I sholde cause be armed v. hondred knightes. 1576Turberv. Venerie 192 The Huntsman..shall do well to stop up his earthes if he can finde them. 1626Bacon Sylva §53 You shall doe well to put in some few Slices of Eryngium Roots. 1663Gerbier Counsel 22 Roomes on moist grounds, do well to be Paved with Marble. 1673Dryden Amboyna iii. i, He do's well to take his time. 1725De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 180 Whoever shall follow the same, or a like track,..will do well to make a year of it. 1771Smollett Humph. Cl. (3rd) 14 June, You will do well to keep a watchful eye over..Villiams. 1818Scott Br. Lamm. ix, Lord Bittlebrains would do weel to remember what his folk have been. 1856Mrs. Oliphant Magd. Hepburn I. 275 ‘Boy, thou dost well to beard me’, cried Sir Roger. 1884Chr. Commw. 1 May 688/3 Clergymen who have nothing better to do than incite to war would do well to seek some other calling.
6. a. Prosperously, successfully, fortunately, happily; without harm or accident. (Cf. 11.) Freq. with do, fare, go.
to be well rid of: cf. rid v. 3 c.
Beowulf 1045 Beowulfe..eoder Ingwina onwald ᵹeteah wicga and wæpna; het hine wel brucan. Ibid. 2162 Bruc ealles well. c1000ælfric Gen. xxxix. 2 Drihten wæs mid him; se man wæs wel donde on eallum þingum. c1300Havelok 2983 Him stondes wel þat god child strenes. c1460Towneley Myst. xxiv. 404 Well worth you all thre, most doughty in dede! 1535Coverdale 1 Sam. xx. 7 Yf he saye then: It is good, then stondeth it well with thy seruant. ― 2 Kings iv. 26 Axe her yf it go well with her. 1540Palsgr. Acolastus iii. iii. P j, All hayle moche .i. god sende the well to fare. 1551Robinson tr. More's Utopia, P. Giles (1895) p. c, Thus..I byd you most hartely well to fare. 1573–80Tusser Husb. (1878) 48 Too lustie of courage for wheat doth not well. 1607Shakes. Cor. iv. i. 21 Farewell my Wife,..Ile do well yet. 1611Bible 2 Chron. xii. 12 Also in Iudah things went well. 16..Sir W. Mure Ps. xxxvii. 7 And fret not that his wayes go weell, Leud plotts to passe who brings. 1631Shirley Sch. Compl. v. i. 68 Woo'd I were well rid of you. 1665in Spalding Club Misc. I. 40, I am werie confident..that the bussiness of our familie shall goe weall. 1712–13Swift Jrnl. to Stella 17 Jan., This took well, and turned off the discourse. a1718Prior Epitaph 5 If Human Things went Ill or Well. 1842Loudon Suburban Hort. 275 The gooseberry..and the common nightshade..succeed equally well. 1899Blackw. Mag. Mar. 552 All went well as far as the foot of the ice-fall.
b. With verbs of going, bringing, getting, etc., and adverbial complement.
a1300Cursor M. 5024 Ledes wit yow beniamin, Godd giue yow þedir will [Fairf. wele] to wine. c1470Stonor Papers (Camden) I. 110 God ȝeve yow goode nyghte and brynge yow welle home and in schorte tyme. 1565Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Bene, Good speede the, and send the well to returne. Ibid. s.v. Ceres, To call and praie to god to send well in our corne. 1636Sanderson Serm. Ad Aulam iv. (1689) 415 So he came well off at the last, though he was dangerously engaged onward. 1708S. Sewall Diary 18 Dec., Got home well in my slay, had much adoe to avoid slews. 1748Richardson Clarissa (1768) VIII. 184 God send him well out of the kingdom! 1748Smollett Rod. Rand. ix, We proceeded on our journey, blessing ourselves that we had come off so well. 1822Scott Nigel xv, I wish you weel through, my lord, but it is an unequal fight. 1852E. Warburton Darien i. xiii. (1860) 110 His regard for what was left of his reputation concurred with his greed of gold in wishing his guest well away. 1860Sala Badd. Peerage I. xviii. 307 However, I'm well out of it, I don't mean Newgate, but my Spanish courtship. 1876H. Brooks Natal 199 After he had got well off from the tribes in the old neighbourhood.
c. Successfully in some material respect; profitably; advantageously.
c1450Godstow Reg. 245 To be had and to be hold..frely quyetly..wele and in pease. 1604E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iv. ii. 208 What a father doth to marie his daughter wel, is to give her a great portion in mariage. 1673J. Janeway Heaven upon Earth (1847) 79 Consider..before you make light of this business, and know when you are well offered. 1729T. Cooke Tales etc. 102 Monimia wrong'd the tender Soul shall move, And Anthony well lose the World for Love. 1753–4Richardson Grandison II. xxx. 236 Will four thousand pounds be well laid out in a quarter-partnership? 1863W. C. Baldwin Afr. Hunting vii. 231, I sold all my oxen well in Bloemfontein. 1864Trollope Small House at Allington xxvi, ‘Amelia has done very well [in her marriage], my dear.’ ‘Oh, if you call it doing well for your girls, I don't.’ a1865Mrs. Gaskell Wives & Dau. xxxii, Mamma..always says you have done very well for yourself [in marriage].
†d. spec. Profitably for the seller or buyer; at a high or low price respectively. Obs.
c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxviii. (Margaret) 6 And for þere prophetis thre we se it [the pearl] oft weile bocht be. 1480,1576[see well-bought]. 1599Hakluyt Voy. II. i. 59 They are exceeding fat [geese] & wel sold [L. optimi fori].
7. a. In a state of plenty or comfort. See also live v.1 4 d.
c1000ælfric's Colloq. in Wright Voc. (1857) 9 Ᵹe maᵹon..butan minon cræfte lif adreoᵹan, ac na lancge ne to wel [L. adeo bene]. 1340–70Alex. & Dind. 106 Þanne ferde þe worlde as a feld þat ful were of bestes, Whan eueri lud liche wel lyuede up-on erþe. 1874G. W. Dasent Tales fr. Fjeld 302 He would be able to live well and good all his days.
b. Satisfactorily or excellently in respect of health or recovery from illness. Usually with do.
c1440Alphabet of Tales 251 A bruther of his askid hym how he did, and he said, wele. a1478Stonor Papers (Camden) II. 29, I trust to God þat he sal doo ryght weile, and so doth þe fessechane. 1530Palsgr. 524/1, I do well: ie me porte bien. 1594Shakes. Rich. III, ii. iv. 40 How doth the Prince? Mes. Well Madam, and in health. Ibid. iii. i. 96 How fares our Noble Brother? Yorke. Well, my deare Lord. 1611Bible John xi. 12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleepe, he shall doe well. 1711–12Swift Jrnl. to Stella 17 Mar., Mrs. Percival's youngest daughter has got the small-pox, but will do well. 1841H. Greville Diary Ser. i. (1883) 152 A fine child, and the Queen doing well. 1863Longfellow in Life (1891) III. 25 Bowditch is wounded through the arm; C. through both shoulders... Both doing well.
8. a. With good reason; naturally; as a natural result or consequence.
c900tr. Bæda's Hist. ii. i. (Schipper) 110 Cwæð he: Wel þæt swa mæᵹ, forþon hi englelice ansyne habbað. c1205Lay. 983 Wel ich hit mai suggen, to soþe ich hit wene. c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 26 Siþ lordis and men of grete statis..ben so muche biholden to destroie it, & mowne welle don it in dede. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 183 Men..wel it calle may The daisie, or elles the ye of day. 1423Jas. I Kingis Q. xiv, Wist thou thy payne to cum..For sorow and drede wele myght thou wepe and waille. 1485Caxton Malory's Arthur Pref. 2 In hym..myght wel be aretted grete folye and blyndenesse. 1508Dunbar Goldyn Targe 279 Rude is thy wede,..Wele aucht thou be afiret of the licht. 1578T. N. tr. Conq. W. India 60 Alleagyng..that he who had common 2000 leagues by Sea, mought well goe 70 leagues by lande. 1678B. R. Let. Pop. Friends 3 Well may our Irish Friends, cry Oh Hone! Oh Hone! 1753–4Richardson Grandison II. x. 70 What! are you confounded?—Well you may, if you cannot answer me as I wish! 1791Cowper Iliad i. 319 Now Priam and his sons may well exult. 1816Scott Old Mort. xliv, Ye could hardly weel be said to breakfast this morning. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 368 The government did not venture..to enforce a regulation of which the legality might well be questioned. 1872Morley Voltaire (1886) 5 Another might well have said of him what he..said of his famous contemporary. 1902‘Violet Jacob’ Sheep-Stealers viii, ‘How do you get it all up to Abergavenny?’ ‘Ah, you may well ask.’
b. In clauses introduced by and or as.
a1300Floriz & Bl. 632 Þe children awoke þo anon..Sore hi beoþ offerd and wel maȝe. 1563–83Foxe A. & M. 192/1 With thys vncomely outrage the King was much displeased (as he myght full well). 1650Eliz. Cromwell Let. 27 Dec. in Carlyle, Which makes me think my writing is slighted; as well it may. 1667Milton P.L. ix. 785 Back to the Thicket slunk The guiltie Serpent, and well might. a1700Evelyn Diary 5 May 1686, Which dispensation..gave umbrage (as well it might) to every good Protestant. 1753–4Richardson Grandison III. viii. 119 The dear creature..took pride, as well she might, in her hair. 1852Gladstone Glean. (1879) IV. 81 The capital was in amazement at the boldness of the Judges; and well it might. 1871‘Mark Twain’ Eye-Openers 87 All the high houses..were full, windows, roof, and all. And well they might be.
c. In concessive sense: Indeed, certainly. † how well (after F. combien que), although.
