A- (3) prefix meaning "not," from Gk a-, an- "not," from pie base *ne "not" (see un-)

weed (n.) --- plant not valued for use or beauty, O.E. weod, uueod "grass, herb, weed," from P.Gmc. *weud- (cf. O.S. wiod, E.Fris. wiud), of unknown origin. Meaning "tobacco" is from 1606; that of "marijuana" is from 1920s. The verb meaning "to clear the ground of weeds" is late O.E. weodian.

weeds --- garments (now surviving, if at all, in widow's weeds), plural of archaic weed, from O.E. wæd, wæde "garment, cloth," from P.Gmc. *wedo (cf. O.S. wadi, O.Fris. wede "garment," O.N. vað "cloth, texture," O.H.G. wat "garment"), probably from PIE *wedh-, extended form of base *au- "to weave." Archaic since early 19c.

week --- O.E. wice, from P.Gmc. *wikon (cf. O.N. vika, O.Fris. wike, M.Du. weke, O.H.G. wecha, Ger. woche), probably originally with the sense of "a turning" or "succession" (cf. Goth. wikon "in the course of," O.N. vika "sea-mile," originally "change of oar," O.E. wican "yield, give way"), from PIE base *weik- "to bend, wind" (see vicarious). "Meaning primarily 'change, alteration,' the word may once have denoted some earlier time division, such as the 'change of moon, half month,' ... but there is no positive evidence of this" [Buck]. No evidence of a native Gmc. week before contact with the Romans. The seven-day week is ancient, probably originating from the 28-day lunar cycle, divisible into four periods of seven day, at the end of each of which the moon enters a new phase. Reinforced during the spread of Christianity by the ancient Jewish seven-day week. As a Roman astrological convention it was borrowed by other European peoples; the Gmc. tribes substituting their own deities for those of the Romans, without regard to planets. The Coligny calendar suggests a Celtic division of the month into halves; the regular Gk. division of the month was into three decades; and the Romans also had a market week of nine days.

weekday --- O.E. wicdæge "day of the week" (cf. O.H.G. wehhatag, O.N. vikudagr). See week + day. In M.E., any day other than Sunday.

weekend --- 1638, from week + end. Originally a northern word (referring to the period from Saturday noon to Monday morning); it became general after 1878. As an adj., meaning "only on weekends," it is recorded from 1935.

ween --- O.E. wenan "to think," from P.Gmc. *woenijanan (cf. O.S. wanian, O.N. væna, O.Fris. wena, O.H.G. wanen, Ger. wähnen, Goth. wenjan "to expect, suppose, think"), from *woeniz "expectation," from PIE base *wen- "to wish, desire, strive for" (see Venus). Archaic since 17c.

weenie --- frankfurter, 1906, with slang sense of "penis" following soon after, from Ger. wienerwurst "Vienna sausage" (see wiener). Meaning "ineffectual person" is 1963; pejorative sense via penis shape, or perhaps from weenie in the sense of "small" (see wee).

weep (v.) --- O.E. wepan "shed tears, cry" (class VII strong verb; past tense weop, pp. wopen), from P.Gmc. *wopijanan (cf. O.N. op, O.H.G. wuof "shout, shouting, crying," O.S. wopian, Goth. wopjan "to shout, cry out, weep"). No certain cognates outside Gmc. Weepy first attested 1825. Weeping willow (cf. Fr. saule pleureur, Ger. trauerweide) is recorded from 1731. The tree is native to Asia; the first brought to England were imported 1748, from the Euphrates. Replaced cypress as a funerary emblem.

weevil --- O.E. wifel "small beetle," from P.Gmc. *webilaz (cf. O.S. wibil, O.H.G. wibil, Ger. Wiebel "beetle, chafer," O.N. tordyfill "dung beetle"), cognate with Lith. vabalas "beetle," from PIE base *webh- "to weave," also "to move quickly" (see weave). The sense gradually narrowed to a particular kind of beetle that, in larval or adult stages, bores into plants, often destroying them.

weft --- O.E. weft, wefta, from wefan "to weave" (see weave).

wegotism --- 1797, from we + egotism; "an obtrusive and too frequent use of the first person plural by a speaker or writer" [OED].

