weal
/wil/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.18 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Specifically, the general happiness of a community, country etc. (often with qualifying word).
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Therefore for Gods loue, and as we loue the weale of our Soules and Bodies, let us ſo behaue our ſelues, as we may be at peace with God, and may finde grace in the Eyes of this People."
- "For whom all this was made, all this will ſoon / Follow, as to him linkt in weal or woe, [...]"
- ""Travel shall I and woo; Plight me shall I a flower; Try shall I my sword so good, To my weal or my woe in the stour.""
- "It seemed so plain that if the workman had his master’s profit at heart, and the master were as anxious for the weal of his men, the interests of the two would be one."
- "And indeed I blamed myself and sore repented me of having taken compassion on him and continued in this condition, suffering fatigue not to be described, till I said to myself, "I wrought him a weal and he requited me with my ill; by Allah, never more will I do any man a service so long as I live!""
- "Yet never was there a time when it more concerned the public weal, that the character of the parliament should stand high."
Etymology
From Middle English wele, from Old English wela (“wellness, welfare, prosperity, riches, well-being, wealth”), from Proto-West Germanic *welō, from Proto-Germanic *walô (“well-being, wellness, weal”). Cognate with German Wohl, Danish vel, Swedish väl.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /wil/
- British English: /wiːl/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
Frequently Paired Words
in weal or woe