1470–85Malory Arthur iii. xiii. 116 Alas syr, sayd the lady..I must nedes reste me. Ye shal wel, said kyng Pellinore. 1471Caxton Recuyell (Sommer) 93, I haue not Intencion for to obeye his comandement how well that he is my fader. 1474― Chesse i. iii. (1883) 15 How well that the lyon be the strengest beste, yet somtyme a lityll birde eteth hym. Ibid. ii. iv. 47 How well he was kynge by right. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. xiv. 15 They do labour & til the ground, how wel there groweth no corne... But well there groweth certaine other graine and hearbes of small estimation. 1589Puttenham Engl. Poesie i. i. (Arb.) 19 Who..may well be sayd a versifier, but not a Poet. 1634Milton Comus 211 These thoughts may startle well, but not astound The vertuous mind.
9. a. Without difficulty or hindrance; readily, easily.
c1000Canons of ælfric vii. in Thorpe Laws II. 346 Hy mihton þa wel habban wif on þam daᵹum. 1154O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1137, Wel þu myhtes faren all a dæis fare, sculdest thu neure finden man in tune sittende. c1250Prayer to Virgin 19 in O.E. Misc. 196 Helpe þruh þin milde mod for wel þu mist [rime liht]. 13..Cursor M. 20116 (Edin.) Alle þa leuedis þate þare wern, Ful wel þai miȝtin hir forberne. a1352Minot Poems i. 36 Þat lord of heuyn mot Edward lede And maintene him als he wele may. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xxv. 114 Þai may wele hafe swilk clathes, for þai er of lesse prys þare þan wollen clathez er here. c1420Sir Amadace (Camden) xxxix, For he that schope bothe sunne and mone, Fuile wele may pay for alle! c1450Cursor M. 19059 (Laud) Thow maiste wele se now our wone Yeftes haue we to the non. 1481Caxton Myrr. i. xiii. 41 Who that myght haue the parfayt scyence therof, he myght wel knowe how the world was compassed. 1551R. Robynson More's Utopia (1895) 53 All their housholde stuffe, whiche is verye lytle worth, though it myght well abyde the sale. 1803Med. Jrnl. X. 203 With respect to this query,..I cannot so well answer. 1828[G. C. Lewis] tr. Boeckh's Pol. Econ. Athens I. 318 These ambassadors remained absent three months, although they might have equally well returned at the end of one. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 16 Nor were the refugees such as a country can well spare.
b. Used to denote the possibility or likelihood of an occurrence or fact.
a1400Morte Arth. 1788 So may the wynde weile turnne, I quytte hym or ewyne. 1484Caxton Fables of æsop iii. iii, He that is..atte vpperest of the whele of fortune, may wel falle doune. a1547Surrey æneis ii. 373 This right hand well mought have ben her defense. 1618W. Lawson New Orchard & Gard. (1623) 7 The chilling cold may well some little time stay, or hinder the proud course of the sap. 1620Quarles Feast for Worms xi. I j, Was not this my Word,..When this mis-hap mought well haue bin escaped? 1680Moxon Mech. Exerc. x. 178 Though no size for the heighth of the Puppets can be well asserted. 1709Berkeley Ess. Vision §144 A little consideration will shew us how this may well be. 1753–4Richardson Grandison I. xii. 66 That a learned man and a linguist may very well be two persons. 1818Cruise Digest (ed. 2) II. 188 This was as strong a case as could well come before the Court. 1874Scrivener Lect. Text N.T. 5 No transcript..can well be found which does not differ from its prototype in some small points. 1887‘L. Carroll’ Game of Logic i. 10, I grant you they couldn't well be fewer. Ibid. 35 Your Premisses..are as fallacious as they can well be!
c. In negative or comparative clauses.
1523Skelton Garl. Laurel 35, I can not wele tell you what was the occasyon. 1569J. Sandford tr. Agrippa's Van. Artes 31 b, The thinge seemed graver unto him then that he mighte well speake of it. 1609Bible (Douay) 4 Kings xxv. Comm., There was so exceding much, that they wel could not, or did not weigh it. 1626Bacon Sylva §173 The Base striketh more Aire, than it can well strike equally. 1642Tasman's Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1694) 135 The Wind would not well suffer them to go to the Northward. 1686[Allix] Dissert. i. in W. Hopkins Ratramnus' Body & Bl. (1688) 7 His Answer..could not be well written before the Year 868. 1711Swift Jrnl. to Stella 27 Apr., I see not how they can well want him.., and he would make a troublesome enemy. 1768Sterne Sent. Journ. II. 14 (Passport, Paris), By the time La Fleur had well told me, the master of the hotel came..to tell me the same thing. 1827Disraeli Viv. Grey v. vii, Before Vivian could well finish his sentence. 1881Jowett Thucyd. I. 192 He can praise a sharp remark before it is well out of another's mouth. 1898‘Merriman’ Roden's Corner xiii. 135 Appearing to know more of that abode of evil than she well could.
†d. At least, assuredly. Obs.
1825Scott Betrothed xxi, Surely, if I am willing to confer such confidence, it is well thy part to answer it.
10. a. To all appearance; by good evidence.
a1300Cursor M. 17900 Þenne coom a mon..þat semed wel to haue ben eremyte. c1386Chaucer Prol. 369 Wel semed eche of hem a fair burgeys. 1450–1530Myrr. Our Ladye ii. 237 That yt appere wel that she ys hys mother. 1470–85Malory Arthur vi. vii. 192 Thou semest wel to be a good knyght.
b. With acute reasoning; shrewdly.
c1450Merlin ii. 25 When thei herde these words, [they] supposed wele what he ment. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. xciv. 116 They supposed well before that the Kyng of Englande wolde come into Bretayne. a1687Cotton Angler's Ballad ii. Poems (1689) 76 And full well you may think, If you troll with a Pink, One too weak will be apt to miscarry.
III. 11. Effectively; successfully as regards result or progress.
Beowulf 2570 Scyld wel ᵹebearᵹ life and lice læssan hwile..þonne his myne sohte. c888ælfred Boethius xli. §4 Swiðe wel þu min hæfst ᵹeholpen æt þære spræce. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 39 Þe childre þewuen wuel. c1205Lay. 23121 For ich hine wulle in Norwæȝe neowe king makien and hine wæl lere to witeȝen wel þa leoden. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints i. (Petrus) 322, I sal helpe þe wondire veill. c1400Rom. Rose 1911 But the oynement halpe me wele. c1450Lovelich Grail xiii. 270 Scheldes & hawberkis al to-broke, So wel they gonne there hem beweld. 1821Southey Lett. (1856) III. 262 The printer gets on well with my History.
12. In a manner, or to an extent, approaching thoroughness or completeness.
c1000Sax. Leechd. II. 322 Ᵹecnua [þa wyrta] wel. c1200Ormin 19308 He..haffde himm sellf wel filledd All þatt tatt cwiddedd haffde ben Off himm. c1250Gen. & Ex. 229 He..heled him ðat side wel ðat it ne wrocte him neuere a del. c1386Chaucer Reeve's T. 388 Thise clerkes beete hym weel, and lete hym lye. a1400Morte Arth. 321 Now schalle we wreke fulle wele the wrethe of oure elders! c1430Two Cookery-bks. i. 6 Take otemele, an grynd it smal, an sethe it wyl. Ibid. 26 Menge hem wylle to-gederys. 1482Monk of Evesham (Arb.) 23 Ageyne meruaylously the colowre of hys face was reuyuyd and welle shewyd. 1523–34Fitzherb. Husb. §35 Corne,..if it be well wynowed or fande,..wyll be solde the derer. 1535Coverdale Ez. xxiv. 5 Let it boyle well, & let the bones seyth well therin. 1565Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Bene, Well accompanied or with a good companie. 1618W. Lawson New Orchard & Gard. (1623) 12 All your labour..about an Orchard is lost vnlesse you fence well. 1639Fuller Holy War i. xix. 31 Of late some English travellers climbing this mountain were well wetted. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 295 This from his Weaning, let him well be taught. Ibid. iv. 191 Lab'ring Well his little Spot of Ground. 1703Rowe Ulysses iv. i. (1706) 50 'Till..that poor bleeding King be well reveng'd. 1799G. S. Carey Balnea (ed. 2) 76 The market here is not very well supplied. 1814Scott Wav. xlv, The pockets of the defunct..had been pretty well spung'd. 1820Keats Lamia ii. 301 She, as well As her weak hand could any meaning tell, Motion'd him to be silent. 1890Retrospect. Med. CII. 307 After being well dried with an antiseptic sponge or dry gauze.
