▪ I. welter, n.1
(ˈwɛltə(r))
[f. welter v. Rare before 19th cent.; cf. walter n.]
1. A state of confusion, upheaval, or turmoil.
Freq. from c 1870, often with suggestion of 2 or 3.
| 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. II. 277 He feiret be that coniunctione suld follow sum Welter in the religioune, casting doune of the Kirkes, Monasteries and siklike. Ibid. 465. 1619 Bp. Andrewes 96 Serm., Nativ. xiii. (1629) 125 Away with peace, moveatur terra, let all the earth be on a welter. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. III. vi. ii. 355 [Danton] was heard to ejaculate..‘I leave the whole business in a frightful welter (gâchis épouvantable): not one of them understands anything of government’. 1864 ― Fredk. Gt. xv. v. IV. 81 What a downrush of confusion there ensued... Belleisle himself must have paused uncertain over such a welter. 1888 Sat. Rev. 26 May 621 They are not precisely the strongest party in the present welter of English politics. |
2. The rolling, tossing, or tumbling (of the sea or waves).
| 1849 Cupples Green Hand iv. (1856) 47 The long welter of the sea when the ship eased down. 1863 Whittier Andrew Rykman's Prayer 88 In the welter of this sea Nothing stable is but Thee. 1898 Kipling Fleet in Being i. 10 He..went out serenely to take his boat home through the dark and the dismal welter. |
| fig. 1873 Dowden in Contemp. Rev. XXII. 177 It is rather the oscillation, the refluence and welter of the great social and moral wave flung forward by the wind of revolution. |
3. A surging or confused mass: a. of material things, persons, etc.
| 1857 Kingsley Two Y. Ago iii, A confused welter and quiver of mingled air, and rain, and spray. 1891 Spectator 18 July, A ‘World's Fair’ is apt to call up sickening recollections of..a vast welter of ‘miscellaneous exhibits’. 1893 McCarthy Red Diamonds III. 235 Covered with the wreck and welter of the ruined building. |
b. of immaterial things.
| 1851 Carlyle Sterling iii. v. (1872) 206 His talk..went tumbling as if in mere welters of explosive unreason. 1864 Mitchell Wet Days at Edgewood 306 Losing point and force and efficiency in a welter of words. 1880 M{supc}Carthy Own Times IV. lxvii. 533 The historian is constantly involving himself in a welter of inconsistencies and errors. |
▪ II. welter, n.2
(ˈwɛltə(r))
[f. welt n.1 + -er1.]
A worker who makes or inserts the welt (in a manufactured article).
| 1862 Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Hallib. i. xviii, Some welted, or hemmed the gloves round at the edge of the wrist; these were called ‘welters’. 1866 Lond. Rev. 27 Oct. 459/2 There are various epithets for shoemakers;..there are welters..clickers, blockers..closers. 1881 Instr. Census Clerks (1885) 75 Hosiery manufacture... Welter. Ibid. 76 Glover, glove maker... Welter. |
▪ III. welter, n.3
(ˈwɛltə(r))
[? f. welt v.1 5.]
1. a. A heavy-weight horseman or pugilist. Cf. welter weight.
| 1804 Sporting Mag. XXIII. 293 The high weights, among the Subscribers called the Welters. 1863 E. Farmer Scrap Book (ed. 3) 61 Leaving ‘Welters’ and ‘Craners’ and ‘slow⁓uns’ behind. 1869 Contemp. Rev. XI. 365 There is a pleasing representation of the Tedsworth Hunt, who seem from it to be an awful lot of welters. |
b. Horse-racing. Used attrib. with the meaning ‘for heavy-weight riders’, as Welter Cup, Welter Stakes; welter handicap, welter race. Also ellipt. (= welter race, etc.).
