Crossword Genius

Hesitate to ignore origin of Welfare State (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

aver

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'welfare state' is the definition.
'aver' can be an answer for 'state' (both can mean to declare). I'm not certain of the 'welfare' bit.

'hesitate to ignore origin' is the wordplay.
'hesitate' becomes 'er' (expression used when hesitating).
'to' says to put letters next to each other (I've seen this in other clues).
'ignore origin' becomes 'av' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'er' after 'av' is 'AVER'.

'of' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for aver that I've seen before include "Profess" , "State firmly, declare" , "make a statement" , "Assert, state as true" , "Assert to be the case" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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