well-kept | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

1730, from well (adv.) + past participle of earn (v.).

1680s, "with ample material endowments," from well (adv.) + past participle of endow (v.). Sexual sense is attested from 1951. A Middle English term for "naturally well-endowed" was furnished in nature.

well-nigh (adv.)

Old English wel neah, from well (adv.) + nigh.

well-informed (adj.)

mid-15c., from well (adv.) + past participle of inform (v.).

well-bred (adj.)

1590s, from well (adv.) + bred.

ink-well (n.)

also inkwell, 1854, from ink (n.) + well (n.). A schoolroom implement, so called because it sat down in the surface of a desk in contrast to an ink-stand.

oil-well (n.)

"a boring in the earth made for petroleum," 1847, from oil (n.) + well (n.).

well-rounded (adj.)

1764, "symmetrically proportioned, complete in all parts," from well (adv.) + rounded. Figurative sense is from mid-19c.

ne'er-do-well (n.)

"one who is good for nothing," 1737, Scottish and northern English dialect, from contraction of phrase never do well. The adjective is first recorded 1773.

Holocene (adj.)

in reference to the epoch that began 10,000 years ago and continues today, 1897, from French holocène (1867), from Greek holos "whole" (from PIE root *sol- "whole, well-kept") + -cene. The notion is "entirely new."

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