Wehrmacht --- the armed forces of Germany, 1935, from Ger. Wehrmacht (name of the armed forces 1921-1945), from Wehr "defense" (see weir) + Macht "might" (see might (n.)).

weigh --- O.E. wegan "find the weight of, have weight, lift, carry," from P.Gmc. *weganan (cf. O.S. wegan, O.Fris. wega, Du. wegen "to weigh," O.N. vega, O.H.G. wegan "to move, carry, weigh," Ger. wiegen "to weigh"), from PIE *wegh- "to move" (cf. Skt. vahati "carries, conveys," vahitram "vessel, ship;" Avestan vazaiti "he leads, draws;" Gk. okhos "carriage;" L. vehere "to carry, convey;" O.C.S. vesti "to carry, convey;" Lith. vezu "to carry, convey;" O.Ir. fecht "campaign, journey"). The original sense was of motion, which led to that of lifting, then to that of "measure the weight of." The older sense of "lift, carry" survives in the nautical phrase weigh anchor. Fig. sense of "to consider, ponder" (in ref. to words, etc.) is recorded from 1340.

weight --- O.E. gewiht, from P.Gmc. *(ga)wekhtiz, *(ga)wekhtjan (cf. O.N. vætt, O.Fris. wicht, M.Du. gewicht, Ger. Gewicht), from *weg- (see weigh). The verb meaning "to load with weight" is attested from 1747; sense in statistics is recorded from 1901. To lose weight "get thinner" is recorded from 1961. Weight Watcher as a trademark name dates from 1960. To pull one's weight (1921) is from rowing. Weighty "important, serious, grave" is from 1489.

Weimar (adj.) --- in ref. to the pre-1933 democratic government of Germany, 1932, from name of city in Thuringia where Ger. constitution was drawn up in 1919. The place name is a compound of O.H.G. wih "holy" + mari "lake." Cf. also Weimaraner, dog breed, 1943, originally bred as a hunting dog in the Weimar region.

weir --- O.E. wer "dam, fence, enclosure," especially one for catching fish (related to werian "dam up"), from P.Gmc. *warjanan (cf. O.N. ver, O.Fris., M.Du. were, Du. weer, O.H.G. wari, Ger. Wehr "defense, protection," Goth. warjan "to defend, protect"), from PIE *wer- "to cover, shut" (cf. Skt. vatah "enclosure," vrnoti "covers, wraps, shuts;" Lith. uzveriu "to shut, to close;" O.Pers. *pari-varaka "protective;" L. (op)erire "to cover;" O.C.S. vora "sealed, closed," vreti "shut;" O.Ir. feronn "field," prop. "enclosed land").

weird --- O.E. wyrd "fate, destiny" (n.), lit. "that which comes," from P.Gmc. *wurthis (cf. O.S. wurd, O.H.G. wurt "fate," O.N. urðr "fate, one of the three Norns"), from PIE *wert- "to turn, wind," (cf. Ger. werden, O.E. weorðan "to become"), from base *wer- "to turn, bend" (see versus). For sense development from "turning" to "becoming," cf. phrase turn into "become." The modern sense of weird developed from M.E. use of weird sisters for the three fates or Norns (in Gmc. mythology), the goddesses who controlled human destiny. They were usually portrayed as odd or frightening in appearance, as in "Macbeth," which led to the adj. meaning "odd-looking, uncanny," first recorded 1815.

weirdo --- strange person, 1955, from weird. Cf. earlier Scot. weirdie (1894).

welch --- 1857, racing slang, "to refuse or avoid payment of money laid as a bet," probably a disparaging use of the national name Welsh.

welcome --- O.E. wilcuma, exclamation of kindly greeting, from earlier wilcuma (n.) "welcome guest," lit. "one whose coming is in accord with another's will," from willa "pleasure, desire, choice" (see will (v.)) + cuma "guest," related to cuman (see come). Cf. O.H.G. willicomo, M.Du. wellecome. Meaning "entertainment or public reception as a greeting" is recorded from 1530. You're welcome as a formulaic response to thank you is attested from 1907. Welcome mat first recorded 1951; welcome wagon is attested from 1961. The verb is O.E. wilcumian.

weld (n.) --- plant (Resedo luteola) producing yellow dye, c.1374, from O.E. *wealde, perhaps a variant of O.E. wald "forest" (cf. M.L.G. walde, M.Du. woude). Sp. gualda, Fr. gaude are Gmc. loan-words.

weld (v.) --- 1599, alteration of well (v.) "to boil, rise;" influenced by pp. form welled. The noun meaning "the joint formed by welding" is recorded from 1831.

