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welly

American  
[wel-ee] / ˈwɛl i /
Also wellie

noun

Chiefly British Informal.

PLURAL

wellies
  1. Usually wellies. Wellington boot.


welly British  
/ ˈwɛlɪ /

noun

  1. Also called: welly bootinformal  a Wellington boot

  2. slang  energy, concentration, or commitment (esp in the phrase give it some welly )

"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

Etymology

Origin of welly

First recorded in 1960–65; Well(ington boot) ( def. ) + -y 2 ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Wellington, the world’s southernmost capital city, is also the world’s windiest city, by average windspeed, hence its nickname, Windy Welly.

From Los Angeles Times

Reece said: "Me being me and me being Scottish I am giving it welly every episode, every task, and I feel like if I was to do it again I would have stood back and let other people run."

From BBC

David Welly Sombra Rodrigues, a 35-year-old French teacher, loves to travel.

From New York Times

Written by poet George McEwan while working in a lemonade factory, The Welly Boot Song became Billy Connolly's theme song in the early 1970s.

From BBC

The Welly Boot Song was something we used to sing on the drive home amongst the hymns and other things.

From BBC