wellaway

[wel-uh-wey]

interjection Archaic.

(used to express sorrow.)

Also well·a·day

[wel-uh-dey] /ˈwɛl əˈdeɪ/.

Origin of wellaway

before 900; Middle English we(i)lawei, Old English weilāwei (wei < Scandinavian; compare Old Norse vei woe), replacing Old English wā lā wā woe! lo! woe!

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for wellaway

wellaway

interjection

archaic woe! alas!

Word Origin for wellaway

Old English, from wei lā wei, variant of wā lā wā, literally: woe! lo woe

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for wellaway

mid-13c., alteration (by influence of Scandinavian forms) of Old English wa la wa, literally "woe, lo, woe!" from wa "woe" (see woe).