whelm

• POS: Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

whelm, v. t. [OE. whelmen to turn over, akin to OE. whelven, AS. whelfan, hwylfan, in whylfan, whelfan, to overwhelm, cover over; akin to OS. bihwelbian, D. welven to arch, G. wölben, OHG. welben, Icel. hvelfa to overturn; cf. Gr. bosom, a hollow, a gulf.].

•  To cover with water or other fluid; to cover by immersion in something that envelops on all sides; to overwhelm; to ingulf.  [1913 Webster]

  "She is my prize, or ocean whelm them all!"  [1913 Webster]

  "The whelming billow and the faithless oar."  [1913 Webster]
•  Fig.: To cover completely, as if with water; to immerse; to overcome; as, to whelm one in sorrows.  J. H. Newman.  [1913 Webster]
•  To throw (something) over a thing so as to cover it.  Mortimer.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

whelm, v.tr. poet.
1 engulf, submerge.
2 crush with weight, overwhelm.

Etymology

OE hwelman (unrecorded) = hwylfan overturn

THESAURUS

whelm

baptize, be prodigal with, blank, bulldoze, bury, cascade, cataract, clobber, cream, defeat utterly, deluge, dip, douse, drown, duck, dunk, engulf, float, flood, flood the market, flow on, immerge, immerse, inundate, knock over, merge, overbear, overbrim, overcome, overdose, overequip, overflow, overfurnish, overlavish, overpower, overprovender, overprovide, overprovision, overrun, oversell, overstock, oversupply, overwhelm, paste, plunge in water, pour on, pour out, pour over, prostrate, rain, run over, schmear, shellac, shut out, sink, skunk, slop, slosh, sluice, smear, snow under, souse, spill, spill out, spill over, steamroller, submerge, submerse, swamp, sweep, whitewash, whomp, whop

ROGET THESAURUS

whelm

Redundancy

VB superabound, overabound, know no bounds, swarm, meet one at every turn, creep with, crawl with, bristle with, overflow, run over, flow over, well over, brim over, run riot, overrun, overstock, overlay, overcharge, overdose, overfeed, overburden, overload, overdo, overwhelm, overshoot the mark, surcharge, supersaturate, gorge, glut, load, drench, whelm, inundate, deluge, flood, drug, drug the market, hepatize, choke, cloy, accloy, suffocate, pile up, lay on thick, impregnate with, lavish, send coals to Newcastle, carry coals to Newcastle, carry owls to Athens, teach one's grandmother to suck eggs, pisces natare docere, kill the slain, gild refined gold, gild the lily, butter one's bread on both sides, put butter upon bacon, employ a steam engine to crack a nut, exaggerate, wallow in roll in, remain on one's hands, hang heavy on hand, go a begging.