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A welter of something is a big, messy, confusing amount of it — so much, and so disorganised, that you cannot take it all in. You almost always meet it as 'a welter of' + a plural or uncountable noun: a welter of information, a welter of , a welter of complaints, a welter of detail.
A welter of somethingA welter of something is a big, messy, confusing amount of it是指一大堆亂七八糟、多到讓人搞不清楚的東西 — so much, and so disorganised多到而且亂到, that you cannot take it all in讓你完全沒辦法一次消化。You almost always meet it你幾乎都會看到它 as 'a welter of' + a plural or uncountable noun用「a welter of」加上複數或不可數名詞的形式出現: a welter of informationa welter of information（一大堆資訊）, a welter of statisticsa welter of statistics（一大堆統計數字）, a welter of complaintsa welter of complaints（一大堆抱怨）, a welter of detaila welter of detail（一大堆細節）。
The confusion is the point. If you say 'a welter of data', you are not just saying there is a lot; you are saying it is coming at you in a jumble and nobody can sort it out.
The confusion混亂本身 is the point才是重點。If you say如果你說 'a welter of data''a welter of data', you are not just saying there is a lot你不只是在說東西很多; you are saying你是在說 it is coming at you in a jumble它是亂糟糟地一股腦兒朝你湧來 and而且 nobody can sort it out沒有人整理得出頭緒。
It belongs to written English — newspapers, reports, serious articles — and sounds slightly old-fashioned and educated. Nobody says it while ordering lunch.
It belongs to written English它屬於書面英文 — newspapers, reports, serious articles報紙、報告、嚴肅的文章 — and且 sounds slightly old-fashioned and educated聽起來有點過時、也有點文謅謅。Nobody沒有人 says it while ordering lunch會在點午餐的時候說這個字。
There is also a verb 'to welter', meaning to roll or toss about, or to lie soaked in something; you may see 'weltering in blood' in older writing. That verb is rare now and you can safely just recognise it.
There is also a verb 'to welter'也有一個動詞「to welter」, meaning to roll or toss about意思是翻滾、翻動, or to lie soaked in something或是浸泡、泡在某個東西裡; you may see 'weltering in blood'你可能會在比較舊的文章裡看到「weltering in blood」（浸在血泊裡） in older writing。That verb這個動詞用法 is rare now現在很少見了, and而 you can safely just recognise it你只要看得懂就好，不用會用。
組成welt (an old verb meaning to roll or tumble) + -er, an old ending that makes a verb mean 'to keep doing it over and over'. So the original picture is something rolling around and around — a churning, tumbling mess. That churning sense is why the noun means a confused mass.
同家族的字
- wallowboth go back to the same old idea of rolling or tumbling about, as a pig rolls in mud
原始詞典資料8 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
Weltername
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A surname.
welternoun詞源 1/ˈwɛltə/
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A general confusion or muddle, especially of a large number of items.
- He would, except for his guests, have fled outdoors and walked off the intoxication of food, but in the haze which filled the room they sat forever, talking, talking, while he agonized, “Darn fool to be eating all this—not ’nother mouthful,” and discovered that he was again tasting the sickly welter of melted ice cream on his plate.
- And in truth, his mind was such a welter of opposites—of the night and the blazing candles, of the shabby poet and the great Queen, of silent fields and the clatter of serving men—that he could see nothing; or only a hand.
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A tossing or rolling about.
welterverb詞源 1/ˈwɛltə/
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To roll around; to wallow.
- […] were it not for shame, Shame and dishonour to a soldier’s name, Upon my weapon’s point here shouldst thou fall, And welter in thy gore.
- I had no horse, and the deep and wheeling stream of the river, rendered turbid by the late tumult of which its channel had been the scene, and seeming yet more so under the doubtful influence of an imperfect moonlight, had no inviting influence for a pedestrian by no means accustomed to wade rivers, and who had lately seen horsemen weltering, in this dangerous passage, up to the very saddle laps.
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To revel, luxuriate.
- 1537, Hugh Latimer, Sermon III, Preached to the Convocation of the Clergy, in The Sermons of Hugh Latimer, London: J. Scott, 1783, Volume I, p. 38, When we welter in pleasures and idleness, then we eat and drink with drunkards.
- These wisards weltre in welths waues, pampred in pleasures deepe, They han fatte kernes, and leany knaues,
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To rise and fall, to tumble over, to roll.
- Such Musick (as ’tis said) Before was never made, But when of old the sons of morning sung, While the Creator Great His constellations set, And the well-ballanc’t world on hinges hung, And cast the dark foundations deep, And bid the weltring waves their oozy channel keep.
- There, waves that, hardly weltering, die away, Tip their smooth ridges with a softer ray;
welteradj詞源 2/ˈwɛltə/
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Heavyweight. (of horsemen)
- a welter race
welterverb詞源 3/ˈwɛltə/
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To wither; to wilt.
- 1860, Isaac Taylor, Ultimate Civilization, and Other Essays, London: Bell & Dalday, “Ultimate Civilization,” Part I, IV, p. 40, But look now into the weltered hearts and blighted memories of those whom we have gathered from out of the thousands of the lost and wretched.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。