welfare --- O.E. wel faran "condition of being or doing well," from wel (see well (adv.)) + faran "get along" (see fare (v.)). Cf. O.N. velferð. Meaning "social concern for the well-being of children, the unemployed, etc." is first attested 1904. Welfare state is recorded from 1941.

welkin --- sky (poetic), O.E. wolcen "cloud," from P.Gmc. *welk- (cf. O.S. wolkan, O.Fris. wolken, M.Du. wolke, Du. wolk, O.H.G. wolka, Ger. Wolke "cloud," from PIE *welgh- "wet" (cf. Lith. vilgyti "to moisten," O.C.S. viaga "moisture," Czech vlhky "damp").

well (adv.) --- in a satisfactory manner, O.E. wel, common Gmc. (cf. O.S. wela, O.N. vel, O.Fris. wel, Du. wel, O.H.G. wela, Ger. wohl, Goth. waila "well"), from PIE *wel-, *wol- (cf. Skt. prati varam "at will," O.C.S. vole "well," Welsh gwell "better," L. velle "to wish, will," O.E. willan "to wish;" see will (v.)). Also used as an interjection and an expression of surprise in O.E. Well-to-do "prosperous" is recorded from 1825.

well (n.) --- hole dug for water, spring of water, O.E. wielle (W.Saxon), welle (Anglian), from wiellan (see well (v.)).

well (v.) --- to spring, rise, gush, O.E. wiellan (Anglian wællan), causative of weallan "to boil, bubble up" (class VII strong verb; past tense weoll, pp. weallen), from P.Gmc. *wal-, *wel- "roll" (cf. O.S. wallan, O.N. vella, O.Fris. walla, O.H.G. wallan, Ger. wallen, Goth. wulan "to bubble, boil"), from PIE base *wel- "to turn, roll" (see vulva), on notion of "roiling or bubbling water."

well-adjusted --- 1735, in ref. to mechanisms, etc., from well (adv.) + pp. of adjust. In ref. to emotional balance, recorded from 1959.

wellaway --- c.1250, alteration (by infl. of Scand. forms) of O.E. wa la wa, lit. "woe, lo, woe!" from wa "woe" (see woe).

well-behaved --- 1598, from well (adv.) + pp. of behave.

well-being --- 1613, from well (adv.) + gerundive of be.

well-beloved --- c.1386, from well (adv.) + beloved.

well-done --- c.1200, "wise, prudent," from well (adv.) + pt. of do. Meaning "thoroughly cooked," in ref. to meat, is attested from 1747. Well done! as an exclamation of approval is recorded from c.1460.

well-earned --- 1730, from well (adv.) + pp. of earn.

well-endowed --- 1690, "with ample material endowments," from well (adv.) + pp. of endow. Sexual sense is attested from 1951.

well-heeled --- 1897, from well (adv.) + colloq. sense of heeled (see heel (n.)).

well-hung --- 1611, in male genital sense is from 1611, from well (adv.) + pp. of hang.

Wellington --- boot so called from 1817, for Arthur, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), who also in his lifetime had a style of coat, hat, and trousers named for him as well as a variety of apple and pine tree.

well-intentioned --- 1598, from well (adv.) + intentioned (see intend).

well-kept --- c.1400, from well (adv.) + pp. of keep.

well-known --- c.1470, from well (adv.) + pt. of know.

well-nigh --- O.E. wel neah, from well (adv.) + nigh.

well-off --- 1733, "comfortable," from well (adv.) + off. Meaning "prosperous, not poor" is recorded from 1849.

well-ordered --- 1606, from well (adv.) + pp. of order.

well-read --- 1596, from well (adv.) + pp. of read.

well-rounded --- 1796, from well (adv.) + pp. of round. Fig. sense is from mid-19c.

well-wisher --- 1590, from well (adv.) + agent noun from wish. Well-wishing is recorded from 1569.

Welsh --- O.E. Wilisc, Wylisc (W.Saxon), Welisc, Wælisc (Anglian and Kentish), from Wealh, Walh "Celt, Briton, Welshman, non-Germanic foreigner;" in Tolkien's definition, "common Gmc. name for a man of what we should call Celtic speech," but also applied to speakers of Latin, hence O.H.G. Walh, Walah "Celt, Roman, Gaulish," and O.N. Valir "Gauls, Frenchmen" (Dan. vælsk "Italian, French, southern"); from P.Gmc. *Walkhiskaz, from a Celtic name represented by L. Volcæ (Caesar) "ancient Celtic tribe in southern Gaul." The word survives in Wales, Cornwall, Walloon, walnut, and in surnames Walsh and Wallace. Borrowed in O.C.S. as vlachu, and applied to Romanians, hence Walachia. Among the English, Welsh was used disparagingly of inferior or substitute things, hence Welsh rabbit (1725), also perverted by folk-etymology as Welsh rarebit (1785).

