wield

[weeld]

verb (used with object)

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.

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

Related formswield·a·ble, adjectivewield·er, nounun·wield·a·ble, adjective

Can be confusedweald wield

Synonyms for wield

1. exert, employ, utilize. 2. manipulate, control.

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

Examples from the Web for wielder

Historical Examples of wielder

Thor was the wielder of the mighty hammer, made for him by the dwarfs.
Richard Wagner His Life and His Dramas
W. J. Henderson
Here again the woman is the wielder of the power, and not the man.
Iconoclasts
James Huneker
Finally those on the edge of the multitude discovered the wielder of the ax.
West Wind Drift
George Barr McCutcheon
He had seen what execution its wielder could do, wherefore he pulled up sharp.
Harley Greenoak's Charge
Bertram Mitford
But the wrist of its wielder was grasped with a grip as of iron.
The White Hand and the Black
Bertram Mitford

British Dictionary definitions for wielder

wield

verb (tr)

to handle or use (a weapon, tool, etc)

to exert or maintain (power or authority)

obsolete to rule

Derived Formswieldable, adjectivewielder, noun

Word Origin for wield

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for wielder

wield

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).