| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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Appendix I
Indo-European Roots |
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| ENTRY: | wel - |
| DEFINITION: | To strike, wound. Oldest form *wel2-. 1. Suffixed o-grade form *wol()-o-. a. Valhalla, from Old Norse Valhöll, Valhalla; b. Valkyrie, from Old Norse Valkyrja, “chooser of the slain,” name of one of the twelve war goddesses (-kyrja, chooser; see geus-). Both a and b from Old Norse valr, the slain in battle, from Germanic *walaz. 2. Suffixed basic form *wel-nes-. vulnerable, from Latin vulnus (stem vulner-), a wound. 3. Suffixed zero-grade form *w -to-. berdache, from Old Iranian *varta- (Avestan varta-), seized, prisoner. (In Pokorny 8.  el- 1144.) |
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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