13. a. Used as an intensive to strengthen the idea implied in the verb, or to denote that the action, etc., indicated by it attains a high point or degree.
(a)c888ælfred Boeth. v. §2 Ne meaht þu win wringan on mide winter, þeah ðe wel lyste wearmes mustes. c1000Sax. Leechd. I. 148 Syle him ðas ylcan wyrte wel drincan on wætere. c1250Gen. & Ex. 1521 Niðede ðat folk him fel wel, And deden him flitten hise ostel. c1350Will. Palerne 1266 Þan william wiȝtly, as he wel couþe, profered him þat prisoner. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 21 Thai suld weill hawe pryss That in thar tyme war wycht and wyss. Ibid. xviii. 87 Thai said weill at thai suld do sua. c1449Pecock Repr. Prol. 1 As resoun also it weel confermeth. 1876Coursing Calendar 172 Mr. Deighton's bitch, who beat her opponent well at the finish. 1877H. Smart Bound to Win III. 158 Ever since..the twain had got on very well together.
(b)c1200Ormin 19300 Þiss birrþ þe full wel trowwenn. a1352Minot Poems i. 41 Gai þai war and wele þai thoght On þe Erle Morre and oþer ma. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 149 He thocht weile..That he suld slely fynd the gate [etc.]. c1400Ywaine & Gaw. 2507 That may i noght do, Bileves wele, for me bus go. c1430Chev. Assigne 67 Þe kynge..wente wele it were sothe alle þat she seyde. c1450Merlin xxxii. 655 Thei bothe fill to the erthe as he that trusted wele vpon his felowes. c1460Townley Myst. xxxi. 34 Thomas. Sir, What so euer ye bid vs do We aseent vs well ther to. 1476Stonor Papers (Camden) II. 11 In trowthe I hadde wil hopide that your horsis shulde a ben here as þis night.
(c)1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 215 b, Many moo then one to had well deserued to bee whipped. a1669[see deserve v. 3]. 1692E. Walker tr. Epictetus' Mor. Ep. Ded., You were then pleas'd to express an high esteem for the Author, as he very well deserves it.
b. with verbs of pleasing († like, pay), liking, or loving.
(a) Beowulf 639 Ðam wife þa word wel licodon. a900Cynewulf Christ 918 Þam þe him on mode ær..wel ᵹecwemdun. c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. vi. 34 Wel mæᵹ vel wel licas [L. sufficit] ðæm dæᵹ weriᵹnise his. 971Blickl. Hom. 29 Þis is min se leofa sunu, on þæm me wel ᵹelicode. a1400Morte Arth. 230 There ne es prelatte, ne pape,..That he ne myghte be wele payede of thees pryce metes! 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. iv. iv. 39 Your plainnesse and your shortnesse please me well. 1753–4Richardson Grandison I. li. 410 Sir Hargrave did not seem so well pleased.
(b)a1300Cursor M. 548 Wit bestes doumb man has his fele, O thyng man liks, il or welle. c1430Chev. Assigne 54 Sythen seche to þe courte.., And þou shalt lyke fulle wele yf þou may lyfe aftur. c1450Merlin xxx. 607 Kynge Ban..be-hilde the maydenys, and liked well theire companye. 1477Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 2 He trusted I shuld lyke it right wele. 1675R. Burthogge Causa Dei 419 Perhaps, while some of us are for Martyn, and others for Luther,..God likes well of us All. 1847Riddell Cottagers Glendale iii. xxv, Our Mary liket weel to stray Where clear the burn was rowin'.
(c)a1300Cursor M. 11310 O pouert na dedeigne had he þat biddes vs luue wel pouerte. 1338R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 36 In Ingland neuer before was kyng lufed so wele. c1386Chaucer Prol. 634 Wel loued he garleek, oynons, and eek lekes. c1412Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 3892 Thei love as vel as doth sustir & brothir. c1450J. Capgrave St. Aug. i. 3 We rede of hym..þat he hated þe Greke letteris and loued weel þe Latyn. 1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iv. vii. 139 Let them kisse one another: For they lou'd well When they were aliue. 1818Scott Br. Lamm. xx, It is a spot connected with the legendary lore which I love so well.
c. Placed before past pples. to denote a high degree of the state, etc., described. † Also occas. following the pple.
c1205Lay. 340 Þa wepmen weren iwexan, Þa wimen wel iþowene. c1300E.E. Poems (1862) 153 Þis uers is ful wel iwroȝt. 1338R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 242 Now I find þe here, wele set is my trauaile. a1352Minot Poems iii. 101 Þe Inglis men war armed wele Both in yren and in stele. c1386Chaucer Prol. 29 The chambres and the stables weren wyde And wel we weren esed atte beste. a1425Cursor M. 9900 (Trin.) A deep diche is þere aboute wel wrouȝte wiþouten doute. c1449Pecock Repr. ii. iii. 150 Eer thei be weel adauntid and weel schamed of her folie. c1470Henry Wallace i. 112 Is nayne in warld, at scaithis ma do mar, Than weile trastyt in borne familiar. 1553R. Ascham Rept. Germany 3 We were wel affrayd then, the sickenes would haue proued also to vs..very contagious. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 231 Whan the number of Bysshoppes was wel increased, they beganne the Counsell. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iv. xiii. 126 b, A Leopardes skynne well spotted. Ibid., The poleaxe at the point being well steeled. 1599Shakes. Hen. V, v. ii. 335 Maides well Sommer'd and warme kept, are like Flyes at Bartholomew-tyde. 1639J. Taylor (Water P.) Crabtree Lect. 46, I am neither well litter'd, nor well provender'd..nor well rubb'd, nor well curried, nor indeed well any thing'd. 1659Nicholas Papers (Camden) IV. 171 Some say the Sweade is well beaten by the Dane and Dutch. 1746Francis tr. Hor., Sat. i. iv. 190 Well fraught with numbers is the rhyming trade. 1771E. Haywood New Present for Maid 255 Wood-ashes well sifted. 1783S. Chapman in Med. Commun. I. 285 Tincture of roses, well acidulated. 1842Loudon Suburban Hort. 497 Pots..either new or well cleaned in the inside. 1882Besant All Sorts xxvii, She had been drawn on into wider schemes, and could not retire until these..were well started.
d. With past pples. followed by prepositions or adverbs.
1538Elyot Dict. Add., Artitus, well instructed in sciences. 1621Sanderson Serm., Ad Pop. iv. (1689) 212 The land by that means well-purged of these overspreading Locusts. 1755J. Shebbeare Lydia (1769) I. 178 Surgeon Macpherson being well learnt in northern knowledge. 1863Kinglake Crimea (1876) I. xii. 198 He had not been kept well imbued with the policy which his Government was pursuing. 1899Daily News 28 Oct. 7/1, I conceived that his system was not well-bottomed on facts.
e. With adjs. in -ed (cf. 32).
1486Bk. St. Albans e j b, An hert heeded weele.
14. a. Clearly, definitely, without any doubt or uncertainty.
a1250Owl & Night. 95 Wel wostu þat hi doþ þar ynne. 1258Hen. III Proclam. 18 Oct. §2 Þæt witen ȝe wel alle þæt we willen [etc.]. c1290Beket 119 in S. Eng. Leg. 110 For we it mowen wel i-wite..Þat..it is godes sonde. a1300Harrow. Hell (Digby MS.) 57 Þou miȝt wel witen bi mi play Þat ich wile hauen mine away. a1300Cursor M. 866, I sagh wel þat i misfard. 1340–70Alex. & Dind. 91 Men seþ wel þat þe see seseþ & stinteþ. a1366Chaucer Rom. Rose 1355 There were, and that wote I full well, Of pome garnettys a full gret dell. c1386― Merch. T. Epil. 7 And from a sooth euere wol they weyue; By this Marchauntes tale it preueth weel. 1411Rolls of Parlt. III. 650/1 He knoweth wel that..he ne hath noght born hym as he sholde hav doon. c1450Merlin xxxii. 655 Segramor..hadde well sein and parceyved whiche was Petrius. 1483Caxton Golden Leg. 429/1 The kyng theodoryk that wel wyste of it commaunded [etc.]. c1483Skelton Death Edw. IV, 37, I se wyll, they leve that doble my ȝeris. 1526Tindale John iv. 26, I wot well Messias shall come. 1581Rich Farew. Milit. Prof. Ep. Ded. a ij, Wisdome now hath warned me, that I well knowe Cheese from Chalke. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. xix. 22 b, Which hee well perceiued, and smiling, tolde mee that he saw wel that I dissembled. 1624Bp. R. Montagu Immed. Addr. 95 As..his most sacred Maiestie can well remember. 1638Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. II. 33 The number of my enemies is great, I see it well. 1667Milton P.L. iv. 926 Well thou knowst I stood Thy fiercest. 1711Steele Spect. No. 78 ⁋7 We well know, Sir, you want no Motives to do Justice. 1741–2Gray Agrippina 60, I well remember too (for I was present). 1788Priestley Lect. Hist. iv. xxiv. 191 Nor does it well appear that their kings did afterwards introduce any of another sort. 1837Whewell Hist. Induct. Sci. (1857) II. 158 All is done by an impulsion which one does not well understand. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 24 He..could well remember the political contests of the reign of James the First. 1895Law Times XCIX. 544/1 The parties know perfectly well beforehand what are the points in dispute.
b. Intimately, familiarly; closely, in detail.
