welk
To wilt or wither. Old dialect form of the droop word.
Also called wilt.
Updated September 24, 2026
welk pronunciation
/WELK/
Meaning
What flowers and garden greens do in hard heat when they go limp. Same idea as wilt. Older country talk kept welk for plants fading, hay drying, and anything losing its freshness. You might still hear somebody say the lettuce welked in the sun. Not the sea snail, and not a welt on your arm.
How folks use it
- “Them tomato plants will welk if you leave 'em in that truck bed.”
- “The cut flowers welked before we got 'em in water.”
Origin and etymology
Middle English welken meant to wither or fade. Modern wilt is a later twist on that older welk / wilk form. Dictionaries mark welk as obsolete except in dialect. Rural speech held onto it longer than city English did.
Frequently asked questions
Is welk the same as wilt?
Yes for plants. Wilt is the everyday modern word. Welk is the older dialect form that wilt grew out of.