| 1820 Sporting Mag. VI. 2/1 A capital gentleman jockey for a Welter stake. 1843 W. Ruff Guide to Turf 36 The Welter Stakes of 20 sov. each. 1850 Ibid. 64 The Cheshire Welter Cup. 1880 W. Day Racehorse in Training 198 The runners in the welter races have surpassed those in the light-weight handicaps by two. 1897 N. Gould Seeing him Through xxv, The welter-handicap for amateur riders. Ibid., There were ten starters for the amateur welter. |
2. Something exceptionally big or heavy of its kind. colloq. and dial.
| 1865 J. Sleigh Derbysh. Gloss. in Reliquary (Jan. 1866) 171 Welter, a large person. 1888 Sheffield Gloss., Welter, anything large, as a large stone. 1899 Kipling Stalky ii. 49 Then he gave us eight cuts apiece—welters. |
▪ IV. welter, v.1
(ˈwɛltə(r))
Forms: 4–7 weltre, 4–6 Sc. weltir, 5–6 weltyr, 5– welter (5 Sc. velter).
[a. MDu. welteren or MLG. (also LG.) weltern (hence NFris. wälteri, Sw. vältra), MHG. welzern, frequentative f. the stem welt-: see welt v.2 and cf. walter v.1]
I. intr.
1. To roll or twist the body; to turn or tumble about; to lie and roll about; to writhe, to wriggle. Also with about. Now rare or Obs.
| a 1300 [implied in sense 2]. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 890 He welterys, he wristeles, he wrynges hys handes! Ibid. 1142. c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 411 Sho was gretelye turment, to so muche at sho wold som tyme weltyr in þe fyre. Ibid. 488 He feld a blak myrk thyng welter betwix hym & his wyfe. 1470–85 Malory Arthur v. v. 168 And thenne Arthur weltred and wrong, that he was other whyle vnder and another tyme aboue. Ibid. xi. viii. 582 She wrythed and weltred as a mad woman. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 78 There [in Hell] the companions of his fall..He soon discerns, and weltring by his side One..nam'd Beëlzebub. 1727–46 Thomson Summer 265 They..weltering in the bowl, With powerless wings around them wrapt, expire. 1751 Chesterfield Lett. to Son 13 June, In mixed companies with your equals..you may..sit, stand, or occasionally walk, as you like; but I believe you would not think it very bienséant to..welter in an easy chair. 1815 Scott Ld. of Isles iv. x, And the shy seal had quiet home, And welter'd in that wondrous dome. |
b. To roll about (in the mire, etc.). Chiefly fig. Now rare or Obs.
| 1530 Palsgr. 779/2 Thou welterest in the myer, as thou were a sowe. 1583 Golding Calvin on Deut. xxi. 122 Verie fewe of them vouchsafed to consider that: for all of them lay weltring stil in their owne dung. 1603 Holland Plutarch's Mor. 264 Oftentimes he will welter and wallow in the mire, confessing..what sinnes..he hath committed. 1641 Milton Ch. Govt. ii. 63 Such principles of earth as these wherein she [Prelaty, bred up in slime and mud] welters from a yong one. 1706 tr. Liger's Compl. Florist 167 Fowls are apt, after a great Drought, to welter in the Ground, or Dust, to cleanse their Feathers. a 1732 T. Boston Crook in Lot (1805) 110 Man threw himself into the mire at first, and now he is justly left weltering in it. |
c. To roll or lie prostrate (in one's blood); hence (hyperbolically) to be soaked with blood or gore; also fig. of a nation, etc. Now only poet.