(a)c1320Sir Tristr. 225 Mi broþer wele it [a ring] knewe, Mi fader ȝaf it me. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xxi. 253 Peter þe apostel..wel hym knewe. c1400Destr. Troy 13508 Wele his cosyn he knew, & kaght hym in armys. c1420Avow. Arth. xxx, The kinge his bugulle con blaw, His knyȝtus couthe hitte welle knaw. 1470–85Malory Arthur vi. iii. 186 We here knowe the wel that thou arte syre Launcelot du laake. 1535Coverdale Gen. xxix. 5 We knowe him well. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. i. i. 153 You know me well. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 442 The Shepherd knows it well; and calls by Name Hippomanes. 1709Steele Tatler No. 58 ⁋2 He being well known to us all. 1862Thackeray Philip xxvii, I know him..too well to think he will ever apologize!
(b)a1400–50Wars Alex. 44 He couth..wele as Aristotill þe artis all seuyn. 1422Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. 122 Arystotle..well kowth the lawes. c1440Generydes 3698 Be cause ye knowe so will this contre. 16022nd Pt. Return fr. Parnassus Prol. 46 Vnlesse you know the subiect well you may returne home as wise as you came. 1759Johnson Rasselas vii, He thought himself happy in having found a man who knew the world so well. 1819Scott Ivanhoe xxxiii, I can well of woodcraft.
15. a. In a skilful or expert manner.
c825Vesp. Psalter xxxii. 3 Wel singað [L. bene psallite] in wynsumnisse. a900Cynewulf Christ 668 Sum mæᵹ fingrum wel..hearpan stirᵹan. a1200Moral Ode 109 Ne mei him na Mon alsa wel demen ne alsa rihte. c1205Lay. 41 A Frenchis clerc, Wace wes ihoten, Þe wel couþe writen. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 3166 So wisliche he made hit & so wel þat me leuede him uaste. c1386Chaucer Prol. 122 Ful weel she soong the seruice dyuyne. Ibid. 384 He koude..Maken Mortreux and wel bake a pye. 1430–40Lydg. Bochas ii. 2368 This Tubal koude forge weel. 1529More Dialogue Heresyes Wks. 108/2 And men mutter amonge them selfe, that yt boke was not only faultles, but also very wel translated. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 73 The same gate or tower..well and warly was made ouer the gateloups. 1599B. Jonson Cynthia's Rev. v. iii. 2nd Masque, How well Diana can distinguish times? 1626― Staple of N. iv. i, Well play'd, my Poet. 1656Stanley Hist. Philos. I. iv. iv. 3 A Man..able to discourse wel. 1706tr. De Piles' Art Painting 386 He was a universal Painter; he perform'd well alike in all kinds, Landskip only excepted. 1741C'tess Pomfret in C'tess Hartford's Corr. (1805) II. 277 Lord Strafford..looks extremely young..but talks very well. 1803Scott Cadyow Castle xvii, Aim'd well, the Chieftain's lance has flown. 1857Ruskin Pol. Econ. Art ii. §102 A great work is only done when the painter..determines to paint it as well as he can. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 381 Every one of these poets has said many things well and many things the reverse of well.
b. In a sufficient or satisfactory manner.
The exact sense varies in different contexts.
c1250Gen. & Ex. 1541 He seruede his fader wel Wið wines drinc and seles mel. 1375Barbour Bruce xi. 50 God may richt weill our werdis deill. c1386Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 18 He..kepte alwey so wel roial estat, That ther was nowher swich another man. c1430Chev. Assigne 2 Alle weldynge god..Wele he wereth his werke with his owne honde. 1712Swift Jrnl. to Stella 26 Mar., The quicksets..do not grow so well as those famous ones on the ditch. 1853Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XIV. ii. 367 The machine..could not cut laid corn well. 1855Poultry Chron. II. 523 She appears moping, but eats very well. 1893Weekly Notes 85/1 The existing practice has worked well, and..ought to be maintained. 1908[Miss E. Fowler] Betw. Trent & Ancholme 40 Very fine Irises..grow well in that garden.
c. With good appearance or effect; elegantly.
c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 196 After þe Inglis kynges he says þer pris Þat all in metir fulle wele lys. c1386Chaucer Clerk's T. 332 This markis..hir sette Upon an hors, snow-whyt, and wel ambling. c1450Merlin iii. 44 Thider come to hym a comely man wele araied. a1529Skelton Agst. Garnesche iv. 135 Yt wold garnyche wyll thy face. 1710Steele Tatler No. 212 ⁋4 A Woman must think well to look well. 1778D. Loch Tour Scot. 14 Upon the whole, it is a neat well laid out town. 1779Mirror No. 11 That [science] of the serjeant, as it teaches a man to stand well on his legs. 1884E. Yates Recoll. I. 142 The gardens were large and well laid out. 1898A. Balfour To Arms vi, I was a big, strong fellow, carrying my six feet well.
IV. As an intensive with adjectives, numerals, adverbs, etc.
16. a. With adjectives. Formerly in common use, the sense varying from ‘fully, completely’ to ‘fairly, considerably, rather’. Now rare exc. as in b.
c888ælfred Boeth. xxv, Seo leo, þeah hio wel tam se,..heo forᵹit sona hire niwan taman. c900tr. Bæda's Hist. iv. ii. 258 Wæron her stronge cyningas and wel cristene. 971Blickl. Hom. 217 Þa wæs he þær daᵹas wel maniᵹe. c1000Sax. Leechd. II. 180 Pisan..ᵹesodena..on wine wel scearpum. c1175Lamb. Hom. 49 Ah leofemen godalmihtin haueð isceaweð us wel muchele grace. c1205Lay. 25694 We habbeð wið him iuohten wel feole siðen. c1220Bestiary 112 His muð is ȝet wel unkuð wið pater noster and crede. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1 Engelond his a wel god lond. Ibid. 7693 Þoru out al engelond he huld wel god pes. c1315Shoreham Poems i. 24 Be him wel siker, þer-to he schel. c1350Will. Palerne 4 In þat forest..Þer woned a wel old cherl. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. vii. 44 In a wel perilous place þat Purgatorie hette. 1387Trevisa Higden I. 13, I haue peynt a wel faire man. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) ix. 35 A lytill citee and a narow, bot it es wele lang. c1450Godstow Reg. 160 Hit shold be wele lawfull to the same Abbesse. 1484Caxton Fables of Avian ii, Wel hyghe fro the ground. a1533Ld. Berners Huon lii. 176 He thought hymselfe ryght wel happy. 1577Harrison England ii. ii. 62/1 in Holinshed, The Ogur or Gur..is a welfaire streame. 1578Lyte Dodoens iv. xxxi. 489 A branche of leaues, very well like to the leaues of the Lentil. 1599Marston Antonio's Rev. v. iv, Tis well brim full. Euen I haue glut of blood. 1648Gage West Ind. 160 They have enough and more then is well sutable to their vow..of poverty. 1664H. More Apol. vi. in Myst. Iniq. 520 When he was once well warm in his Dignity. 1700Dryden Pal. & Arc. i. 151 Nor well alive nor wholly dead they were. 1728Chambers Cycl. s.v. Painting, To Paint on a Wall: when well dry, they give it two or three Washes of boiling Oil. 1822Scoresby's Jrnl. Whale Fish. (1823) 448 We..made her well fast for another night's lodgings.
b. In modern use esp. in well able, well aware, well worth, well worthy.
c1420Sir Amadace xxxi, Ȝe mone haue maysturs euyrqware, As wele wurthi ȝe ar soe. 1599Shakes. Much Ado i. i. 224 Amen, if you loue her, for the Ladie is verie well worthie. 1611Bible Num. xiii. 30 Let vs goe vp at once and possesse it, for we are well able to ouercome it. 1612R. Churton Olde Thrift newly revived 64 Though it be a seemely and large tree, and well worth the hauing, yet [etc.]. 1697Dryden æneis vii. 906 Himself well worthy of a happier Throne. 1711Steele Spect. No. 78 ⁋9 You are well able to settle this affair. 1780Coxe Russ. Discov. 187 He was well aware that the only method [etc.]. 1804A. Seward Lett. (1811) VI. 164 Every day produces letters as well worth attention as most of Cowper's. 1837B. D. Walsh Aristoph., Knts. i. iii, I was well aware that these intrigues were carpentered. 1885Law Times' Rep. LII. 650/2 She thought the property was well worth that amount.
