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Added 9 October 2026

wield

/wiːld/ verb

verb Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about wield at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Have and exercise.
wield power and authority
Handle effectively.
The burglar wielded an axe

Origin

From Middle English welden, from the merger of Old English wealdan (“to control, rule”) (strong class 7) and Old English wieldan (“to control, subdue”) (weak). Both verbs derive from Proto-West Germanic *waldan and *waldijan, respectively; and are ultimately from Proto-Germanic *waldaną (“to rule”). The reason for the merger was that in Middle English the -d in the stem made it hard to distinguish between strong and weak forms in the past tense.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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