welcome
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welcome¹
- /ˈwɛl.kəm/ Canada, US, UK
Rhymes with -ɛlkəm
Where it comes from
From Middle English welcome, wolcume, wulcume, wilcume, from Old English wilcuma (“a wished-for guest”; compare also wilcume (“welcome!”, interjection)), from Proto-West Germanic *willjakwemō, from Proto-Germanic *wiljakwemô (“a wished-for arrival or guest”), possibly from *wiljakwemaną (“to be welcome”), equivalent to will (“desire”) + come (“comer, arrival”). The component wil- was replaced by wel- when the sense “guest” of the second component was no longer understood, likely under influence from the adverb well.
Cognates
Cognate with Scots walcome, Yola welcome, welkome, North Frisian welkimen, Saterland Frisian wilkemen, wäilkeemen, wülkemen, West Frisian wolkom, Alemannic German wol chomne, wolgcheemen, woul chemne, wéllkòmm, Cimbrian bóolkhèmm, Dutch welkom (earlier willecome), German willkommen, German Low German willkamen, Limburgish welkom, wéllekemm, Luxembourgish wëllkomm, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål velkommen, Elfdalian welkumin, Faroese vælkomin, Icelandic velkominn, Norwegian Nynorsk velkomen, Swedish välkommen, and Old French wilecome (whence Middle French willecomme (“welcome”)), from Germanic.
The verb is from Middle English welcomen, wolcumen, wilcumen, from Old English wellcumian, wylcumian, wilcumian (“to welcome, receive gladly”).
Similar constructions are found in Modern Greek καλώς ορίσατε (kalós orísate), South Slavic languages, such as Bulgarian добре́ дошъ́л (dobré došắl), Serbo-Croatian dobrodošao,
and also in Romance languages, such as Italian benvenuto, Spanish bienvenido, French bienvenu, Catalan benvingut, Portuguese bem-vindo and Romanian bun venit, meaning “[may you have fared] well [in] coming [here]”. These Romance terms do not derive from a Classical Latin root, as no similar construction in Latin is found to exist, but are instead presumed (considering the ruling elite of the Germanic kingdoms which succeeded the Western Roman Empire) to be the result of a calque from a Germanic language into Proto-Romance (Vulgar Latin; see Latin *bene venūtus, and compare perdōnō and compāniō for similar historical calques).
adjective welcomer · welcomest · welcum
-
Whose arrival is a cause of joy; received with gladness; admitted willingly to the house, entertainment, or company.
a welcome visitor
Opposite: non grata
- Producing gladness. a welcome turn of events; welcome news
- Followed by to: free to have or enjoy gratuitously. You are welcome to the use of my library.
interjection welcum
- Greeting given upon someone's arrival. Welcome to the life of Electra Heart!
- Ellipsis of you're welcome
noun welcomes · welcum
- 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. We entered the house and found a ready welcome.
- The state of being a welcome guest; a feeling of one's presence and comfort being desired. The townspeople crossed freely from bank to bank, and it stayed that way until breakup in March or April or, in years when winter outstayed its welcome, maybe even May.
verb welcomes · welcoming · welcomed · welcum
- To affirm or greet the arrival of someone, especially by saying "Welcome!". But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud,[…]. By the time we reached the house we were thanking our stars she had come. Mrs. Cooke came out from under the port-cochere to welcome her.
- To accept something willingly or gladly. We welcome suggestions for improvement.
