Etymology From Middle English walowen, walewen, walwen, welwen, from Old English wealwian (“to roll”), from Proto-West Germanic *walwōn, variant of *walwijan, from Proto-Germanic *walwijaną (“to roll”), from Proto-Indo-European *welw-, from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“to turn, wind, roll”). Cognate with Latin volvō (“roll, tumble”, verb).
1
To roll oneself about in something dirty, for example in mud.
Pigs wallow in the mud.
O be thou my Charon, / And giue me ſwift tranſportance to theſe fieldes, / VVhere I may wallow in the lilly beds, / Propoſ'd for the deſeruer.c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Famous Historie of Troylus and Cresseid. […] (First Quarto), London: […] G[eorge] Eld for R[ichard] Bonian and H[enry] Walley, […], published 1609, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
2 more examples
Make ye him drunken: for hee magnified himselfe against the Lord: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shalbe in derision.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Jeremiah 48:26:
When Manſoul trampled upon things Divine, / And wallowed in filth as doth a ſwine:1682, John Bunyan, “To the Reader”, in The Holy War, Made by Shaddai upon Diabolus, for the Regaining of the Metropolis of the World. […], London: […] Dorman Newman […]; and Benjamin Alsop […], →OCLC:
2
To move lazily or heavily in any medium.
The fire was thrown to a great height; the fountains and jets all wallowed together; new ones appeared, and danced joyously round the margin, then converging towards the centre they merged into one glowing mass, which upheaved itself pyramidally and disappeared with a vast plunge.1875, Isabella L. Bird, The Hawaiian Archipelago:
“A Hot Steam’s somebody who can’t get to heaven, just wallows around on lonesome roads an‘ if you walk through him, when you die you’ll be one too, an’ you’ll go around at night suckin‘ people’s breath-”1960 July 11, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC:
1 more example
Amongst the cruisers, it's not such good news. New Orleans is sunk; Wichita is wallowing and desperately in need of assistance, which two destroyers are providing; meanwhile, Biloxi and Vincennes are both in the process of going down and being abandoned, whilst Miami is right on the knife-edge of being recoverable, with three destroyers clustering around offering pumping and additional damage-control crews to try and keep the light cruiser afloat.2021 May 5, Drachinifel, 43:29 from the start, in Battle of Samar - What if TF34 was there?, archived from the original on 19 Aug 2022:
3
Figuratively To immerse oneself in, to occupy oneself with, metaphorically.
She wallowed in her misery.
If there be any lazy Fellow, any that cannot away with Work, any that would wallow in Pleaſures, he is haſty to be prieſted. And, when he is made one, and hath gotten a Benefice, he conſorts with his Neighbour Prieſts, who are altogether given to Pleaſures; and then both he, and they, live, not like Chriſtians, but like Epicures; drinking, eating, feaſting, and revelling, till the Cow come Home, as the saying is; [...]1610, Alexander Cooke, “Pope Joane”, in William Oldys, editor, The Harleian Miscellany: […], volume IV, London: T[homas] Osborne, […], published 1745, →OCLC, page 125:
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With the help of a sleepy waiter, Little Billee got the bacchanalian into his room and lit his candle for him, and, disengaging himself from his maudlin embraces, left him to wallow in solitude.1894, George du Maurier, “Part Third”, in Trilby: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, →OCLC, page 165:
Regret is an appalling waste of energy, and no one who intends to be a writer can afford to indulge in it. You can't get it into shape; you can't build on it; it's only good for wallowing in.1918 February (date written), Katherine Mansfield [pseudonym; Kathleen Mansfield Murry], “Je ne parle pas français”, in Bliss and Other Stories, London: Constable & Company, published 1920, →OCLC, page 78:
There the North British, having apparently decided that we had sufficiently wallowed in luxury, turned us out and loaded us into ancient four-wheelers, which were then attached to the rear of the night express (8.15 from Kings Cross).1957 July 23, M. D. Greville, “A Diamond Jubilee of Railway Memories”, in Railway Magazine, page 459:
With Smithers out of the picture I was free to wallow in my own crapulence.1995, The Simpsons Season 7 Episode 1, Who Shot Mr. Burns?, written by Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein
4
To live or exist in filth or in a sickening manner.
God sees a man wallowing in his native impurity.1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:
The floors are at times inches deep with dirt and scraps of clothing. The whole place wallows with putrefaction. In some of the rooms it would seem that there had not been a breath of fresh air for five years.1895, The Review of Reviews, volume 11, page 215:
Etymology From Middle English walowen, walewen, walwen, welwen, from Old English wealwian (“to roll”), from Proto-West Germanic *walwōn, variant of *walwijan, from Proto-Germanic *walwijaną (“to roll”), from Proto-Indo-European *welw-, from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“to turn, wind, roll”). Cognate with Latin volvō (“roll, tumble”, verb).
1
An instance of wallowing.
2
A pool of water or mud in which animals wallow, or the depression left by them in the ground.
However, we have no time to linger, and picking our way among the countless buffalo wallows which indent the level surface of the summit, the wagon, […]1901, George Bird Grinnell, Theodore Roosevelt, editors, American Big-Game Hunting:
Soon, the incessant wind would dry the stenchy wallow to corduroyed cement.2003, Suzann Ledbetter, A Lady Never Trifles with Thieves:
Etymology From Middle English walwe, walh, from Old English wealg, from Proto-West Germanic *walg, from Proto-Germanic *walgaz. Cognate with Dutch walg (“disgust”), dialectal Norwegian valg (“tasteless”). Doublet of waugh.
Etymology From Middle English walwen, from Old English wealwian (“to fade, wither”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps an alteration of Old English fealwian (“to grow pale, turn yellow, ripen, wither”). Alternatively, perhaps related to Middle English welken (“to fade, droop, wither”), modern English welk.
1
UK, Dialectal, Of plants To fade, fade away, wither, droop; fail to flourish.