Wald
Origin 1
Alternative forms
- wauld Scotland
From Middle English walden, from Old English wealdan ("to rule, control, determine, direct, command, govern, possess, wield, exercise, cause, bring about"), from Proto-Germanic *waldanÄ… ("to rix, reign"), from Proto-Indo-European *waldÊ°- ("to be strong, be powerful, prevail, possess"). Cognate with German walten ("to prevail, reign, dominate"), Danish volde ("to cause"), Icelandic valda ("to cause"), Lithuanian valda ("land property"), Lithuanian valdyti ("to rule").
Origin 2
From Middle English wald, iwald, from Old English ġeweald ("might, power, possession, control, command, dominion, bridle, protection, subjection, groin, pudenda"), from Proto-Germanic *waldą ("might, power, main"), from Proto-Indo-European *waldʰ- ("to be strong, be powerful, prevail, possess"). Cognate with German Gewalt ("force, power, control, violence"), Swedish våld ("force, violence").
Related terms
Origin 3
From Middle English wald (""), from Old English weald ("high land covered with wood, woods, forest"), from Proto-Germanic *walþuz, whence also Old High German wald (German Wald) and Old Norse vǫllr (Faroese vøllur, Norwegian voll, Icelandic völlur).
Noun
wald
(plural walds)- Forest; woods.
- 1812, Walter Scott, Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border Chapter , … we still recognize the ancient traditions of the Goths, concerning the wald-elven,…
- 1853, Robert Simpson, History of Sanquhar Chapter , the romantic pass of the "wald path," along which runs a spur of an old Roman road
- 1857, George Bradshaw, Bradshaw's illustrated hand-book to Switzerland and the Tyrol Chapter , MARDEN and STAPLEHURST—All this part of the line, through the Weald of Kent, i.e., the wald or forest, which still prevails here.