Welter means to writhe, toss, wallow, become deeply involved, or to be in turmoil.
Welter means to writhe, toss, wallow, become deeply involved, or to be in turmoil.
| Front | welter \WEL-ter\ |
|---|---|
| Back | verb 1. Writhe, toss; also: wallow. 2. To become deeply sunk, soaked, or involved. 3. To be in turmoil. ["Welter" can be used both as a noun (meaning "turmoil" or "chaos") and a verb. Which part of speech is older? The verb. It has been part of English since at least the 1300s, while the earliest uses of the noun date from the late 1590s. Both noun and verb have roots related to Dutch and Germanic terms meaning "to roll," and both have found a place in English literature. The verb helps demonstrate extreme despair in the early Arthurian legend Morte Arthure ("He welterys, he wristeles, he wrynges hys handes!"), and in 1837 Thomas Carlyle used the noun in The French Revolution ("I leave the whole business in a frightful welter: ...not one of them understands anything of government").] “For one reason or another I’ve found myself involved in several different operations lately in a positive welter of activity, disturbing me from my semi-retired torpor.” - Richard Vaughan-Davies; Tangle of Red Tape Strangling Enterprise; Daily Post (Liverpool, UK); May 9, 2007. |
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