Before revision: In the 1590 version this was changed to "" (they shall weld together their swords into plowshares), suggesting this particular use of the word probably became popular in English sometime between these periods.An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language by Walter William Skeat -- Oxford Press 1898 Page 702 The Old English word for welding iron was ('to bring together') or ('to bring together hot').A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary by John R. Clark Hall, Herbert T. Merritt, Herbert Dean Meritt, Medieval Academy of America -- Cambridge University Press 1960 Page 289 The word is derived from the Old Swedish word , meaning 'to boil', which referred to joining metals when combined with the word for iron () , as in (literally : ' to boil iron ' ).
After revision: In the 1590 version this was changed to "" (they shall weld together their swords into plowshares), suggesting this particular use of the word probably became popular in English sometime between these periods.An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language by Walter William Skeat -- Oxford Press 1898 Page 702 The Old English word for welding iron was ('to bring together') or ('to bring together hot').A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary by John R. Clark Hall, Herbert T. Merritt, Herbert Dean Meritt, Medieval Academy of America -- Cambridge University Press 1960 Page 289 The word is related to the Old Swedish word , meaning 'to boil', which could refer to joining metals when combined with the word for iron () , as in (literally " to boil iron " ).