Welcome²
proper noun Welcomes
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: wanted, invited, receive, greet, salutation, greeting, compliment, applaud, commend, praise, laud, appreciated, appreciative, grateful, appreciate, praiseworthy
Translations
Every language
adj whose arrival is a cause of joy
| Español | bienvenido, agradable |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 歓迎すべき kangei subeki |
| Português | bem-vindo |
| Français | bienvenu |
| Deutsch | willkommen |
| Italiano | benvenuto |
| Ελληνικά | ευπρόσδεκτος efprósdektos |
| Română | binevenit |
| Русский | жела́нный želánnyj |
| Tiếng Việt | được hoan nghênh |
| עברית | ברוך הבא |
adj producing gladness
| Español | grato |
|---|
adj free to have or enjoy gratuitously
| Italiano | libero |
|---|
intj greeting given upon someone's arrival
| Español | ¡bienvenido!, ¡bienvenida!, bienvenidos |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 잘 오셨습니다 jal osyeotseumnida, 환영합니다 hwanyeonghamnida, 어서 오세요 eoseo oseyo, 어서 오십시오 eoseo osipsio |
| 日本語 | ようこそ yōkoso, いらっしゃいませ irasshaimase, いらっしゃい irasshai |
| 中文 | 歡迎光臨 /欢迎光临 huānyíng guānglín, 歡迎 /欢迎 huānyíng |
| हिन्दी | स्वागतम svāgtam, स्वागत है svāgat hai, स्वागत svāgat, पधारो padhāro, अभ्यर्थना abhyarthanā |
| Kiswahili | karibu! |
| Português | bem-vindo!, bem-vinda!, bem-vindos!, bem-vindas! |
| Français | bienvenue |
| Deutsch | willkommen |
| Italiano | benvenuto!, benvenuta!, benvenuti!, benvenute!, salve |
| Ελληνικά | καλώς ορίσατε kalós orísate, καλώς όρισες kalós órises, καλώς ήρθατε kalós írthate, καλώς ήρθες kalós írthes |
| Română | bine ai venit!, bine ați venit!, bun venit, bine ai venit |
| Русский | добро́ пожа́ловать dobró požálovatʹ, приве́тствуем! privétstvujem! |
| Tiếng Việt | xin chào, chào, hoan nghênh |
| العربية | أَهْلًا وَسَهْلًا ʔahlan wa-sahlan, مَرْحَبًا marḥaban, أَهْلًا بِكُمْ ʔahlan bikum, أَهْلًا بِكَ ʔahlan bika, أَهْلًا بِكِ ʔahlan biki |
| עברית | !בָּרוּךְ הַבָּא barúkh habá, !ברוכה הבאה brukhá habaá, !ברוכים הבאים brukhím habaím, !ברוכות הבאות brukhót habaót |
noun act of greeting someone's arrival
| Español | acogida, bienvenida |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 환영 hwanyeong |
| 日本語 | 歓迎 kangei |
| 中文 | 歡迎 /欢迎 huānyíng |
| हिन्दी | स्वागतम svāgtam, स्वागत है svāgat hai |
| Português | recepção |
| Français | bienvenue |
| Deutsch | Begrüßung, Empfang |
| Italiano | accoglienza |
| Ελληνικά | υποδοχή ypodochí, καλωσόρισμα kalosórisma |
| Русский | приём prijóm |
| العربية | تَرْحِيب tarḥīb |
noun utterance of such a greeting
| Español | bienvenida |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 인사 insa |
| 日本語 | 歓迎 kangei, 挨拶 aisatsu |
| 中文 | 迎接 yíngjiē |
| Português | boas-vindas |
| Français | bienvenue |
| Deutsch | Herzlich willkommen Begrüßung |
| Italiano | benvenuto |
| Ελληνικά | καλωσόρισμα kalosórisma |
| Русский | приве́тствие privétstvije |
| עברית | ברוך הבא barúkh habá, ברוכים הבאים bruchím habaím, ברוכה הבאה bruchá habaá, ברוכות הבאות bruchot habaot |
verb affirm or greet the arrival of someone
| Español | dar la bienvenida |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 환영하다 hwanyeonghada |
| 日本語 | 歓迎する kangei suru |
| 中文 | 歡迎 /欢迎 huānyíng, 迎接 yíngjiē |
| हिन्दी | अभिनंदन abhinandan |
| Kiswahili | kukaribisha |
| Português | dar as boas-vindas a, receber, acolher |
| Français | accueillir, souhaiter la bienvenue |
| Deutsch | begrüßen, willkommen heißen, bewillkommnen |
| Italiano | accogliere, dare il benvenuto |
| Ελληνικά | υποδέχομαι ypodéchomai, καλωσορίζω kalosorízo |
| Română | întâmpina |
| Русский | приве́тствовать privétstvovatʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | (đến) chào, hoan nghênh, chào mừng, chào đón |
| العربية | رَحَّبَ raḥḥaba |
verb to accept willingly
| Español | bienvenir |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | うれしく思う ureshiku omou |
| 中文 | 歡迎 /欢迎 huānyíng |
| Português | aceitar |
| Deutsch | begrüßen, gutheißen |
| Italiano | accettare, accogliere, gradire |
| Ελληνικά | υποδέχομαι ypodéchomai |
| Русский | приве́тствовать privétstvovatʹ |
Talk about this word "welcome." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/welcome. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. welcome. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/welcome "welcome." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/welcome.Cite this
@misc{welcome_2026,
title = {welcome},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/welcome},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