welt (n.) --- c.1425, a shoemaker's term, perhaps related to M.E. welten "to overturn, roll over" (c.1300), from O.N. velta "to roll" (related to welter (v.)). Meaning "ridge on the skin from a wound" is first recorded 1800.

weltanschauung --- 1868, from Ger., from welt "world" + anschauung "perception" (related to Eng. show).

welter (v.) --- to roll or twist, c.1300, from M.Du. or M.L.G. welteren "to roll," from P.Gmc. *waltijanan (cf. O.E. wieltan, O.N. velta, O.H.G. walzan "to turn, revolve," Ger. wälzen "to roll," Goth. waltjan "to roll"), from PIE base *wel- "to turn, revolve" (see vulva). The noun meaning "confused mass" is first recorded 1851.

welterweight --- 1832, "heavyweight horseman," later "boxer or wrestler of a certain weight" (1896), from earlier welter "heavyweight horseman or boxer" (1804), possibly from welt (v.) "beat severely" (c.1400).

weltschmerz --- pessimism about life, 1875, from Ger. Weltschmerz, coined 1810 by Jean Paul Richter, from Welt "world" + Schmerz "pain." Popularized in Ger. by Heine.

wen --- O.E. wenn "a wen, wart," a W.Gmc. word (cf. M.L.G. wene, Du. wen, dial. Ger. Wenne) of uncertain origin.

Wenceslas --- masc. proper name, from M.L. Venceslaus (modern Czech Vaclav), from O.Czech Veceslavu, lit. "having greater glory," from Slavic *vetye- "greater" + *-slavu "fame, glory," from PIE *klou-, from base *kle- "to hear" (see listen).

wench --- c.1290 wenche "girl or young woman," shortened from wenchel "child" (12c.), from O.E. wencel, probably related to wancol "unsteady, fickle, weak," and cognate with O.N. vakr "child, weak person," O.H.G. wanchal "fickle." The word degenerated through being used in ref. to servant girls, and by 1362 was being used in a sense of "woman of loose morals, mistress." The verb meaning "to associate with common women" is from 1599.

Wend --- member of a Slavic people of eastern Germany, 1614 (implied in Wendish), from Ger. Wende, from O.H.G. Winida, related to O.E. Winedas "Wends," ult. from Celt. *vindo- "white."

wend --- to proceed on, O.E. wendan "to turn, go," from P.Gmc. *wandijanan (cf. O.S. wendian, O.N. venda, O.Fris. wenda, Du. wenden, Ger. wenden, Goth. wandjan "to turn"), causative of O.E. windan "to turn, twist" (see wind (v.)), from base *wand-, *wend- "turn." Surviving only in to wend one's way, and in hijacked past tense form went.

went --- past tense of go; originally past tense and pp. of wend. The original past tense forms of wend were wende, wended, but variants wente, went developed from c.1200 and began to replace older past tenses of go. By c.1500 they were fully employed in that function, and wend was given a new past tense form, wended.

were --- O.E. wæron (past plural indicative of wesan) and wære (second person singular past indicative); see was. The forms illustrate Verner's Law (named for Danish linguist Karl Verner, 1875), which predicts the "s" to "z" sound shift, and rhotacism, which changed "z" to "r." Wast (second person sing.) was formed 1500s on analogy of be/beest, displacing were. An intermediate form, wert, was used in literature 17c.-18c., before were reclaimed the job.

werewolf --- late O.E. werewulf "person with the power to turn into a wolf," from wer "man" + wulf (see wolf; also see here for a short discussion of the mythology). The first element probably is from PIE *uiHro "freeman" (cf. Skt. vira-, Lith. vyras, L. vir, O.Ir. fer, Goth. wair). Cf. M.Du. weerwolf, O.H.G. werwolf, Swed. varulf. In the ancient Persian calendar, the eighth month (October-November) was Varkazana-, lit. "(Month of the) Wolf-Men."

