# dwell

> English word · Noun · IPA /dwɛl/ · frequency rank #13,505

## Definitions
1. A period of time in which a system or component remains in a given state.
2. A brief pause in the motion of part of a mechanism to allow an operation to be completed.
3. A planned delay in a timed control program.
4. In a petrol engine, the period of time the ignition points are closed to let current flow through the ignition coil in between each spark. This is measured as an angle in degrees around the camshaft in the distributor which controls the points, for example in a 4-cylinder engine it might be 55° (spark at 90° intervals, points closed for 55° between each).

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *dʰwel-der.
Proto-Germanic *dwalaz
Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
Proto-Germanic *-janą
Proto-Germanic *dwaljaną
Proto-West Germanic *dwalljan
Old English dwellan
▲
Old Norse dveljainflu.
Middle English dwellen
English dwell
From Middle English dwellen (“delay, live, remain, persist”), from Old English dwellan (“to mislead, deceive; be led into error, stray”), from Proto-Germanic *dwaljaną (“to hold up, delay; hesitate”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰwelH- (“to whirl, swirl, blur, obfuscate”), which is cognate with Old Norse dvelja and related to Proto-Germanic *dwelaną (“to go astray”), which underwent semantic change in its descendants. Cognates include Danish dvæle (“to linger, dwell”) and Swedish dväljas (“to dwell, reside”).

## Easily confused with
- **dwelt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dwell-vs-dwelt)
- **dwells** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dwell-vs-dwells)
- **dweller** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dwell-vs-dweller)
- **del** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/del-vs-dwell)
- **deal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deal-vs-dwell)
- **doll** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/doll-vs-dwell)
- **dull** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dull-vs-dwell)
- **dell** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dell-vs-dwell)
- **duel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duel-vs-dwell)
- **deli** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deli-vs-dwell)
- **dill** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dill-vs-dwell)
- **drill** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/drill-vs-dwell)
- **Della** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/della-vs-dwell)
- **Delle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/delle-vs-dwell)
- **droll** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/droll-vs-dwell)

## Common misspellings (6)
`ddwell`, `dewll`, `dwel`, `dwlel`, `dwwell`, `wdell`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/dwell