wield: [OE] To wield something is etymologically to ‘command’ or ‘rule’ it. Indeed, that is what the word originally meant in English. ‘Handle, use’ is a secondary development. It goes back to a prehistoric base *wald-, which also produced German walten, Lithuanian valdyti, Czech vládnouti, and Polish władać ‘rule, govern’ and Russian vladet’ ‘possess, own’. And this in turn was probably an extension of Indo-European *wal-, source also of Latin valēre ‘be strong’, from which English gets valid, value, etc. => valid, value
wield (v.)
Old English weldan (Mercian), wieldan, wealdan (West Saxon) "have power over, compel, tame, subdue" (class VII strong verb; past tense weold, past participle gewealden), merged with weak verb wyldan, both from Proto-Germanic *waldan "to rule" (cognates: Old Saxon and Gothic waldan, Old Frisian walda "to govern, rule," Old Norse valda "to rule, wield, to cause," Old High German waltan, German walten "to rule, govern").
The Germanic words and cognates in Balto-Slavic (Old Church Slavonic vlado "to rule," vlasti "power," Russian vladeti "to reign, rule, possess, make use of," Lithuanian veldu "to rule, possess") probably are from PIE *woldh-, extended form of root *wal- "to be strong, to rule" (see valiant). Related: Wielded; wielding.
双语例句
1. The two firms wield enormous clout in financial markets.
两家公司在金融市场有非常大的影响力。
来自柯林斯例句
2. They wield enormous political power.
他们行使巨大的政治权力.
来自《简明英汉词典》
3. The men who wield the power are certainly backing him to the hilt.
掌权者肯定在全力支持他。
来自柯林斯例句
4. The President offered compromises to parliament to defuse the battle of wills over who should wield power.
总统对国会作出让步，以求结束这场旷日持久的权力争斗。
来自柯林斯例句
5. He who knows only how to wield a pen usually feels quite helpless in the face of practical problems.
