wallow

Etymology 1

From Middle English walowen, walewen, walwen, welwen, from Old English wealwian (“to roll”), from Proto-West Germanic *walwōn, variant of *walwijan, from Proto-Germanic *walwijaną (“to roll”), from Proto-Indo-European *welw-, from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“to turn, wind, roll”). Cognate with Latin volvō (“roll, tumble”, verb).

verb

1. To roll oneself about in something dirty, for example in mud.
   Pigs wallow in the mud.
2. To move lazily or heavily in any medium.
   The fire was thrown to a great height; the fountains and jets all wallowed together; new ones appeared, and danced joyously round the margin, then converging towards the centre they merged into one glowing mass, which upheaved itself pyramidally and disappeared with a vast plunge. 1875, Isabella L. Bird, The Hawaiian Archipelago
   Amongst the cruisers, it's not such good news. New Orleans is sunk; Wichita is wallowing and desperately in need of assistance, which two destroyers are providing; meanwhile, Biloxi and Vincennes are both in the process of going down and being abandoned, whilst Miami is right on the knife-edge of being recoverable, with three destroyers clustering around offering pumping and additional damage-control crews to try and keep the light cruiser afloat. 5 May 2021, Drachinifel, 43:29 from the start, in Battle of Samar - What if TF34 was there?, archived from the original on 2022-08-19
3. (figurative) To immerse oneself in, to occupy oneself with, metaphorically.
   She wallowed in her misery.
   If there be any lazy Fellow, any that cannot away with Work, any that would wallow in Pleaſures, he is haſty to be prieſted. And, when he is made one, and hath gotten a Benefice, he conſorts with his Neighbour Prieſts, who are altogether given to Pleaſures; and then both he, and they, live, not like Chriſtians, but like Epicures; drinking, eating, feaſting, and revelling, till the Cow come Home, as the saying is; … 1610, Alexander Cooke, “Pope Joane”, in William Oldys, editor, The Harleian Miscellany:[…], volume IV, London: T[homas] Osborne,[…], published 1745, →OCLC, page 125
   With Smithers out of the picture I was free to wallow in my own crapulence. 1995, The Simpsons Season 7 Episode 1, Who Shot Mr. Burns?, written by Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein
4. To live or exist in filth or in a sickening manner.
   The floors are at times inches deep with dirt and scraps of clothing. The whole place wallows with putrefaction. In some of the rooms it would seem that there had not been a breath of fresh air for five years. 1895, The Review of Reviews, volume 11, page 215

noun

1. An instance of wallowing.
2. A pool of water or mud in which animals wallow, or the depression left by them in the ground.
   However, we have no time to linger, and picking our way among the countless buffalo wallows which indent the level surface of the summit, the wagon, […] 1901, George Bird Grinnell, Theodore Roosevelt, editors, American Big-Game Hunting
   Soon, the incessant wind would dry the stenchy wallow to corduroyed cement. 2003, Suzann Ledbetter, A Lady Never Trifles with Thieves
3. A kind of rolling walk.

Etymology 2

From Middle English walwen, from Old English wealwian (“to fade, wither”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps an alteration of Old English fealwian (“to grow pale, turn yellow, ripen, wither”). Alternatively, perhaps related to Middle English welken (“to fade, droop, wither”), modern English welk.

verb

1. (UK, dialectal, of plants) To fade, fade away, wither, droop; fail to flourish.

Etymology 3

From Middle English walwe, walh, from Old English wealg, from Proto-West Germanic *walg, from Proto-Germanic *walgaz. Cognate with Dutch walg (“disgust”), dialectal Norwegian valg (“tasteless”). Doublet of waugh.

adj

1. (now dialectal) Tasteless, flat.