Where does “boulder” come from?

Boulder comes from Middle English bulder and bilder, formed with the Middle English agent suffix -er from Old French -er, ultimately from Latin -arius, a suffix for agent nouns derived from Latin -are verbs, tracing back to Proto-Indo-European bʰew-.

boulder (English): A large mass of stone detached from the...

Definitions

  1. A large mass of stone detached from the...

Ancestry of “boulder”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishbulderAlternative form of bilder
2Old Norsebolligoblet, cup
3Proto-Germanicbullôround object; ball; bowl
4Proto-Germanicballôball
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰel-to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to...
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰōl-—

Words derived from “boulder”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰōl- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰel- →Every word from Proto-Germanic ballô →
boulder — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer