DWELL

brood, dwell

(verb) think moodily or anxiously about something

harp, dwell

(verb) come back to; “Don’t dwell on the past”; “She is always harping on the same old things”

populate, dwell, live, inhabit

(verb) be an inhabitant of or reside in; “People lived in Africa millions of years ago”; “The people inhabited the islands that are now deserted”; “this kind of fish dwells near the bottom of the ocean”; “deer are populating the woods”

dwell, consist, lie, lie in

(verb) originate (in); “The problems dwell in the social injustices in this country”

dwell, inhabit

(verb) exist or be situated within; “Strange notions inhabited her mind”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

dwell (plural dwells)

(engineering) A period of time in which a system or component remains in a given state.

(engineering) A brief pause in the motion of part of a mechanism to allow an operation to be completed.

(electrical engineering) A planned delay in a timed control program.

(automotive) In a petrol engine, the period of time the ignition points are closed to let current flow through the ignition coil in between each spark. This is measured as an angle in degrees around the camshaft in the distributor which controls the points, for example in a 4-cylinder engine it might be 55° (spark at 90° intervals, points closed for 55° between each).

Verb

dwell (third-person singular simple present dwells, present participle dwelling, simple past and past participle (mostly US) dwelled or dwelt)

(intransitive, now literary) To live; to reside.

(intransitive) To linger (on) a particular thought, idea etc.; to remain fixated (on).

(intransitive, engineering) To be in a given state.

(intransitive) To abide; to remain; to continue.

Synonyms

• (live, reside): See also reside

Source: Wiktionary

Dwell, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Dwelled, usually contracted into Dwelt (p. pr. & vb. n. Dwelling.] Etym: [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dvæle 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 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.

Dwell, v. t.

Definition: To inhabit. [R.] Milton.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition