Where does “boll” come from?

Boll comes from Middle Dutch bolle, Old English bolla, Proto-Germanic bullô, and Proto-Indo-European bʰel-, a root meaning to swell.

boll (English): The rounded seed-bearing capsule of a cotton or...

Definitions

  1. The rounded seed-bearing capsule of a cotton or...

Ancestry of “boll”, step by step

boll traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English bolle

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishbollepod; shell
2Old Englishbollabowl
3Proto-Germanicbullôround object; ball; bowl
4Proto-Germanicballôball
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰel-to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to...
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰōl-—

via Middle Dutch bolle

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Dutchbolleround object
2Old Dutchbolla—

via German Böll

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanBöll—

Words derived from “boll”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰōl- →