dwell
- to live or stay as a permanent resident; reside.
- to live or continue in a given condition or state: to dwell in happiness.
- to linger over, emphasize, or ponder in thought, speech, or writing (often followed by on or upon): to dwell on a particular point in an argument.
- (of a moving tool or machine part) to be motionless for a certain interval during operation.
- Machinery.
- a flat or cylindrical area on a cam for maintaining a follower in a certain position during part of a cycle.
- a period in a cycle in the operation of a machine or engine during which a given part remains motionless.
Origin of dwell
Examples from the Web for dwell
Contemporary Examples
It creates a cynicism in us that is not the most noble of things to dwell upon.
The portraits show the wide range of people that dwell within the culture.
To dwell on that for a moment is to get a sharp taste of the overarching issue that Liberty Ridge raises for us.
I do not like this sense of God, this nothingness in which I now dwell.
There was nothing to dwell on because there would be countless more brunches and breakfasts, lunches and dinners.
Historical Examples
It is not necessary to dwell on every incident of this terrible journey.
Explorations in AustraliaJohn Forrest
Never, while she lived, would she dwell beneath John Lambert's roof again.
MalboneThomas Wentworth Higginson
Would that I could dwell always in these momentary gleams of light!
The Christmas Banquet (From "Mosses From An Old Manse")Nathaniel Hawthorne
The unity of all who dwell in freedom is their only sure defense.
I dwell on the subject only because of its bearing on the love of God.
The Conquest of FearBasil King
dwell
- formal, literary to live as a permanent resident
- to live (in a specified state)to dwell in poverty
- a regular pause in the operation of a machine
- a flat or constant-radius portion on a linear or rotary cam enabling the cam follower to remain static for a brief time
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for dwell
v.
Old English dwellan "to mislead, deceive," originally "to make a fool of, lead astray," from Proto-Germanic *dwaljanan (cf. Old Norse dvöl "delay," dvali "sleep;" Middle Dutch dwellen "to stun, make giddy, perplex;" Old High German twellen "to hinder, delay;" Danish dvale "trance, stupor," dvaelbær "narcotic berry," source of Middle English dwale "nightshade"), from PIE *dhwel-, from root *dheu- (1) "dust, cloud, vapor, smoke" (and related notions of "defective perception or wits").
Related to Old English gedweola "error, heresy, madness." Sense shifted in Middle English through "hinder, delay," to "linger" (c.1200, as still in phrase to dwell upon), to "make a home" (mid-13c.). Related: Dwelled; dwelt; dwells.