What is "dwelt"

Dwell \Dwell\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Dwelled, usually contracted into Dwelt (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Dwelling.] [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dv["a]ljas to dwell, Dan. dv[ae]le to linger, and to E. dull. See Dull, and cf. Dwale.]

1. To delay; to linger. [Obs.]

2. To abide; to remain; to continue.

   I 'll rather dwell in my necessity.
   --Shak.

   Thy soul was like a star and dwelt apart.
   --Wordsworth.

3. To abide as a permanent resident, or for a time; to live in a place; to reside.

   The parish in which I was born, dwell, and have possessions.
   --Peacham.

   The poor man dwells in a humble cottage near the hall where the lord of the domain resides.
   --C. J. Smith.

   To dwell in, to abide in (a place); hence, to depend on. ``My hopes in heaven to dwell.''
   --Shak.

   To dwell on or To dwell upon, to continue long on or in; to remain absorbed with; to stick to; to make much of; as, to dwell upon a subject; a singer dwells on a note.

   They stand at a distance, dwelling on his looks and language, fixed in amazement.
   --Buckminster.

   Syn: To inhabit; live; abide; sojourn; reside; continue; stay; rest.

Dwelt \Dwelt\, imp. & p. p. of Dwell.

vb. (en-past of: dwell)

1. v. think moodily or anxiously about something [syn: brood]

2. originate (in); "The problems dwell in the social injustices in this country" [syn: consist, lie, belong, lie in]

3. make one's home or live in; "She resides officially in Iceland"; "I live in a 200-year old house"; "These people inhabited all the islands that are now deserted"; "The plains are sparsely populated" [syn: shack, reside, live, inhabit, people, populate, domicile, domiciliate]

4. come back to; "Don't dwell on the past"; "She is always harping on the same old things" [syn: harp]

5. [also: dwelt]

See dwell