Meaning

noun a raised mark on the skin (as produced by the blow of a whip); characteristic of many allergic reactions

originFrom Middle English wele, from Old English wela (“wellness, welfare, prosperity, riches, well-being, wealth”), from Proto-West Germanic *welō, from Proto-Germanic *walô (“well-being, wellness, weal”). Cognate with German Wohl, Danish vel, Swedish väl.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0