| 1590 Greene Orl. Fur. (1599) 10 Till all these Princes weltring in their bloods, The Crowne doe fall to Countie Sacrepant. a 1593 Marlowe Edw. II, ii. v. 1181 Vpon my weapons point here shouldst thou fall, And welter in thy goare. 1643 Decl. Commons Reb. Ireland 26 Two Protestant Nations [were] ready to welter in each others blood. 1697 Dryden æneis xi. 1218 Prostrate on the Plain, Welt'ring in Blood, she sees Camilla slain. 1744 P. Whitehead Gymnasiad iii. 73 Down dropt the Hero, welt'ring in his Gore. 1783 Justamond tr. Raynal's Hist. Indies I. 252 Three successive generations were doomed to welter in their own blood. 1803 Ann. Reg., Chron. 4/2 The deceased..was weltering in his blood, and bore every indication of having been robbed as well as murdered. 1849 D. G. Mitchell Battle Summer (1852) 35 They lie—the fifty corpses—weltering in their blood. 1887 Bowen æneid ii. 667 Slaughtered, and weltering each in the blood from the others that flows. |
2. fig. † a. To revel, live at ease. Obs. rare.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 4503 Man þat weltres in his welis And, thoru his welth, na fautes felis. 1581 Mulcaster Positions xxxvi. (1887) 140 The midle sorte of parentes which neither welter in to much wealth, nor wrastle with to much want. |
b. = wallow v.1 6. Now rare.
| 1535 Coverdale Eccl. xxiii. 12 But they y{supt} feare God, eschue all soch and lye not weltringe in synne. 1561 J. Daus tr. Bullinger on Apoc. (1573) 13 b, Who in the meane tyme swell with pride, and welter away in filthy pleasures. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. I. 12/2 He suffered his owne bodie to welter in all vice and voluptuousnesse. 1611 Speed Hist. Gt. Brit. vii. i. 192 Numbers of them lay senslesse and weltring in wine. 1646 H. P. Medit. Seige 7 Luxury..in which thou hast weltred with securitie. 1867 Tennyson Holy Grail 767 Happier are those that welter in their sin. |
c. To be sunk or deeply involved in.
| 1629 J. Cole Of Death 192 Let us then no longer lye weltring in sorrow, lest by overlong lamenting wee encrease Gods wrath. 1642 Prynne Sov. Antidote Pref., To make England in the selfesame desperate deplorable condition, as Ireland now lies weltring in. 1642 D. Rogers Naaman 16 Suffers them to welter in their fears, doubts and complaints. 1856 Merivale Rom. Emp. l. (1865) VI. 153 We seem, indeed, in perusing the narrative before us, to be weltering in a dream of horrors. a 1871 R. Chambers in Casq. Lit. (1874) Ser. ii. I. 264 They..leave you weltering in astonishment. |
d. transf. of inanimate things.
| 1847 Kingsley Poems, Sappho 4 Upon the white horizon Atho's peak Weltered in burning haze. a 1849 Bryant Hymn of Sea 42 The fertile plain Welters in shallows. |
3. Of a ship: To roll to and fro (on the waves). Also fig. Cf. walter v. 1 b.
| 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. xxiv, We pullit vp saile, and furth oure wayis went. Vpon the wawis weltering to and fro. 1609 Healey Discov. New World i. ii. vii. 92 But our boat..did so welter from side to side. 1822–56 De Quincey Confess. Wks. (1856) V. 266 My mind tossed, as it seemed, upon the billowy ocean, and weltered upon the weltering waves. 1876 J. Saunders Lion in Path ix, The soldier's barque was weltering aimlessly, helplessly, hopelessly upon the waves. 1876 Morris Sigurd iv. 350 The keels roll down the sea-dale, and welter up the steep. |
b. Of a dead body: To be tossed or tumbled about (on the waves); to roll or tumble about (in water). Also fig.
