First of all, for you skeptics out there, “whelmed” is really a word, though we don’t use it because it doesn’t seem to have any relationship to it’s more popular off-spring, Over- and Under.
WHELM (verb)
1. to submerge; engulf.
2. to overcome utterly; overwhelm: whelmed by misfortune.
So overwhelmed implies misfortune? How does that work when used as “Overwhelmed by gratitude, joy, or excitement?” Are those things actually misfortune in disguise? Or is it the oncoming waters of drowning and submersion that carry the negative implication?
Sometimes, the weird ins and outs of our peculiar language leave me agape. That’s right. Agape. And what do you want to make of it, eh? I’ll whelm you if you diss me, girlie!
SKIPPING THE SMALL PRINT 
BE KIND TO YOUR KIDNEYS SO THEY CAN BE KIND TO YOU 
BALLS, NERVE, AND חוצפה 
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
You may be already familiar with the English translation of a poem written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer during his imprisonment before he was hanged by the Third Reich. The second stanza of “Christian and Unbelievers” uses the word ‘whelmed’.
“Men to to God when he is sore bestead,
Find him poor and scorned, without shelter or bread,
Whelmed under the weight of the wicked, the weak, the dead:
Christians stand by God in his hour of suffering.”
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That is the first (only) time I’ve seen “whelmed” used anywhere. Thank you. Good poem, too. It gives me shivers.
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Lets face it, the English language is a work in progress…. 🙂
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All living languages are. Old dictionaries are a hoot.
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You are now tempting me to use this word in the Pick a …. 😀 Thank you, Marilyn. I enjoy your grains of wisdom.
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I’m not sure how you would make a picture of those words, but it certainly would be challenging to try 🙂
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Whelmed under snow?
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Been there. It twas cold. Wet. White.
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Whelmed in words! 🙂
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Yes, that works. Hopefully in a good way.
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Agape (Ancient Greek ἀγάπη, agápē) is “love: the highest form of love, charity; the love of God for man and of man for God.” Not to be confused with philia – brotherly love – agape embraces a universal, unconditional love that transcends, that serves regardless of circumstances.
Love,
Kathie
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It’s also “wide open” as in “her mouth hung agape at his statement.” Which is what I meant. Like many words in English, the spelling is the same as another word, but the pronunciation and meaning are not. Like read (present tense) and read (past tense). Just one of many.
“You can lead a horse to water, but don’t let him eat that lead pipe.”
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Language is crazy. I have a friend who is fluent in several languages and is always amazed when he discovers that in THIS language, there is no word for THAT.
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And in that OTHER language, there are 50 ways to say THAT, but none to say THIS. Language is contextual. And sometimes, just odd.
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Yep. I’ll have to try sometime putting into written form a great Sign Language (ASL) story I experienced.
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We have to talk about learning ASL. Garry and I have been trying to find someone to teach us, but all they are teaching is lip-reading and that’s not what we want.
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True. Lamont and Dude are in search of whelming…
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I too seek whelming, though I am not sure which version of it is safe to seek. We do have some bizarre changes from the word’s root to its current incarnation.
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Tomorrow is the anniversary (2nd? 3rd?) of Lamont and Dude appearing on my blog. Kind of a big day, but not overwhelming. I’ll have to come up with something good.
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Perhaps they are both couth and whelmed?
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Definitely, plus they are experienced enough that they can choose. 🙂
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Maturity has its perks.
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Hundreds of thousands of years.
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Mature. Like fine wine and stinky cheese.
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Lamont says millions of years. He had a minor snit but Dude told him to get over it. It’s not like my bad math is a meteorite. Gotta love those guys.
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I do love them. They can come and put down roots in my woods any time.
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Lamont wants to know if oaks grow in your woods.
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It’s almost entirely oak. Just a few maple, sassafras, and lilac along the outside edges. The oaks are tall. They form a canopy, so after awhile, all the other trees die from lack of light. It’s why my house is dark. We are surrounded by oak trees. Lamont would have a LOT of companionship.
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I’ll pass the word. I have no idea how much control they — or we — have in our incarnations but I know Lamont would rather be an oak tree than any other thing. 🙂
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Whelmed?? Overwhelmed??
You’re FIRED!!! You’re retired? Doesn’t matter!!
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No, it doesn’t, but it’s interesting and it’s NOT politics.
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effectively it is a word that went by the wayside. there are lots of these – for example where we have a negative of something but the original word has become archaic. there is actually a word for them but i have forgotten what it is
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Like couth and uncouth. Couth is a word, but you pretty much never hear it. I thought I was making a joke when i first used “underwhelmed,” only to discover that the joke was on me.
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underwhelmed is ok I think
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It has made it into the dictionary, but a lot of stuff has made it that I think is too transient to be counted into the language … but, as everyone has observed, languages are all moving targets … at least those that are in current use.
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i do actually use it
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Me too 😀
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so.. whelm is really a word.. but the underwhelm… how can it be whelming if it is under? it is like saying, a little bit too much.. English is not my mother language..
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And yet, they are all words. I looked them up. English is not logical. Words take on a life of their own, often quite different from where they began. This, apparently, is one such word.
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