Pronounced: WELL-tuhr, verb
Notes: I know what a “welt” is, but not our word
Yesterday’s word
The word vole, as a noun, means
- any of various rodents of the genus Microtus and related genera
- the winning of all the tricks in some card games
As a verb, it means
- to risk everything in the hope of great rewards (usually used in the phrase “go the vole”)
- to try every possibility
First usage
The first definition came into English in the early 1800s; the other definitions game into English in the late 1600s
Background / Comments
The only definition I knew was the first one; I thought a vole was a kind of rodent. This first definition is short for volemouse, which came from the Norwegian word vollmus, which is made up up voll (field) and mus (mouse); thus, “a fieldmouse”. The other definitions came from the French word voler (to fly), which came from the Latin word volare (to fly).
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 