welt
nounEtymology First use appears c. 1425, a shoemaker's term. Perhaps related to Middle English welten (“to overturn, roll over”), from Old Norse velta (“to roll”). Meaning "ridge on the skin from a wound" first recorded 1800.
8 senses
- 1A ridge or lump on the skin, as caused by a blow.
- 2A strip, especially one around the edge of something…
- 3A strip of leather set into the seam between the outsole…
- 4A strip of material or covered cord applied to a seam or…
- 5In steam boilers and sheet-iron work, a strip riveted…
- 6In carpentry, a strip of wood fastened over a flush seam…
- 7In machine-made stockings, a strip, or flap, of which…
- 8A shoe made with a welt (strip of leather set into the seam).
A ridge or lump on the skin, as caused by a blow.
- When she saw, on the back and shoulders of the child, great welts and calloused spots, ineffaceable marks of the system under which she had grown up thus far, her heart became pitiful within her.1851 June – 1852 April, Harriet Beecher Stowe, chapter XX, in Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life among the Lowly, volume II, Boston, Mass.: John P[unchard] Jewett & Company; Cleveland, Oh.: Jewett, Proctor & Worthington, published 20 March 1852, →OCLC:
- […] I am sure of one thing,—scars are plenty enough in Germany, among the young men; and very grim ones they are, too. They criss-cross the face in angry red welts, and are permanent and ineffaceable.1880, Mark Twain [pseudonym] (Samuel L[anghorne] Clemens), chapter VII, in A Tramp Abroad; […], Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company; London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, pages 64–65:
1 more example
- She was nearly four feet long, with a large welt on her shell, which was encrusted with ancient-looking barnacles.2014, Elizabeth Kolbert, chapter 7, in The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, Henry Holt and Company:
A strip, especially one around the edge of something (for example, in some old heraldry).
- … round about a border of Purple Veluet, with Floure de luces of Gold, embrodred to the full, with a welt and bordure of Ermines foure fingers broad. / Vpon the last named cloath or Couerlet of St / …1623, André Favyn, The theater of honour and knight-hood […], book 10
- Therefore this may be taken for an Observation, that an edg, or hem, or welt, only runs on the sides of the Ordinary; but the Border invirons, or goeth clear round the same, […]1688, Randle Holme, The academy of armory, book 1, chapter IV, "Of the Bend divers ways"
1 more example
- “The neighborhood is officially called Mid-City, but it is often referred to as Crenshaw. The area is wide and bright, a grid of small streets crisscrossed with boulevards and the welt of the I-10 freeway running along its southern edge.”2018, Susan Orlean, chapter 6, in The Library Book:
A strip of leather set into the seam between the outsole of a shoe and the upper, through which these parts are joined by stitching or stapling.
A strip of material or covered cord applied to a seam or garment edge to strengthen or cover it.
- [The] Mantle of this Order was of Skie-coloured Damask, having broad welt of Gold embroidered on the Collar, and [...]1672, Elias Ashmole, The institution, laws & ceremonies of the most noble Order of the Garter, chapter III, section 1:
- […] surmounted of another Azure: but in my Judgment, it rather represents a Hem, or Welt of a Belt, or an Edg of Silver, than two Belts one upon another; which the Bend properly signifie […]1688, Randle Holme, The academy of armory, book 1, chapter IV, "Of the Bend divers ways"
In steam boilers and sheet-iron work, a strip riveted upon the edges of plates that form a butt joint.
In carpentry, a strip of wood fastened over a flush seam or joint, or an angle, to strengthen it.
In machine-made stockings, a strip, or flap, of which the heel is formed.
Obsolete A shoe made with a welt (strip of leather set into the seam).
- Previous to the fifties, most of the shoes made were welts, or spring heels, and later most of the work changed to turns or "runrounds" as they were called.1912, The Register of the Lynn Historical Society:
- Nathan D. Chase, a well-to-do boss who accumulated enough wealth to retire in 1850 at middle age, observed that the prices for making shoes remained low from 1837 to 1842: 4 cents for red-bottomed cacks, 8 cents for women's turned slippers, 10 cents for thick-heeled runrounds, 12 cents for set heels, 20 cents for welts.1981, Paul Gustaf Faler, Mechanics and Manufacturers in the Early Industrial Revolution, page 91:
- Derived terms
- Goodyear welt, without welt or guard