†17. With numerals, or terms of measurement, denoting fulness of the number, distance, etc. Obs.
c1000ælfric Saints' Lives xv. 37 Se godspellere..ðær þurhwunode wel twa ᵹear mid him. c1000― On New T. (Grein) 13 For þan þe ic ᵹesett hæbbe..wel feowertiᵹ larspella on Engliscum ᵹereorde. c1290St. Kenelm 232 in S. Eng. Leg. 352 Folk þat þis wonder isaiȝ.. awaiteden wel a dai ȝware þe kou bicome. c1300Havelok 1747 He tok sone knithes ten, And wel sixti oþer men. a1352Minot Poems vii. 57 Knightes war þare wele two score. a1375Joseph Arim. 521 Seraphe takes of heore men wel a two hundred. c1400Mandeville (1919) xxii. 126 Wel a .iiij. quarteres of a furlong ore more. c1425Engl. Conq. Ireland xxi. 52 Wel thre þousand men. 1471Caxton Recuyell (Sommer) II. 446 He..was there well thre owres seechyng yf he coude fynde ony hoole or caue. c1489― Sonnes of Aymon i. 23 They were well an hondred men or more. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. xvi. 17 There was deed in the place, well to the nombre of ccc. 1582N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. iii. 8 A great Harbour, which reacheth into the Lande sixe leagues, and at the entering it containeth well as much more.
18.
†a. With adverbs. (Cf. 16.) Obs.
See also well-a-fine, -most, -near, -nigh, and ywhere adv.
a1200Moral Ode 8 Wel late ich habbe me bi-þocht; bute god me nu rede. a1250Owl & Night. 36 For þine wle lete Wel ofte ich my song furlete. c1275Lay. 25349 Folk þar com wel sone to þare borh of Rome. 13..Guy Warw. (1891) 446 Wel wele y knowe,..Herhaud, so god me rede. c1350Will. Palerne 4989, I hote þe in hert it liked him wel ille. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. Prol. 67 The moste my[s]chief on molde is mountyng wel faste. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 33 There is wel onethe game non That from myne bokys maketh me to gon. c1400Sowdone Bab. 2513 Down to the erthe wele lowe thay loute. 1450–80tr. Secreta Secret. xxi. 17 They beren it welle grevously ayens him. 1563Winȝet tr. Vincent. Lirin. ix. Wks. (S.T.S.) II. 27 The writtingis of sum auld aunciant man weil dirklie setfurth.
b. With advs. and preps. of place or direction, in later use freq. in figurative phrases.
a1300Cursor M. 11027 Til elizabeth þan welforth stadd, Hir child in wamb [began] be gladd. c1320Sir Tristrem 22 His name, it sprong wel wide. 1387Trevisa Higden I. 17 Þat is in oþer bookes iwrite welwyde. c1400Ywaine & Gaw. 549 He thoght to be wele on hys way Or it war passed the thryd day. c1449Pecock Repr. i. iv. 20 Welnyȝ or weel toward the al hool lawe with which Cristen men ben chargid. 1473Paston Lett. III. 92 Som men thynke it wysdom..to be theer now weell owt off the weye. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon vii. 176 But or ever he was vnbounde, the other were well ferre. 1530Palsgr. 862/1 Well forwarde, bien auant. 1625Purchas Pilgrims II. 1132 Well within the banke we harboured. 1698Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 173 Whose Force..so gauled Seva Gi, that he wish'd him well off. 1788J. White Jrnl. Voy. N.S. Wales (1790) 109 Being well in with the westward-most point of a very large bay. 1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxxv. 133 The Captain stood well to the westward, to run inside the Bermudas. 1855M. Pattison in Oxford Ess. 287 Though not published till 1830, which was well into the second period. 1883D. C. Murray Hearts xvii, She held her head well up. 1895Law Times' Rep. LXXII. 817/1 A woman well past the age of childbearing.
†c. well at ease: see ease n. 7 a.
a1300Cursor M. 17651 He was gestend ful wel at es. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xiii. 42 Of þat men mys-wonne, þei made hem wel at ese. 1530Palsgr. 844/1 Well at ease, bien ayse. 1551T. Wilson Logic D j, Nature hath denied some men health of body, that thei are neuer wel at ease. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 232 He felte hymselfe skant well at ease. 1706tr. De Piles' Art Painting 229 By these high Prises Guido found himself, in a little while, very well at ease, and liv'd nobly. 1825Jennings Obs. Dial. W. Eng., Well-at-ease, hearty, healthy.
d. With various prepositional phrases or adverbs denoting a state or condition.
c1425Macro Plays, Cast. Persev. 2702 Þou art a party wele in age. 1605Shakes. Macb. iv. iii. 179 They were wel at peace, when I did leaue 'em. 1653H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xlii. 168 A woman reasonably well in years. 1701W. Wotton Hist. Rome i. 17 Marcus went to Lectures to this Man..when he was well in Years. 1861Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. iv, It takes no mean qualities to keep a boat's crew well together and in order. 1879Mrs. Argles Airy Fairy Lilian III. 100 Taffy and Mabel Steyne can be seen a little lower down, holding well together.
e. to be (or get) well away: to have (or obtain) a good start over one's pursuers; usu. fig., to make good progress in an activity (esp. drinking). colloq.
1910Glasgow Herald 7 Feb. 13/2 From the drop out Andrew got well away but Henry pulled him up. 1927W. E. Collinson Contemp. Eng. 101 Expressions..like..‘he's well away’ (he has got into his stride or into swing whether in tackling a meal or a flirtation or in drink). 1947‘N. Shute’ Chequer Board iii. 51 Bristow had a bottle of whisky and I had one of gin so we were well away. 1950J. Cannan Murder Included vii. 141 ‘What's happened?’.. ‘If we knew that, we should be well away.’ 1956C. Blackstock Dewey Death vi. 128 He paused again, but Sergeant Robins saw no point in making any comment; the young gentleman was plainly well away. 1973J. Porter It's Murder with Dover viii. 72 Many great men..[can] drop off to sleep at any time..and Chief Inspector was no exception. He was well away by the time MacGregor climbed back into the car. 1984A. Carter Nights at Circus iii. v. 233 The Colonel..overcomes his resistance to vodka to such an extent he is soon well away and sings songs of Old Kentucky.
†19. With comparative adjs. and advs. (esp. bet or better, worse, and more): Much, considerably, rather. Obs.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 287 Man þou art iwis To winne ȝvt a kinedom wel betere þan min is. a1300Cursor M. 2438 Abram went ham and his wijf sare, He luued hir wil mare þan are. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 2359 Men sese noght ne knawes what it es, Þarfor men dredes it wele þe les. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. v. 95, I deme men þat don ille, and ȝit I do wel worse. c1400Beryn 902 It had be wel bettir, he had be wele I-lernyd. c1400Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton) iv. xxxviii. (1859) 63 Thenne began she to wepe wel faster than byfore. c1460Towneley Myst. xxvi. 304, I was well wrother with Iudas. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 199 Fra that tyme furth the weill les he thame dred. 1624Bedell Lett. xi. 141 Your next is well worse.
V.
20. as well as: a. In as good, efficient, satisfactory, (etc.) a way or manner as. (Also, in early use, simply well as.)
a1400–50Wars Alex. 44 And wele as Aristotill [he couth] þe artis all seuyn. 1435Coventry Leet Bk. (1907) 182 But neuer-the-later..he makithe cardes ther-of as well as he may. 1530Palsgr. 831/2 As well as is possyble,..As well as can be or maye be. 1589Puttenham Engl. Poesie iii. xxii. (Arb.) 267 Certaine propheticall rymes, which might be constred two or three wayes as well as to that one whereunto the rebels applied it. 1600Look about you I 1 b, I see Prince Iohn coorted as well as I. 1634Milton Comus 201 This is the place, as well as I may guess. 1634Massinger Very Woman iv. i, Ped. How hast thou sped? John. My Lord, as well as wishes. 1793Piper of Peebles 6 Fan cummers fled and hurl'd as weel On ice, as ony vady chiel. a1809J. Palmer Like Master (1811) I. xii. 174, I am left to rough it as well as I can. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 74 She affected..to listen with civility while the Hydes excused their recent conduct, as well as they could.
b. To the same extent, in the same degree, as much, as.
OE. eal swa wel..swa swa occurs in the same sense (ælfric Hom. I. 274).
c1440Alphabet of Tales I. 75 He..sayde he was a synner & mysterd forgyfnes of his syn als wele as sho did. 1474Caxton Chesse ii. i. (1481) b j, He..swore to hym..that also wel he was and shold be his frend..as euer he had ben tofore. 1547Homilies I. Swearing ii. G iv b, Aswell they vse the name of God in vayne..as they whiche do promise [etc.]. 1628Burton Anat. Mel. ii. ii. iii. (ed. 3) 235 Why hath Daulis and Thebes no Swallowes..as well as the rest of Greece. 1710Addison Whig Exam. No. 4 ⁋1 A man may as well hope to distinguish colours in the midst of darkness, as to find out what to approve and disapprove in nonsense. 1891R. W. Church Oxf. Movement xix. 347 The English Church was after all as well worth living in and fighting for as any other.
c. With weakened force, passing into the sense of ‘both..and’, ‘not only..but also’. Also † so well..as.