| 1593 Nashe Christ's T. 14 All the sinnes of the first World now welter, souse, & beate vnquietly in the Sea. 1637 Milton Lycidas 13 He must not flote upon his watry bear Unwept, and welter to the parching wind. 1718 Pope Odyss. xiv. 155 But he whose name you crave Moulders in earth, or welters on the wave. 1791 Cowper Odyss. iii. 115 Whether he on the continent hath fall'n By hostile hands, or by the waves o'erwhelm'd Of Amphitrite, welters in the Deep. 1806 Scott Poems, Palmer 40 A corpse amid the alders rank, The Palmer welter'd there. 1823 S. Rogers Italy xxi. Campagna of Florence 149 Arno,..where, exulting, he had felt A swimmer's transport, there, alas, to float And welter. |
4. To roll down in a stream; to flow.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xlii. (Agatha) 306 A gret hyl..brak owt in fyre & brynt don, weltrand, as a borne had bene. 1508 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 439 With that wateris myn ene, and welteris doune teris. 1835 Lytton Rienzi i. xii, From the left arm..the blood weltered slowly. 1846 Keble Lyra Innoc., Sleeping on Waters 44 And Nile, soft weltering nigh, Sings him to sleep. Ibid., Bathing 2 Around the rushy point comes weltering slow The brimming stream. |
† b. To flutter (down). rare—1.
| c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 290 [It] sall be licht as leif of the lynd lest, That welteris doun with the wynd, sa wauerand it is. |
5. Of waves, the water, sea: To roll; to toss and tumble; to surge. Also fig. Now only poet.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce iii. 700 The strem sa sturdy was, That wawys wyd (that) brekand war Weltryt as hillys her and thar. c 1480 Henryson Paddock & Mouse 179 The watter is the warld, ay welterand With mony wall of trubulatioun. 1581 A. Hall Iliad ii. 23 As oft the seas we see The storme the boistrous surge to raise, weltring now low now hie. 1787–9 Wordsw. Evening Walk 122 There, waves that, hardly weltering, die away, Tip their smooth ridges with a softer ray. 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague ii. i. 203 The sea that welters drearily Around the homeless earth! 1821 Bryant Ages xviii, Till the North broke its flood-gates, and the waves Whelmed the degraded race, and weltered o'er their graves. 1865 Swinburne Poems & B., Song in Time of Order 7 It swells and welters and swings, The pulse of the tide of the sea. |
b. transf. Of a mass of persons or things: To be in a state of agitation, turmoil, or confusion.
| 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. III. i. i, When a Nation..must now seek its wild way through the New, Chaotic,—where Force is not yet distinguished into Bidden and Forbidden, but Crime and Virtue welter unseparated. 1848 Kingsley Saint's Trag. ii. iv, We sit in a cloud..while right below Welters the black fermenting heap of life On which our state is built. 1853 ― Hypatia xxix, The mob had weltered and howled ineffectually around the house for some half-hour. 1889 Jerome Idle Thoughts 128 Huddled like vermin in sewers, they welter, and sicken, and sleep. 1897 ‘Mark Twain’ Man that corrupted etc. (1900) 317 The whole Left was surging and weltering about the champion, all bent on wringing his hand. |
6. † a. Of a vehicle: To sway or rock unsteadily; to overturn. Obs. rare.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce xi. 25 A litill stane oft, as men sayis, May ger weltir ane mekill wane. 1535 Coverdale Nahum ii. 4 The charettes rolle vpon the stretes, & welter in the hye wayes. |
b. To go with a heavy rolling gait; to flounder. Also dial., to reel, stagger.
| 1595 R. Johnson Seven Champions ii. (1608) 52 Oh that some ravenous harpey woulde welter from his denne. 1674–91 Ray N.C. Words, Welter, to goe aside, or heavily, as women with child, or fat people. 1785 Bran New Wark (E.D.S.) 188 Should a kraken welter up the sands..ye mud weel be astonished. 1822 Scott Pirate xvii, [The whale] was lying perfectly still, in a deep part of the voe into which it had weltered. 1851 Mayne Reid Scalp Hunt. xli. 324 With desperate energy I plunged and weltered through it [the water]. 1884 D. Grant Lays & Leg. North 75 [She] Weltered hame through bogs an' hillocks Aifter mony a weary fa'. |
| fig. 1837 Carlyle New Lett. (1904) I. 70 On the eighth day after this I am to make my appearance as a Lecturer!.. Some way or other we shall ‘welter through it’. |
II. trans.
† 7. To move, turn, or force by rolling. Obs.
| ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 1140 Ȝitt es þe warlow so wyghte, he welters hyme vndere. 1513 Douglas æneis vi. ix. 183 For sum weltris a gret stane wp the bra. 1520 M. Nisbet N.T. Scots Matt. xxvii. 60 He weltirit a gret staan to the dure of the beriele. 1535 Coverdale Prov. xxvi. 27 And he y{supt} weltreth a stone, shal stomble vpon it hymselfe. |
| refl. 1535 Coverdale Prov. xxvi. 14 Like as the dore turneth aboute vpon the tresholde, euen so doth the slouth⁓full welter himself in his bedd. ― Micah i. 10 Thou at Betaphra, welter thy self in the dust and asshes. |
† b. In pa. pple. with in. Obs. (Cf. 1 b, 2 b.)
| 1535 Coverdale Judith xiv. 15 Then sawe he the deed body of Holofernes.., weltred in his bloude vpon the earth. 1578 Banister Hist. Man viii. 110 In whiche absurditie many are weltred. 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 30 Foure bodies lying weltred in bloud. 1652 Persuasive 26 Princes, who are..weltered in their own blood. 1673 Hickeringill Greg. Father Greybeard 257 England, as well as other Countries, has been disciplin'd, 'till weltred in blood and ruine. |
† 8. To cause to roll; to toss up and down. Obs.
| c 1425 Macro Plays, Cast. Persev. 2003 Byttyr balys þei [his enemies] brekyn on brode, Mankynde in wo to weltyr & waue. 1513 Douglas æneis iii. iii. 90 The wyndis welteris the see continually. a 1547 Surrey æneid ii. 536 Fomy Nereus..From bottoms depth doth weltre up the seas. 1594 Marlowe & Nashe Dido i. i. 223 And they so wrackt and weltred by the waues, As euery tide tilts twixt their oken sides. |
9. To overthrow, overturn, upset: also with down. Chiefly Sc.
| c 1450 Gol. & Gaw. 469 Wrightis welterand doune treis. c 1480 Henryson Test. Cresseid 436 All is decayit, thy weird is welterit so. 1513 Douglas æneis vii. xi. 51 This cruell dochtyr of the auld Saturn The marbyll hyrst can weltyr and ourturn. 1571 [see walter v.1 7]. a 1663 Sanderson Serm. (1681) II. 257 Were it but an ox, or an ass..that lay weltred in a ditch. 1808 Jamieson s.v., To welter a cart, to turn it upside down. |
† 10. To wear out (one's days) in a state of trouble or disquiet. Obs.—1
| 1642 D. Rogers Naaman 138 They returne to their old acquaintance with selfe, and so welter out their daies in utter misery. |
Hence ˈweltered ppl. a.
| 1590 T. Watson Meliboeus Poems (Arb.) 175 Castor and Pollux,..two welcome messengers, Conuey great comfort to the weltred minde. |
▪ V. ˈwelter, v.2 Obs. exc. dial.
[Cf. welt v.3 and -er5; the ending may have been suggested by wither. Cf. wilter v.]
intr. To wither. Hence ˈweltered, ˈweltering ppl. adjs.
| 1645 Bp. Hall Remedy Discontentm. v. 24 As for Beauty, what is it, but..a flower, which with one hot Sun gleam weltreth and fals? 1657 F. Cockin Div. Blossomes 18 Your fading honour I esteem as dung, Earth's weltering glory as the dirt in street. 1855 Delamer Kitch. Gard. (1861) 62 These vermin prefer weltered and flagging leaves to those that are quite fresh. 1860 I. Taylor Ultimate Civiliz. i. i. v. 40 The weltered hearts, and blighted memories of those whom we have..gathered from out of the..lost and wretched. 1887 Kentish Gloss., Welter, to wither. ‘The leaves begin to welter.’ |