welter
/ˈwɛltɚ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.46 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A general confusion or muddle, especially of a large number of items.
noun
A tossing or rolling about.
adj
Heavyweight. (of horsemen)
name
A surname.
Example Sentences
- "He would, except for his guests, have fled outdoors and walked off the intoxication of food, but in the haze which filled the room they sat forever, talking, talking, while he agonized, “Darn fool to be eating all this—not ’nother mouthful,” and discovered that he was again tasting the sickly welter of melted ice cream on his plate."
- "And in truth, his mind was such a welter of opposites—of the night and the blazing candles, of the shabby poet and the great Queen, of silent fields and the clatter of serving men—that he could see nothing; or only a hand."
- "Most of these allegations have already been published; she has denied them all. […] With the welter of claims and counter-claims and evidence that has been contradictory and based on hearsay, it is unlikely that the Truth Commission will come to any significant conclusion."
- "They use these words to express a welter of opinions on what they think is good or bad, right or wrong, and all too readily wail ‘It's not fair!’."
- "[…] were it not for shame, Shame and dishonour to a soldier’s name, Upon my weapon’s point here shouldst thou fall, And welter in thy gore."
- "I had no horse, and the deep and wheeling stream of the river, rendered turbid by the late tumult of which its channel had been the scene, and seeming yet more so under the doubtful influence of an imperfect moonlight, had no inviting influence for a pedestrian by no means accustomed to wade rivers, and who had lately seen horsemen weltering, in this dangerous passage, up to the very saddle laps."
Etymology
From Middle English welteren, equivalent to welt + -er (frequentative suffix). Cognates include German Low German weltern (“to wallow; roll”), Old Norse velta (Danish vælte), German wälzen, Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌻𐍄𐌾𐌰𐌽 (waltjan). Akin to wallow and Latin volvō.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈwɛltɚ/
- British English: /ˈwɛltə/