In early use the rendering ‘not only..but also’ is applicable only if the two contrasted words or expressions are transposed.
c1386Chaucer Prol. 49 And therto hadde he riden..As wel in cristendom as in Hethenesse. 1390Gower Conf. I. 117 For al schal deie..Als wel a Leoun as an asse, Als wel a beggere as a lord. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) vii. 25 Þus þai do als wele in winter as in somer. c1425tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula etc. 60 Blode is norischyng of al membrez, als wele of sadde as of softe. 1467–8Stonor Papers (Camden) I. 100 The Shireff shewyd ij comyssions of this graunt as well of the lordes as of the comyns. 1533Cranmer Let. to Dean of Arches Misc. Writ. (Parker Soc.) II. 253 That you take all manner of depositions as well for the one part as for the other. 1571Digges Pantom. i. xx. G j b, In equiangle triangles aswell the contayning as the subtending sides of equall angles are proportionall. 1588Parke tr. Mendoza's Hist. China 329 All of them as well the men as women and children were clothed with shamway skins. 1645Gataker God's Eye on Israel 50 Consisting of both sorts, as well unfaithfull as faithfull, as well bad as good. 1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ ii. iv. §2 Which..must certainly comprehend as well the morall as the ceremoniall part of Moses his Law. 1718Hickes & Nelson J. Kettlewell i. xiii. 38 Making Use as well of his Eye..as of his Tongue. 1749C. Middleton Free Inq. Pref. p. xxxiii, It is allowed..by all, as well friends as enemies. 1828Scott F.M. Perth xiv, Our churchmen have become wealthy, as well by the gifts of pious persons, as by..bribes.
(b)1545Bale Image Both Ch. xiii. (1550) d viij, Comprehending in him so wel Mahomyte as the Pope, so well the ragynge tyraunt as the styll hypocryte.
d. Used to denote the inclusion of one thing (person, etc.) or class with another.
c1449Pecock Repr. iii. vii. 316 The multitude of the lay peple, as weel as of clerkis. 1470–85Malory Arthur ix. xxxvi. 397 Whan men ben hote in dedes of armes ofte they hurte their frendes as wel as their foes. 1613Hieron Serm. Wks. 1614 I. 335 Whereas the children of God in many things are trespassers aswell as the vngodly. 1649Howell Dodona's Grove (ed. 3) 3 Nor is she lesse abounding in all things conducing to pleasure also, aswel as profit. 1655Nicholas Papers (Camden) III. 221 My heart as well as pursse being quite sunck. 1702Addison Dial. Medals ii. (1726) 37 I find..the Latins mean Courage by the figure of Virtue, as well as by the word it self. 1715Desaguliers Fires Impr. 127 The two first..are made of Tin as well as the third. 1769Junius Lett. ii. 13 Educated..by..a most spirited as well as excellent scholar. 1821Craig Lect. Drawing etc. vii. 404 The back-ground as well as other parts is dotted or stippled. 1854A. Jameson Comm.-pl. Bk. (1877) 38 There are different sorts of strength as well as different degrees. 1896Law Times' Rep. LXXIII. 615/1 A highway for carriages as well as for foot-passengers.
21. as well.
a. Also, in addition; in the same way.
1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 536 As she dyde, he dyde yn dede;..Ryȝt as she dede, he dede as weyl. 1549Compl. Scot. Epist. 1 As veil it bringis furtht..hoilsum frute of honour. a1631Donne Paradoxes (1652) 60 They should love their brothers aswel. 1669–70Marvell Corr. Wks. (Grosart) II. 302 The next news will be, that..they [the Lords] have as well complyed on their part also. 1875Economist 23 Jan. 95/1 But the state of the French Exchange is such that gold is taken from London as well. 1882Besant All Sorts xxvii, Because she was a dressmaker, and lived at Stepney, he would be a workman and live there as well.
b. To the same extent.
c1449Pecock Repr. ii. ix. 199 Wherfore as weel or miche rather Cristen men ouȝten be waar forto entirmete with like ymagis. Ibid. ii. xviii. 260 Wherfore as weel and as alloweabili y mai seie this speche.
c. With may, might, had, etc., implying the equivalence or equal result of one action in comparison with another.
c1440York Myst. xxix. 249 Sir, we myght als wele talke tille a tome tonne! 1608Dod & Cleaver Expos. Prov. xi. and xii. 87, I might as well haue thrown my mony down the riuer. 1652Shirley Brothers iv. v, He might as well have murdered me, for I Shall have no heart to live. 1692E. Walker tr. Epictetus' Mor. xviii, As well you might Wish Vice were Virtue, wish that Black were White. 1730Lett. to Sir W. Strickland rel. to Coal Trade 25 Dyers..buy wholly of the Lightermen, tho' they might as well..buy of the Masters. 1768Sterne Sent. Journ., Le Patisser, As I am at Versailles, thought I, I might as well take a view of the town. 1800Wordsw. Hart-Leap Well ii. ix, You might as well Hunt half a day for a forgotten dream. 1820Byron Mar. Fal. iv. ii, It had been As well had there been time to have got together, From my own fief..more Of our retainers—but it is too late. 1870J. E. T. Rogers Hist. Glean. Ser. ii. 151 He thought he might as well strive to promote his own ends. 1879M. E. Braddon Clov. Foot xxxviii, You really may as well let me have a little food.
22. a. With qualifying adverb prefixed, as too well, pretty well.
Also freq. with so, very, full (see full adv. 1 c), right (see right adv. 9 a).
(a)c888ælfred Boethius vii. §3 For ðæm þæt ðe ðissa woruldsælða to wel ne lyste. 971Blickl. Hom. 185 Ic lærde þæt men..uþgengra welena to wel ne truwodon. 1604Shakes. Oth. v. ii. 344 Then must you speake Of one that lou'd not wisely, but too well. 1753–4Richardson Grandison II. ix. 59 Those [facts], however, would too well justify him.
(b)1599Massinger etc. Old Law v. i, The Dutch Veny I swallowed pretty wel. 1737Bracken Farriery Impr. (1756) I. 214 Give the Horse pretty well of my Cordial Ball. Ibid. 215 He has pretty well of Flesh upon his Back. 1753–4Richardson Grandison II. vii. 40 Their father..by that time, had pretty well got over his grief. 1855Kingsley Westw. Ho! ii, He..had his heart pretty well hardened by long, baneful licence. 1882Besant All Sorts xxviii, They had got by this time pretty well all they clamoured for. 1888‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Childr. xi, Lassie kept her composure pretty well. 1902H. K. Mann Hist. Popes I. i. 417 The pallium..had then..pretty well its modern shape.
b. well enough: sufficiently well, adequately.
In the 16th cent. occasionally written as one word.
1390Gower Conf. II. 295 And thanne him thoghte wel ynouh, It was fantosme. c1440Alphabet of Tales 215 When sho saw þis maister of þe knyghtis, sho knew hym well enogh & he hur. Ibid. 414, I know þe not, bod I know þat gown well enogh. 1470–85Malory Arthur xxi. i. 839 And by cause of hyr fayre speche Syr Mordred trusted hyr wel ynough. 1579J. Stubbes Gaping Gulf D 7, Which mought wel ynough be the cause why the Pope decked hym with hys title of most christian king. 1585Parsons Chr. Exerc. Pref. 4 The vulgar translation is known welinough. 1587Golding De Mornay xxx. (1592) 473 But the Rabbines saw wellynough that the miracles of Iesus could not be denied. 1631Shirley Sch. Compl. v. i. 68 He gaue me two or three kicks, which I deseru'd well enough. 1710–11Swift Jrnl. to Stella 11 Jan., The scheme..would have done well enough in good hands. 1753–4Richardson Grandison I. xvii. 119 They liked not the humour he seemed to be in well enough to comply with his request.
c. With intensive (usu. slang) adv. or adj. prefixed, as bloody well, damn well, etc.
1884[see bleeding ppl. a. 6]. 1898[see jolly adv. 2]. 1903Kipling Five Nations 117 We have had a jolly good lesson, and it serves us jolly well right. 1921E. O'Neill Emperor Jones i. 160 Ring the bell now an' you'll bloody well see what I means. 1928E. Waugh Decline & Fall iii. iii. 240, I should bleeding well say there was. 1933[see ruddy adv.]. 1941[see damn a. and adv.]. 1943D. Welch Maiden Voyage iii. 14 Someone in the next cell was shouting, ‘Bloody well let me out, you bastards.’ 1962L. R. Banks End to Running i. vi. 96 Because actually, as a matter of fact, don't y'know, I'm not sodding well coming.
VI.
