well

Examples: "I can see the well from here." "That well belongs to me." "The well is very important."

Middle English {it}welle, wille{/it} "spring of water, pool formed by a spring, pit sunk into the earth to reach water," going back to Old English {it}wælle{/it} (Anglian), {it}wiell, wielle{/it} (West Saxon, later {it}wille, wylle{/it}), going back to a Germanic base {it}*waln(j)-{/it} (also {it}*walj-{/it}?) with varying stem formations (whence also Old Frisian {it}walla{/it} "spring, source," Middle Dutch {it}wal, walle{/it} "a seething, boiling heat, spring or river of seething water") and with e-grade ablaut Old High German {it}wella{/it} "wave, tide," Old Icelandic {it}vella{/it} "boiling, bubbling mass," all nominal derivatives from the base of Germanic {it}*walla-{/it} "to well up, seethe, bubble" {ma}{mat|well:2|}{/ma}