Welle

See also: welle, wèlle, and wélle

German

Etymology 1

From Middle High German welle, from Old High German wella, from Proto-Germanic *wallijǭ (“wave, swirl”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“to turn, coil”).

Cognate to :

• Old English wealca (“billow”),
• German Welle (“wave”).
• Albanian valë (“wave”).

Etymology 2

From Proto-Indo-European *uel(H) (“hot, boiling”). Cognate to Old High German walo (“lukewarm”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɛlə/

• Audio (Austria):

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophone: Wälle

Noun

Welle f (genitive Welle, plural Wellen, diminutive Wellchen n)

1. wave (of water)

   Synonym: Woge

2. wave, curve, anything wave-shaped (e.g. hair)
3. shaft (mechanical component)

Declension

Declension of Welle [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Welle	die	Wellen
genitive	einer	der	Welle	der	Wellen
dative	einer	der	Welle	den	Wellen
accusative	eine	die	Welle	die	Wellen

Derived terms

• Brandungswelle
• Flutwelle
• Gegnerwelle
• Getriebewelle
• Gravitationswelle
• Haarwelle
• Hitzewelle
• Kältewelle
• Lichtwelle
• Meereswelle
• Modewelle
• Reisewelle
• Riesenwelle
• Schallwelle
• Schaumwelle
• Trägerwelle
• Wellblech
• Wellen schlagen
• Wellenbad
• Wellenberg
• Wellenbrecher
• Wellengleichung
• Wellenkamm
• Wellenlänge
• Wellenleiter
• Wellenreiher
• wellenreiten
• Wellenreiten
• Wellensittich
• wellig

 

Descendants

• → Polish: fala
  • → Belarusian: хва́ля (xválja)
  • → Ukrainian: хви́ля (xvýlja)

Further reading

• “Welle” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “Welle” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.
• “Welle” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Welle” in Duden online

German Low German

Alternative forms

• Well

Etymology

From Middle Low German wel, *welle, from Old Saxon wella, walla, from Proto-Germanic *wallijǭ (“flow; swell; source; well”). More at well.

Noun

Welle f (plural Wellen)

1. A well; fountain; spring

Hunsrik

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvelə/

Noun

Welle f

1. plural of Well