An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/walken

by Friedrich Kluge

walken, vb., ‘to full, mill (cloth); tread (skins); thrash, cudgel,’ from MidHG. walken, OHG. walchan, str. vb., ‘to strike, thrash, full, mill (cloth)’; comp. Du. walken, ‘to press,’ AS. wealcan, OIc. valka, ‘to roll, move to and fro.’ From Teut. walkan are also derived Ital. gualcare, ‘to calender or press cloth,’ gualchiera, ‘fulling-mill.’ The Teut. root walk, from Aryan walg, seems to coincide with Sans. valg, ‘to hop or skip along.’ — From MidHG. walker, węlker, ‘fuller,’ is derived the proper name Welker.