Wesleyan --- pertaining to Wesley, 1771, in ref. to John Wesley (1703-91), founder of Methodism. The surname is from various places in England named West Leigh (or some variant).

west --- O.E. west "in or toward the west," from P.Gmc. *wes-t- (cf. O.N. vestr, O.Fris., M.Du., Du. west, O.H.G. -west, only in compounds, Ger. west), from PIE *wes- (source of Gk. hesperos, L. vesper "evening, west"), perhaps an enlarged form of base *we- "to go down" (cf. Skt. avah "downward"), and thus lit. "direction in which the sun sets." Cf. also High Ger. dial. abend "west," lit. "evening." Fr. ouest, Sp. oeste are from Eng. West used in geopolitical sense from World War I (Britain, France, Italy, as opposed to Germany and Austria-Hungary); as contrast to Communist Russia (later to the Soviet bloc) it is first recorded in 1918. West Indies is recorded from 1555. The verb wester "to go west" is recorded from c.1374; westerly first recorded 1577 in both its (somewhat contradictory) senses of "coming from the west" and "facing toward the west."

western (adj.) --- toward or of the west, O.E. westerne (see west). The noun meaning "book or movie about the Old West" is first attested 1909.

wet (adj.) --- O.E. wæt "moist, liquid," from P.Gmc. *wætaz (cf. O.Fris. wet ). Also from the O.N. form, vatr. All related to water. The verb is O.E. wætan "to be wet." Wet blanket "person who has a dispiriting effect" is recorded from 1879, from use of blankets drenched in water to smother fires (the phrase is attested in this literal sense from 1662). All wet "in the wrong" is recorded from 1923, Amer.Eng.; earlier simply wet "ineffectual," and perhaps ult. from slang meaning "drunken" (c.1700). Wet-nurse is from 1620; wet dream is from 1851; wetback "illegal Mexican immigrant to the U.S." is attested from c.1924, from notion of wading the Rio Grande.

wether --- O.E. weðer "ram," from P.Gmc. *wethruz (cf. O.S. wethar, O.N. veðr, O.H.G. widar, Ger. Widder, Goth. wiþrus "lamb"), lit. "yearling," from PIE base *wet- "year" (cf. Skt. vatsah "calf," Gk. etalon "yearling," L. vitulus "calf," lit. "yearling"). Male sheep, especially a castrated one.

wetland --- 1743, from wet (adj.) + land (n.).

wh- --- respelling of O.E. hw- attested from 11c., but not the common form until after c.1400; also added to some borrowed words (whisk, whelk) and some native words formerly spelled with simple w- or h- (whole, whore). Proper pronunciation has been much in dispute in educated speech.

whack (v.) --- to strike sharply, 1719, probably of imitative origin. The noun is from 1737. The word in out of whack (1885) is perhaps the slang meaning "share, just portion" (1785), which may be from the notion of the blow that divides, or the rap of the auctioneer's hammer.

whale (n.) --- O.E. hwæl, from P.Gmc. *khwalaz (cf. O.S. hwal, O.N. hvalr, hvalfiskr, Swed. val, M.Du. wal, walvisc, Du. walvis, O.H.G. wal, Ger. Wal); probably cognate with L. squalus "a kind of large sea fish." Phrase whale of a "excellent or large example" is c.1900, student slang.

whale (v.) --- beat, whip severely, 1790, possibly a variant of wale (v.).

wham --- a heavy blow, 1923, of echoic origin.

whammo --- exclamation signifying violence or surprise, 1932, from wham (q.v.).

whammy --- often double whammy, "hex, evil eye," 1932, of unknown origin, popularized 1941 in Al Capp's comic strip "Li'l Abner."

wharf --- late O.E. hwearf "shore, bank where ships can tie up," earlier "dam, embankment," from P.Gmc. *khwarfaz (cf. M.L.G. werf "mole, dam, wharf," Ger. Werft "shipyard, dockyard"); related to O.E. hwearfian "to turn," perhaps in a sense implying "busy activity," from PIE base *kwerp- "to turn, revolve" (cf. O.N. hverfa "to turn round," Ger. werben "to enlist, solicit, court, woo," Goth. hvairban "to wander," Gk. kartos "wrist," Skt. surpam "winnowing fan"). Wharf rat "person who hangs around docks" is recorded from 1836.

wharfinger --- operator or manager of a wharf, 1552, from wharfage (1466), from wharf (q.v.) + agent noun suffix -er + intrusive -n- as in messenger.

