whelm

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whelm / (h)welm/ • v. [tr.] archaic or poetic/lit. engulf, submerge, or bury (someone or something): a swimmer whelmed in a raging storm. ∎  [intr.] flow or heap up abundantly: the brook whelmed up from its source.• n. archaic or poetic/lit. an act or instance of flowing or heaping up abundantly; a surge: the whelm of the tide.