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Glite Dictionary
to make the welkin ring

to make the welkin ring

9.9
To fill the air with loud happy sounds like singing or laughter
  • idiom
  • Archaic
translation icon : hacer resonar el cielo
  • The villagers' cheers made the welkin ring during the celebration.

Examples

  • The choir made the welkin ring with their beautiful songs.

  • Their laughter could make the welkin ring on a summer's evening.

  • The news was so joyful it seemed to make the welkin ring throughout the town.

  • Let's make the welkin ring at the festival this weekend!

  • The villagers' cheers made the welkin ring during the celebration.

  • The news was so joyful it seemed to make the welkin ring throughout the town.

  • The choir made the welkin ring with their beautiful songs.

Synonyms

to ring
vsto make the welkin ring
430 1.0

To make a clear sound like a bell that can be heard far away

is about loud and joyful human sounds rather than any ringing noise
to ring out
vsto make the welkin ring
26 3.6

To make a loud clear sound that people can hear far away

focuses on joyful voices like singing or laughter not neutral sounds
to roar
vsto make the welkin ring
17 2.4

To laugh loudly because something is very funny

includes joyful singing as well as loud laughter
to peal
vsto make the welkin ring
1 6.4

To ring loudly and clearly in a series, like church bells

is broader, covering joyful human singing and laughter rather than bell sounds

Antonyms

to silence
169 3.5

To stop someone from speaking or making noise

to muffle
64 5.8

To make a sound or feeling quieter so it is less noticeable

How Loud

to make the welkin ring
  • Archaic
9.9
to resound
11 5.3
to sing
∞ 1.0
to hum
49 1.0
to whisper
586 1.0

Surface Forms

make the welkin ring infinitive
made the welkin ring past
made the welkin ring past participle
making the welkin ring present participle
makes the welkin ring third person singular

Morphology

make + the + welkin + ring

The phrase literally combines 'make' (cause) + 'welkin' (sky/heaven) + 'ring' (produce a sound), so a learner who knows those words can infer the image of causing the sky to reverberate and thus filling the air with loud sound. However, the expression is poetic/archaic (welkin) and uses a hyperbolic metaphor rather than a straightforward, commonly used compositional pattern, so the meaning is not fully literal or automatically predictable.

Etymology

Make the welkin ring may come from an old image of sound so loud that even the welkin, an old word for the 'sky', seems to ring like a bell. That's why today it means 'to fill the air with loud and joyful sounds'.