welk
/wɛlk/verb, noun
welk is spelled W-E-L-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 97,057th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, welk means “to soak, steep” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in welk?
| Letters | 4: W-E-L-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 10 million words; the 97,057th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is welk?
Welk appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 97,057th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce welk?
- /wɛlk/
Welk has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What rhymes with welk?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as welk.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: lewk.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of welk
- welks present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- welking participle, present
- welked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does welk mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
obsoleteOf a plant: to wither, wilt, decay.
- 2
obsoleteTo diminish; to lose brightness, to wane.
- 3
to soak, steep.
- 4
to thrash, beat severely.
- 5
To contract; to shorten.
- 6
To form into wrinkles or ridges.
noun
- 1
Alternative form of whelk.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does welk come from?
From Middle English welken, probably from a continental Germanic language; compare Middle Dutch welken (Dutch welken) and Middle Low German welken. Cognate with German welken. Ultimately, from Proto-West Germanic *wilkijan (“to become soft”), from Proto-Germanic *welkaz (“soft, withered”), according to Kluge, related to *wulkną (“cloud”). Compare also Old English wealwian (“to fade, wither”), Old English wlacu (“tepid, lukewarm”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).