23. a. Employed without construction to introduce a remark or statement, sometimes implying that the speaker or writer accepts a situation, etc., already expressed or indicated, or desires to qualify this in some way, but frequently used merely as a preliminary or resumptive word.
c888ælfred Boeth. xl. §4 Wella, wisan men, wel, gað ealle on þone weᵹ [etc.]. c1315Shoreham Poems i. 285 Wel, broþer, Ne non ne may icristned be Ar he his boren of moder. [1382Wyclif Isaiah xliv. 16 He..is chaufid, and seide, Vah, or weel, I am hat. 1388― Ezek. xxvi. 2 Wel! the ȝatis of puplis ben brokun.] c1420? Lydg. Assembly of Gods 505 ‘Well,’ seyde Apollo, ‘yef he on erthe bee, Wyth my brennyng chare I shall hym confound.’ c1450Cov. Myst., Counc. Jews 76 Wel, serys, ȝe sal se..I xal correcte hym for his trespas. 1529More Dyalogue i. xxi. 27 b, Well quod I yet wold I wit one thyng more. 1550Crowley Way to Wealth 320 Wel, loke to this geare be tyme. 1581A. Hall Iliad i. 13 Wel, thee to please, I wil [go] to Ioue. 1589? Lyly Pappe w. Hatchet B ij, Squirrilitie were a better word: well, let me alone to squirrell them. 1610Shakes. Temp. ii. ii. 47 This is a very scuruy tune to sing at a mans Funerall: well, here's my comfort. Drinkes. 1652H. Bell Luther's Colloq. Mensalia 293 They..take from us what wee have. Well! they will repent it. 1691tr. Emiliane's Observ. Journ. Naples 207 Well, (said he) I shall make a shift..to eat them with my Fingers. 1711Swift Jrnl. to Stella 3 Nov., Well, but as I was saying, what care I for your Mayor? 1766Goldsm Vicar xii, Well, my boy, what have you brought us from the fair? 1779Warner in Jesse Selwyn & Contemp. (1844) IV. 261 He asked, ‘Well, and how is George?’ 1826Galt Last of Lairds xvii. 151 ‘I understood that Mr. Mailings..was one of your most particular friends.’ ‘Well, and what of that?’ 1863Mrs. Carlyle Lett. III. 170 Well, I returned from that visit quite set up. 1894Fiske Holiday Stor. 181 As works of art—well, they were rather too highly coloured for works of art.
b. n. An instance of this use of the word.
1866Lowell Biglow P. Ser. ii. Introd. (1912) 282 A friend..told me that he once heard five ‘wells’..precede the answer to an inquiry. 1885Proc. Amer. Soc. Psych. Research I. 312 (Cent.) The ‘wells’ and ‘ahs’, ‘don't-you-know's’ and other stop-gap interjections.
24. a. well, well, denoting surprise, resignation, or acquiescence.
[1388Wyclif Ps. xxxiv. 21 Thei seiden, Wel, wel ! oure iȝen han sien. c1420Prymer (1895) 66 (Ps. xl. 15) Bere þei her confusioun anoon, þat seien to me, ‘wel! wel!’] c1480Henryson Town & C. Mouse x, ‘Weill, weill, sister,’ quod the rurale mous [etc.]. 1546J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 70 Well well (quoth she) many wels, many buckets. 1675Cotton Burlesque 183 Apol. Well! well! but he were best take heed How he attaques my Maiden-head. 1712Steele Spect. No. 533 ⁋1 Well, well, you may banter as long as you please. 1815Scott Guy M. xlii, But well, well!—it will last my time. 1847Helps Friends in C. i. vii. 117 Well, well, we will leave these heights, and descend in little drops of criticism. 1883D. C. Murray Hearts xv, ‘Father’,..‘you must not talk like that.’ ‘Well, well, my dear,’ said her father, ‘well, well.’
b. with intervening noun (in vocative).
c1550R. Wever Lusty Juventus (c 1560) D j b, Well wanton well, I wysse I can tel [etc.]. 1554Interl. Youth (facs. Waley) B iij, Well wanton well, fye for shame. 1598B. Jonson Ev. Man in Hum. i. (1601) B 1 b, Well Cosen well, I see you are e'ene past hope Of all reclaime. 1605Chapman All Fooles ii. i. E 1, Well, wag, well, wilt thou still deceiue thy father..? a1652Brome Mad Couple i. i. (1653) B 6 b, Well wag well, you must not now put me off with my wife.
25. very well, denoting agreement, approval, or acquiescence.
In the absence of construction the distinction between the adverbial and adjectival use becomes obscured: cf. well a. 7 and 10.
1564Brief Exam. D j b, You wyll say, we haue a commaundement of the Lorde... Very well. 1719De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 518 We were chas'd..By five Sloops,..says the Fellow... Very well, said I, then it is apparent there is something in it. 1815Scott Guy M. xlvii, The Baronet, though highly offended, could only say, ‘Very well, sir, it is very well.’ 1866Geo. Eliot F. Holt xxxv, At last he said..‘I agree—I must have time.’ ‘Very well. It is a bargain.’ 1878Hardy Ret. Native vi. iii, ‘Very well, then,’ sighed Thomasin, ‘I will say no more.’
26. well then, introducing a conclusion or further statement, or implying that one can naturally be drawn or made.
c1440York Myst. xxxiii. 237 Wele þan, We sall frayst er they founde vs fer fro. 1509Hawes Past. Pleas. xxix. (Percy Soc.) 138 Well then, quod she, I shall you nowe tell Howe the case standeth. 1535Coverdale Ezek. iv. 15 Well than, I will graunte the to take cowes donge, for the donge off a man. 1542Recorde Gr. Artes N viij b, Well then go forthe, in the nexte space I fynd one counter, which I remoue forward. 1628J. Doughty Serm. 10 Well then, let both principles of Church tenents and Scripture stand in force. 1647Cowley Mistress, Wish i, Well then; I now do plainly see, This busie world and I shall ne're agree. 1679Dryden Œdipus iii. i. 34 Dio. Basely you kill'd him. Adr... Well then, I kill'd him basely. 1802–12Bentham Ration. Judic. Evid. (1827) I. 136 note, Well then, since we must stop somewhere, we will stop at a trillion. 1844Disraeli Coningsby iii. i, Well then, there were Bolingbroke and Pitt. 1884B. L. Farjeon Gt. Porter Sq. (ed. 6) xxxvii. 290 ‘Well then!’ she exclaimed; winding up the argument thus, as is the way with women.
27. With various additions, esp. well now, oh well, ah well.
(a)1599B. Jonson Ev. Man out of Hum. iv. iv, Well now master Snip, let mee see your Bill. 1615T. Adams Spiritual Navig. 19 Well yet, as salt and bitter as this Ocean the world is, there is some good wrought out of this ill. 1782F. Burney Cecilia viii. iii, ‘Well now,’ said he, ‘remember the sin of this breach of appointment lies wholly at your door.’ 1889‘J. S. Winter’ Mrs. Bob xix, ‘What are you thinking about, Stevie?’..‘Oh! well really, I can't say.’
(b)a1779D. Graham Writ. (1883) II. 56 Sawny. A well a well then good day to you good-mither. 1814Scott Wav. xxix, Aweel, Duncan—did ye say your name was Duncan or Donald? 1848Mrs. Gaskell Mary Barton xxxi, The old woman tried to comfort her, beginning with her accustomed—‘Well-a-well!’ 1868Le Fanu Lost Name I. xxii. 220 ‘Oh! well, after luncheon, then,’ said he.
VII. Comb. The adverb well is extensively employed in combination with various parts of the verb, esp. the past and present participles, and in parasynthetic adjectives ending in -ed. In modern practice the latter are regularly hyphened. In attributive use the participial formations are properly hyphened, and the hyphen is also frequently employed even when the construction is predicative. On account of the large number of such combinations, all those of any standing (either by common or continued use, or in virtue of their source) are treated as main words, the less important or less common being printed in smaller type without definition, after the model of similar words in un-. The normal insertion or omission of the hyphen, according to the construction of the word in the sentence, is indicated by printing it within parentheses, as well(-)baked.
In the following enumeration of the different types of combinations the illustration is chronological, and partly includes words more fully exemplified below.
28. With past pples., as well-born, well-bred, well-done, etc., in predicative or attributive use.
Beowulf 1927 Hyᵹd swiðe ᵹeong, wis, welþungen. c897ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xvii. 111 Ᵹif hwæt welᵹedones bið. c950Lindisf. Gosp. Luke xix. 12 Monn sum welboren. c975Rushw. Gosp. John vi. 45 Alle larwas vel welᵹilærde. c1375Barbour Bruce i. 385 Bot off lymmys he was weill maid With..schuldrys braid. c1386[see disposed 2]. c1449Pecock Repr. ii. viii. 190 It is merytorie and weel doon forto ȝeue thilk ensaumple. 1474Sir J. Paston Lett. III. 107 He..lefte a greet garnyson theer, weell ffornysshyd in vytayll, and all other thynge. 1525Ld. Berners Froiss. II. clxviii. 469 A well trauelled knight and well knowen. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iii. 128 His legges wel sette. a1623Fletcher Love's Cure iii. iv, Cla. 'Tis ill for a fair Lady to be idle. Say. She had better be well-busied. 1631Weever Anc. Funeral Mon. 548 An ancient and well allied familie. 1661Boyle Physiol. Ess. (1669) 178 The hardness of a well-blown Bladder. 1746Francis tr. Hor., Epist. i. vi. 58 Venus decks the well-be⁓money'd Swain. 1793Holcroft tr. Lavater's Physiogn. xxiii. 116 Well-arched and short foreheads are..not of long duration. 1851Mayne Reid Scalp Hunters xxi, This was said in well-accentuated..English. 1890‘R. Boldrewood’ Miner's Right xxxiii, The well-clothed, well-fed, well-amused passage through barren hours. 1959W. Andrew Textbk. Compar. Histol. iv. 113 (caption) The ‘hairs’, covered with well-vascularized epidermis, may be as much as 20 mm. long.
