To be overwhelmed is to be so much surprised as to be unable to function. You can be overwhelmed in a good way by a gift of some magnificence or careful thought (emeralds, white chocolate, an original Edward Ardizzone drawing); or in a bad way (by terror, grief, or (if you're a boat) by being turned upside down by the sea.
The main question is, though: what if you're only whelmed?
Thing To Be Today But Only In A Good Way: overwhelmed. The word whelm comes from the Middle English whelmen, to turn over, capsize, experience a reversal, or to make an arched cover (the link with covering perhaps being something to do with the Old English word hwealf, which has the meaning to bury).
This is the overwhelmed ship Tirpitz in Tromsø fjord, Norway. Photo by Daventry B J (Flt Lt).
This being the case, to overwhelm should surely mean to set the right way up again.
But it doesn't.
Underwhelm started out as a 1900s joke.
Still not quite sure how or why whelmed turned into overwhelmed. Maybe one could just say, my goodness, I am quite whelmed!
ReplyDeleteOverwhelmed came along very early - 1300s - and I think it was probably people just wanting to be a bit dramatic about the whole thing. When you think about it, it's very like overturn.
Delete