wield
[weeld]
- to exercise (power, authority, influence, etc.), as in ruling or dominating.
- to use (a weapon, instrument, etc.) effectively; handle or employ actively.
- Archaic. to guide or direct.
- Archaic. to govern; manage.
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Origin of wield
before 900; Middle English welden, Old English wieldan to control, derivative of wealdan to rule; cognate with German walten, Old Norse valda, Gothic waldan; akin to Latin valēre to be strong, prevail
Synonyms
See more synonyms for wield on Thesaurus.com1. exert, employ, utilize. 2. manipulate, control.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for wielded
Contemporary Examples
At its height in the 1920s, Terry noted, the Klan wielded real political influence, boasting a membership upwards of four million.
The Klan’s Call to Violence in Ferguson Blows the Lid Off Its Hypocritical RebrandCaitlin Dickson
November 14, 2014
They wielded baseball bats and knives, yelling “Jews, Jews, Jews” as they carried out the attacks.
The KGB wielded their secret power through five dark decades until the end of the Cold War in 1991.
He never abused his power, he says, and he wielded it not for personal gain but to help inmates.
Confessions of a Death Camp Collaborator: Claude Lanzmann’s ‘The Last of the Unjust’Jimmy So
February 7, 2014
Rubin and the Anti-Defamation League have wielded it against the Center for American Progress.
Historical Examples
His influence had thus far been wielded only to secure his own position.
Only imagine, then, what the weapon becomes when wielded by the really wicked.
One Of ThemCharles James Lever
Hugh wielded the scythe the whole of the harvest, and Margaret gathered to him.
David ElginbrodGeorge MacDonald
He received two hundred lashes with whips, wielded by two Lamas.
In the Forbidden LandArnold Henry Savage Landor
Natural affection was the sword, and God's the arm that wielded it.
HeartMartin Farquhar Tupper
wield
- to handle or use (a weapon, tool, etc)
- to exert or maintain (power or authority)
- obsolete to rule
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Word Origin
Old English wieldan, wealdan; related to Old Norse valda, Old Saxon waldan, German walten, Latin valēre to be strong
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for wielded
wield
v.
Old English weldan (Mercian), wieldan, wealdan (West Saxon) "to govern, possess, have control over" (class VII strong verb; past tense weold, past participle gewealden), merged with weak verb wyldan, both from Proto-Germanic *wal-t- (cf. Old Saxon and Gothic waldan, Old Frisian walda "to govern, rule," Old Norse valda "to rule, wield, to cause," Old High German waltan, German walten "to rule, govern").
The Germanic words probably are from PIE *waldh- (cf. Old Church Slavonic vlado "to rule," vlasti "power;" Lithuanian veldu "to rule, possess"), from root *wal- "to be strong, to rule" (see valiant).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper