whelm
/wɛlm
/archaic
verb [with object]
1Engulf, submerge, or bury: a swimmer whelmed in a raging storm...
- All the faults of the Italian people are whelmed in forgiveness as soon as their music sounds under the Italian sky.
- The envious billows sidelong well to whelm my track; let them; but first I pass.
1.1 [no object] Well up or flow: the brook whelmed up from its source...
- The warmth whelms from the nearness of arms, backs, necks, breasts; not from fire.
- Then, a golden light whelmed up from the earth and engulfed me.
noun
An act or instance of flowing or heaping up abundantly; a surge: the whelm of the tide...
- We'll retreat, but if I see your starship again, I'll blast you right out of the stars and into the fiery whelms of Hell!
Origin
Middle English: representing an Old English form parallel to hwelfan 'overturn (a vessel').