English - Etymology
From Middle English welcome, wolcume, wulcume, wilcume, from Old English wilcuma ("one whose coming is pleasant, a welcome person or thing, a guest"; compare also wilcume (“welcome!”, interjection)), from Proto-Germanic *weljakwumô (“a comer, a welcomed guest”), equivalent to will (“desire”) + come (“comer, arrival”). Cognate with Scots walcome (“welcome”), West Frisian wolkom (“welcome”), Dutch welkom (“welcome”), German willkommen (“welcome”), Danish and Norwegian velkommen (“welcome”), Swedish välkommen (“welcome”), Icelandic velkomin (“welcome”).
Similar constructions are common in Romance languages, such as Italian benvenuto, Spanish bienvenido, French bienvenue and Portuguese bem-vindo, each meaning “[may you have fared] well [in] coming [here]”. These do not derive from Classic Latin, where a similar construction is not found, and presumably are instead the result of a calque from Germanic to Proto-Romance (Vulgar Latin).
English - Verb
welcome (third-person singular simple present welcomes, present participle welcoming, simple past and past participle welcomed)
- To affirm or greet the arrival of someone, especially by saying "Welcome!".
- To accept something willingly or gladly.
Translations
English - Adjective
welcome (comparative more welcome, superlative most welcome)
- Whose arrival is a cause of joy; received with gladness; admitted willingly to the house, entertainment, or company.
- Producing gladness.
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Free to have or enjoy gratuitously.
- 1915, George A. Birmingham, Gossamer, chapterI:
Translations
English - Noun
- The act of greeting someone’s arrival, especially by saying "Welcome!"; reception.
- The utterance of such a greeting.
- Kind reception of a guest or newcomer.