wen

¹

[ wen ]

noun

1. Pathology. a benign encysted tumor of the skin, especially on the scalp, containing sebaceous matter; a sebaceous cyst.
2. British. a large, crowded city or a crowded urban district:

   London is the great wen of England.

wen

²

[ wen ]

noun

1. wynn.

wen

¹

/ wɛn /

noun

1. a rune having the sound of Modern English w

wen

²

/ wɛn /

noun

1. pathol a sebaceous cyst, esp one occurring on the scalp
2. a large overcrowded city (esp London in the phrase the great wen )

Word History and Origins

Origin of wen¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English wenn; cognate with Dutch wen

Word History and Origins

Origin of wen¹

Old English wen, wyn

Origin of wen²

Old English wenn; related to Danish dialect van, væne, Dutch wenn

Example Sentences

From an old cardboard box, Li Wen drew a clear glass bottle filled with a dark brown liquid.

From The Daily Beast

And Melinda May (played by Ming-Na Wen, the best-known actor besides Gregg) was all poker face.

From The Daily Beast

Wen Xiaowu, another visitor, said he believed China's president would be "displeased" with his Communist colleagues in Zhejiang.

From The Daily Beast

The Wen Wei Po article contains a nugget that tells us why Beijing wanted to get back at the regime in Pyongyang.

From The Daily Beast

What is intriguing with this dog-bites-man story, however, is that it started with Wen Wei Po.

From The Daily Beast

At any rate, he will find no spirit of this description in what Cobbett satirically termed “the Wen.”

From Project Gutenberg

Shrewsbury was one of the gayest of those many provincial capitals “out of which the great wen of London has sucked all the life.”

From Project Gutenberg

Set down, Sir, ve make no extra charge for settin' down, as the king remarked wen he blowed up his ministers.'

From Project Gutenberg

Though not without fame in the field, Colonel Wen's main claim to honour lay in the high degrees he had taken in the examinations.

From Project Gutenberg

Wen jemand lobt, dem stellt er sich gleich—Every one puts himself on a level with him whom he praises.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• blister
• sac
• sore