Pronunciation: ['hwelm ] Listen

Definition: To overturn a concave object (boat, bowl, etc.) to cover something with it (= to whelve); to bury under earth, snow, or water; to engulf in a devastating manner, e.g. a flood, storm, avalanche.

Usage: If "overwork" derives from "work" and "overcharge," from "charge," where does "overwhelm" come from? It turns out, it was derived the same way; we have simply allowed the original verb to slip away from us. The spelling originally followed pronunciation, the "h" preceding the "w." This may become a moot point if the puff of air represented by "h" continues to disappear in words beginning on "wh," as it already has in the northeastern US.

Suggested Usage: Flowers planted in the fall may be protected by whelming a pot over each of them before the first snow. The wind whelmed the cabin in a deafening roar. The train was whelmed in a snow drift. Now, if we can overwhelm someone, why not "underwhelm" them, too: "I must say I was underwhelmed by Lionel's performance as CEO, to say the least."

Etymology: Old English *hwelman, probably a blend of helmen "to cover" (as in "helmet") and whelven "to cover" (Old English "hwelfan"). The stem goes back to PIE *kel-, the origin of "hell," "hole," and "holster," plus Latin clam (calam) "secretly" which gave us "clandestine" and Greek kleptein (kaleptein) "to conceal, steal" whence "kleptomaniac."