Wield

Pronunciation

• enPR: wÄ“ld, IPA: /wiːld/
• Homophones: wheeled (in accents with the wine-whine merger)

Origin

From Old English wieldan ("to control"), a derivative of wealdan "to govern", from *walt-. Cognate with German walten, Swedish vålla. Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian ul ("to put down, lower, abate, submit").

Full definition of wield

Verb

1. (obsolete) To command, rule over; to possess or own.
• 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book V:There was never kyng sauff myselff that welded evir such knyghtes.
2. (obsolete) To control, to guide or manage.
• 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, V.10:With such his chearefull speaches he doth wield
  Her mind so well, that to his will she bends ….
3. To handle with skill and ease, especially of a weapon or tool.
4. To exercise (authority or influence) effectively.

Anagrams

• Wilde
• wiled