what --- O.E. hwæt, from P.Gmc. *khwat (cf. O.S. hwat, O.N. hvat, Dan. hvad, O.Fris. hwet, Du. wat, O.H.G. hwaz, Ger. was, Goth. hva "what"), from PIE *qwod, neut. sing. of *qwos "who" (see who). Meaning "what did you say?" is recorded from c.1300; as an interrogative expletive at the end of sentences it is first recorded 1785, common early 20c. in affected British speech. Or what as an alternative end to a question is first attested 1766. "To give one what for is to respond to his remonstrant what for? by further assault" [Weekley]. The phrase is attested from 1873. What's-his-name for "unspecified person" is attested from 1697; variant whatsisface is first recorded 1967. What's up? "what is happening?" first recorded 1881.

whatchamacallit --- 1928, compressed form of phrase "what you may call it." Earliest recorded variant is what-calle-ye-hym, attested from c.1473.

whatever --- c.1300, from what + ever. Variant form whatsoever is attested somewhat earlier (c.1250).

whatnot --- 1540, "anything," from what + not. As the name of a furniture item, first attested 1808, so named for the objects it is meant to hold.

wheal --- mark made on the skin by a whip, 1808, probably an alteration of wale, possibly by confusion with weal "welt," and obsolete wheal "pimple, pustule" (1440), from O.E. verb hwelian "to form pus, bring to a head."

wheat --- O.E. hwæte "wheat," from P.Gmc. *khwaitijaz (cf. O.S. hweti, O.N. hveiti, Norw. kveite, O.Fris. hwete, M.Du., Du. weit, O.H.G. weizzi, Ger. Weizen, Goth. hvaiteis "wheat"), lit. "that which is white," from *khwitaz-, the source of O.E. hwit (see white; and cf. Welsh gwenith "wheat," related to gwenn "white"). The Old World grain was introduced into New Spain in 1528. Wheaties, the cereal brand name, was patented 1925.

wheatear --- type of bird, 1591, back-formation from white-ears, lit. "white-arse" (see white + arse). So called for its color markings; cf. Fr. name for the bird, cul-blanc, lit. "white rump."

wheedle --- to influence by flattery, 1661, perhaps connected with O.E. wædlian "to beg" (from wædl "poverty"), or borrowed by Eng. soldiers in the 17c. German wars from Ger. wedeln "wag the tail," hence "fawn, flatter" (cf. adulation).

wheel --- O.E. hweol, hweogol, from P.Gmc. *khwekhwlan, *khwegwlan (cf. O.N. hvel, O.Swed. hiughl, O.Fris. hwel, M.Du. weel), from PIE *k(w)e-k(w)lo- "wheel, circle" (cf. O.C.S. kolo "wheel"), a reduplicated form from base *k(w)el- "to go round" (see cycle). Figurative sense is early 14c. The verb meaning "to turn like a wheel" is attested from c.1225; trans. sense attested from c.1374. Slang wheels "a car" is recorded from 1959. Wheeler-dealer is from 1950s, a rhyming elaboration of dealer; wheelie is from 1966. Wheelchair first recorded c.1700.

wheelbarrow --- c.1340, from wheel + barrow (1).

wheeze (v.) --- c.1460, probably from a Scand. source (cf. O.N. hvoesa "to hiss," Dan. hvæse) cognate with O.E. hwæst "act of blowing," hwosan "to cough," from an imitative base. The noun is first recorded 1834.

whelk --- large marine snail, O.E. weoloc, wioloc, from P.Gmc. *weluka- (cf. M.Du. willoc, Du. wulk), perhaps from PIE base *wel- "to turn, revolve" (see vulva; cf. also volute). The spelling with wh- dates from 15c.

whelm --- c.1300, probably from a parallel form of O.E. -hwielfan (W.Saxon), -hwelfan (Mercian), in ahwelfan "cover over;" probably altered by association with O.E. helmian "to cover" (see helmet).

whelp (n.) --- O.E. hwelp "whelp, young of the dog," from a Gmc. root related to O.S. hwelp, O.N. hvelpr, Du. welp, Ger. hwelf; of unknown origin. Now largely displaced by puppy. Also applied to wild animals. Sense of "scamp" first recorded c.1330.

when --- O.E. hwænne, hwenne, hwonne, from Gmc. pronomial stem *khwa- (cf. O.S. hwan, O.Fris. hwenne, M.Du. wan, O.H.G. hwanne, Ger. wann "when"), from PIE interrogative base *qwo- (see who).

whenas --- 1423, from when + as.

whence --- c.1300, whennes, with adverbial genitive -s, from O.E. hwanone, related to hwænne (see when).

whenever --- c.1380, from when + ever.