welcome

English

/ˈwɛlkəm/

adj
Definitions
  • Whose arrival is a cause of joy; received with gladness; admitted willingly to the house, entertainment, or company.
  • Producing gladness.
  • Free to have or enjoy gratuitously.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English welcome inherited from Old English wilcuma inherited from Proto-Germanic *wiljakumô (welcome, a comer, a welcomed guest, a wished-for guest) compound from English will (desire, wild, wandering, lost in error, stray) + English come (comer, arrival).

Origin

English

come

Gloss

comer, arrival

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms