welkin
wel·kin/ˈwɛlkən/noun
welkin is spelled W-E-L-K-I-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables (wel·kin). It appears about once in every 16 million words in written English, the 121,279th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, welkin means “The sky which appears to an observer on the Earth as a dome in which celestial bodies are visible; the firmament” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of welkin is welkins.
How many letters and syllables are in welkin?
| Letters | 6: W-E-L-K-I-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: wel·kin |
| In writing | about once in every 16 million words; the 121,279th 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; 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 welkin?
Welkin appears about once in every 16 million words in written English, the 121,279th 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 welkin?
- UK /ˈwɛlkɪn/
- US /ˈwɛlkən/
Welkin has 2 syllables, split wel·kin in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-welkin.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with welkin?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as welkin (/ɛlkən/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: winkle.
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 welkin
- welkins plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does welkin mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The sky which appears to an observer on the Earth as a dome in which celestial bodies are visible; the firmament.
- 2
The upper atmosphere occupied by clouds, flying birds, etc.
- 3
The place above the Earth where God or other deities live; heaven.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Welkin in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense sky which appears to an observer on the Earth as a dome in which celestial bodie:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ouelquin, voûte céleste |
| German | Firmament, Himmel, Himmelszelt |
| Spanish | bóveda celeste, firmamento |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does welkin come from?
Inherited from Middle English welkne (“weather; heavens; (earlier) cloud”), from Old English wolcnu (“sky, heavens”), plural form of wolcn (“cloud”), from Proto-West Germanic *wolkn (“cloud”), from Proto-Germanic *wulkną (“cloud”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥ɡ-no-m, from *welg- (“damp; wet”). Cognate with Dutch wolk (“cloud”), German Wolke (“cloud”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).