Wells

proper nouncommon in dialogue

//wɛlz//

An English topographic surname from Middle English for someone living near a well or a spring.

proper noun

1
An English topographic surname from Middle English for someone living near a well or a spring.
2
A male given name transferred from the surname.
3
A small cathedral city and civil parish with a city council in Somerset, England, previously in Mendip district (OS grid ref ST5445).
4
A small town in Norfolk, England; in full, Wells-next-the-Sea.
5
A town in the Cariboo Regional District, British Columbia, Canada.
6
A locale in the United States: An unincorporated community in Pipe Creek Township, Miami County, Indiana; named for founder James Oscar Wells.
7
A locale in the United States: A census-designated place in Ottawa County, Kansas.
8
A locale in the United States: A town in York County, Maine; named for the city in England.
9
A locale in the United States: A city in Faribault County, Minnesota; named for J. W. Wells, father-in-law of Canadian-American Minnesota politician Clark W. Thompson.
10
A locale in the United States: An unincorporated community in Lowndes County, Mississippi.
11
A locale in the United States: A city in Elko County, Nevada.
12
A locale in the United States: A town and census-designated place therein, in Hamilton County, New York; named for land agent Joshua Wells.
13
A locale in the United States: A town in Cherokee County, Texas; named for railroad engineer Maj. E. H. Wells.
14
A locale in the United States: A town and census-designated place therein, in Rutland County, Vermont.
15
A locale in the United States: An unincorporated community in Marshall County, West Virginia.
16
A locale in the United States: An unincorporated community in Rockland, Manitowoc County and Rantoul, Calumet County, Wisconsin.
17
A locale in the United States: A town in Monroe County, Wisconsin; named for early settler James Wells.
18
A locale in the United States: A number of townships, including in Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Pennsylvania, listed under Wells Township.

Etymology

From Old English wella, genitive plural of well (“spring”), in reference to a residence near a group of springs. The original use of the genitive case here would've indicated origin. The -s ending of the modern form would be added later on upon reanalysis after the breakdown of the case system (outside of pronouns) that occurred in the development of English.

well-known · Familiar, famous, renowned, noted or widely known.Welles · A locational surname Wellington · The capital city of New Zealand in the Wellington region.

Wells · An English topographic surname from Middle English for someone living near a well or a spring.

welsh · To cheat or swindle someone, often by not paying a debt,…Welsh · Of or pertaining to Wales.wen · A cyst on the skin; a tumor or wart.

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.