Well gained that final -p as part of a normal process of articular: the lips come together to stop the sound of well and prepare for the next sound, and some hear that stoppage as a -p. It shows up in a scholarly article on two of welp's linguistic cousins: yep and nope. Though we have presented quite a bit of informal and recent use, our earliest written use of welp goes back over 70 years. But welp has a sense of resignation and finality that well often doesn't have: Welp is a synonym of the interjection well, which is used to express surprise or signal the beginning of a comment or discussion ("Well, what have we here?" "Well, you're never going to believe this, but…"). We regret to inform Twitter that welp is a word, even if it's not in the dictionary. And yet:ĭoug Lambert Tweet: "Welp" is not a word…. Social media is a place where informal language flourishes, which means that lexicographers get to chronicle the exploits of words that don't have much written use in edited prose-words like welp.Ĭhicago Tribune Tweet: Welp, here comes the 1st accumulating snowfall of this winter…. Update: This word was added in March 2018. " Yes, 'Welp' Is a Real Word: 'Welp' is over 70 years old" Still, I was curious, so I looked around a bit, and found this entry in Merriam-Webster: Or, I thought, perhaps it's a typo for "well". I had no idea what he meant by the first syllable. This morning, someone sent me a message that began, "Welp, at least word boundaries are respected…".
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