An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/wölben

by Friedrich Kluge

wölben, verb, ‘to vault, arch,’ from Middle High German and Old High German węlben (from *walbian, hwalbjan), weak verb, ‘to assume a curved shape, vault.’ Compare Old Saxon bihwęlbian, ‘to arch over, cover,’ Dutch welven, Old Icelandic hvelfa, ‘to arch’; allied to Anglo-Saxon hwealf, ‘arched,’ and Gothic hwilftri, ‘coffin’ (literally ‘arch’). The Teutonic verbal root hwelb, hwelf, from Aryan qelp (qelq?) is related to Greek κόλπος, ‘bosom’ (literally ‘arch’); so too Sanscrit kûrcá, Latin culcita, ‘pillow’?.