29. With present pples. in adjectival (predicative or attributive) use.
c897ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xvii. 107 Onᵹean ða godan & ða wellibbendan. Ibid. lvii. 439 Wyrta..swiðe welstincenda. c1000Ags. Ps. (Spelman) cl. 5 Heriað hine on cimbalum wel sweᵹendum. 1382Wyclif Ps. xci. 15 Wel suffrende thei shul be. ― Ecclus. xlvii. 14 A son weel felende [filius sensatus]. 1432Rolls of Parlt. IV. 405/2 The wynes..were..faire, fyne, wele drinking. c1449Pecock Repr. ii. xx. 274 Thilk word..is..so weel teching and dressing. 1477Paston Lett. III. 182 If ther be among theym eny pric horse..in especiall that he be well trottyng. a1586Sidney Apol. Poetrie (Arb.) 40 Accompanied with..the well inchaunting skill of Musicke. 1597A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 38/2 Then with a well-cuttinge sawe, sawe of the whole legge. 1660N. Ingelo Bentiv. & Ur. i. (1682) 148 The People express'd it with such exact harmony of well agreeing voices. 1670Eachard Cont. Clergy 12 If a lad has but a lusty and well-bearing memory..he proves a brave clergyman. 1844W. H. Mill Serm. Tempt. Christ iii. 77 That..view, even when sobered to a well-calculating morality. 1864R. L. De Coin Hist. & Cult. Cotton & Tobacco 279 Sticks split from some good or well-splitting wood. 1884McLaren Spinning (ed. 2) 36 A vessel..containing a well-closing lid. 1889Baden-Powell Pigsticking 12 A sport which draws so well-paying a visitation on to their village.
30. a. With verbal ns., as well-building, well-guiding, well-joining, well-keeping, etc.
The later tendency is to employ good with the vbl. n., and restrict well to the gerund.
a1300E.E. Psalter cxviii. 91 With þi wele-setting [L. ordinatione] lastes dai. a1568R. Ascham Scholem. i. (Arb.) 49 Finding paine in ill doing, and pleasure in well studiyng. 1586A. Day Eng. Secretorie ii. (1625) 14 Weeting of my well-deeming. 1600Fairfax Tasso xvii. xcvi, Through my well guiding is your voiage donne. 1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, iii. ii. 152 Car. And euer may your Highnesse yoake together..my doing well, With my well saying. 1623J. Taylor (Water P.) Discov. by Sea C 2 b, A..large Armorie..with other Weapons and munition, which for goodnesse,..and well-keeping, is not second to any Noblemans in England. 1624Wotton Elem. Archit. 1 Well building hath three Conditions. 1641Sanderson Serm., Ad Aulam xiii. (1674) II. 195 In the well-joy[n]ing consisteth the strenth of structure.
b. Freq. with vbl. ns. followed by of.
c1440Hylton Scala Perf. (W. de W. 1494) i. lxiii, Vayne gladnes & wel payeng of thiselfe. a1586Sidney Arcadia i. iii. (1912) 19 The well bringing up of the people. 1596Harington Anat. Metam. Ajax Ep. L ij b, The wel handling of the matter. 1623J. Taylor (Water P.) Discov. by Sea B 3 b, His goods are but lent him, by him that will one day call him to a reckoning, for the well or ill disposing of them. a1639W. Whately Prototypes iii. xxxix. (1640) 17 The wel-husbanding of abundance. 1655D. Dickson Ps. xcii. 4 in Spurgeon Treas. David IV. 272 One of the parts of the well-spending of the Sabbath. 1667Earl of Orrery St. Lett. (1742) 305 For the well constituting of the said corporations. 1668Dryden Dram. Poesie 46 The copiousness and well-knitting of the intrigues we have from Johnson. 1690Child Disc. Trade (1698) 158 The well-making of our Woollen-Manufactures. 1691T. H[ale] Acc. New Invent. 119 The safety and well sailing of a Vessel. 1707Mortimer Husb. 48 In the well draining of Cornlands lies a main advantage. Ibid. 50 The well covering of the Seed must be of great advantage. 1739Trowell Treat. Husb. etc. 4 The well ploughing of the Land is a very great Advantage to all Seeds sown. 1766Complete Farmer s.v. Plough, The well going of the plough wholly depends upon the placing of this.
c. With gerunds followed by an object or preposition.
1568in Pettus Fodinæ Reg. (1670) 61 Rules and Ordinances for the well-governing the Affairs of the Society, etc. 1625K. Long tr. Barclay's Argenis v. xiv. 383 For the love of her..hee would not faile in well-looking to his charge. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. 138 Because of..the wel-seating it..he allured out of Babilon sixe hundred thousand soules. 1693G. St. Lo England's Safety title-p., A Sure Method for..Raising Qualified Seamen for the well Manning Their Majesties Fleet on any Occasion. 1699T. C[ockman] tr. Tully's Offices 135 By Moderation..we mean..the Knowledge of Well-timing whatever we do. 1765Gale in Phil. Trans. LV. 197 The well-peopling the colonies, and securing our new acquisitions. 1766Complete Farmer s.v. Lucern, The grand secret of well-managing a trading populous country. 1854Poultry Chron. II. 351/2 The..all-important necessity of well matching the poultry. 1890A. P. Morton tr. Le Roux' Acrobats & Mountebanks 168 In well calculating the strength of the steed.
31. With verbs, as well-ally, well-clothe, well-employ, etc. Now rare.
a1300E.E. Psalter civ. 9 He was mined..of his witeword hende..Þat he weleset [Vulg. disposuit] for Abraham sake. 14..Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 602/23 Persoleo,..to welwone. 1563J. Man Musculus' Commonpl. 286 b, Seyng that the mystery of the holy Trinitye did not well lyke with that people. 1612Drayton Poly-olb. xvii. 6 That of so great Descent, and of so large a Dower, Might well-allie their House. 1670Milton Hist. Brit. iii. 129 Prowlers..intent upon all occasions..to pamper and well line themselves. 1851(title) Robert Owen's Journal. Explanatory of the Means to Well-place and Well-feed, Well-clothe, Well-lodge, Well-employ, Well-govern, and Cordially unite the Populations of the World.
32. Forming parasynthetic adjectives in -ed, as well-ancestored, well-dispositioned, well-eared, etc.
Cf. OE. welwillednes.
1530Palsgr. 442/2 This sworde is well backed. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 495 Of bodie he was slender,..well membred, and strongly made. 1571Golding Calvin on Ps. xviii. 34, 63 He had bin a well-sinewed man. 1591Greene Farew. Folly (1617) I 4 b, The Gentleman is well forehanded and well foreheaded. 1630Bp. Hall Occas. Medit. xlii. 107 Why perfectly limmed; not a cripple? Why well-sensed; not a foole? 1671Woodhead St. Teresa ii. vii. 52 That those that shall be received, be thereto called by God, and be well-dispositioned. 1688J. Grubb Brit. Heroes vii, Castor the flame of fiery steed, With well-spur'd boots took down. 1704Hymn to Victory lx. 41 Old English Courage scorns those trifling things, The Higher Ground, the Well-flank'd Wings. 1804Mitford Inquiry 372 A well-eared poet will of course avoid cacophony in rimes. 1855Poultry Chron. III. 452 Her eggs are well formed and well-shelled. 1857Gosse Omphalos xi. 326 The formidable Shark,..a well-toothed adult. 1891Harper's Mag. July 318/1 The well-ancestored, rich,..respectability from which she springs. 1894Outing Sept. 427/2 The five brace of grand, plump, well-plumaged birds.
33. With adjectives.
a1780Braes o Yarrow vii. in Child Ballads IV. 165/1 Nine well-wight men lay waiting him. 1797–1803Jane Austen Northang. Abb. xxviii, The two girls..found themselves so well-sufficient..to themselves, that it was eleven o'clock..before they quitted the supper-room. 1853Tait's Mag. XX. 267 Its accession..would bring no well-wieldable strength with it. 1886J. Corbett Fall of Asgard I. 115 The charm of his face were the well-open eyes.
[IV.] [16.] [b.] For def. read: In modern use, in well able, well aware, well worth, well worthy, and with other quantifiable adjs.: to a substantial extent, more than somewhat; certainly, undoubtedly, thoroughly. (See also sense 13 c above.) c. slang. Used as an intensifier to qualify any adj., esp. in commendatory language; = good and s.v. good a., adv., and n. B. d.
1986T. Barling Smoke i. 16 That was about the time Kosher and Eyetie had their straightener and had kept Archie well busy ducking and diving and sorting. 1987Blues & Soul 3 Feb. 34 No dress restrictions, music policy is well 'ard with P. Funk, House, Go-Go and Electro cutting it. 1989Face Jan. 59/3 A city where Walters is ‘well sound’ and Led Zeppelin are ‘a better buzz’. This is Liverpool in 1988. 1990Daily Tel. 9 June 13/1 This boy looked in wonder at the polyurethane and leather marvel and offered it the coolest of street compliments. ‘Well wicked,’ he breathed.
▪ VII. well
obs. dial. var. fell v.
1511MS. Acc. St. John's Hosp., Canterb., Payd..for wellyng treys iii d. [See also welling.]
▪ VIII. well
obs. f. weel, will n. and v. |