Webelos

Meaning

Noun

• A young scout in the Boy Scouts of America who is working his way up to the Boy Scouts.

Origin

• An invented term that originated in the Boy Scouts of America c. 1954. The correct spelling is Webelos for both singular and plural forms.
• The Bear Cub Scout Book of 1954 claims that "Webelos" is an American Indian tribe of which Akela is chief, and that the name comes from "Wolf, Bear, Lion, Scout." The rank of Lion Scout was later dropped, but the terms "Webelos" was kept. Through folk etymology, it is now commonly stated that the term derives from "we'll be loyal Scouts," although this was not the term's original meaning.