Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “billowy” come from?

Billowy derives from English billow with the suffix -y, from Middle English -y, from Middle French -ie, from Latin -ia, from Latin -ivus, from Latin -ia, from Proto-Indo-European -kos.

billowy (English): swelling or swollen into large waves; full of...

Definitions

  1. swelling or swollen into large waves; full of...

Ancestry of “billowy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbillowA large wave, swell, surge, or undulating mass of...
2Middle Englishbilwe—
3Old Norsebylgjawave, billow
4Proto-Germanicbulgijōwave, billow
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰelǵʰ-to swell
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰel-to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to...
7Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰōl-—

Words derived from “billowy”

  • billowiness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰōl- →