obs. imp. of Weld, to wield. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ 1913 Webster ]

1. That in which any person or thing welters, or wallows; filth; mire; slough. [ 1913 Webster ]

The foul welter of our so-called religious or other controversies. Carlyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A rising or falling, as of waves; as, the welter of the billows; the welter of a tempest. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Weltered p. pr. & vb. n. Weltering. ] [ Freq. of OE. walten to roll over, AS. wealtan; akin to LG. weltern, G. walzen to roll, to waltz, sich wälzen to welter, OHG. walzan to roll, Icel. velta, Dan. vælte, Sw. vältra, välta; cf. Goth. waltjan; probably akin to E. wallow, well, v. i. √146. See Well, v. i., and cf. Waltz. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To roll, as the body of an animal; to tumble about, especially in anything foul or defiling; to wallow. [ 1913 Webster ]

When we welter in pleasures and idleness, then we eat and drink with drunkards. Latimer. [ 1913 Webster ]

These wizards welter in wealth's waves. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

He must not float upon his watery bier
Unwept, and welter to the parching wind,
Without the meed of some melodious tear. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

The priests at the altar . . . weltering in their blood. Landor. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To rise and fall, as waves; to tumble over, as billows. “The weltering waves.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Waves that, hardly weltering, die away. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

Through this blindly weltering sea. Trench. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Cf. Wilt, v. i. ] To wither; to wilt. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Weltered hearts and blighted . . . memories. I. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Horse Racing) Of, pertaining to, or designating, the most heavily weighted race in a meeting; as, a welter race; the welter stakes. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. (Horse Racing) A weight of 28 pounds (one of 40 pounds is called a heavy welterweight) sometimes imposed in addition to weight for age, chiefly in steeplechases and hurdle races. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. A boxer or wrestler whose weight is intermediate between that of a lightweight and that of a middleweight. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]