Etymology

bald

B3A1L1D2

Today it means: Having little or no hair, fur, or feathers. Full definition →

Middle English balled ← Old English bæl? ← Proto-West Germanic *bāl
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bald · adjective, noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰel-
  2. Proto-Germanic*balluz
  3. Old English*beall
  4. Middle Englishbal?
  5. Proto-Indo-European*bʰel-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*bʰḗlH-o-m
  7. Proto-Germanic*bēlą
  8. Proto-West Germanic*bāl
  9. Old Englishbæl?
  10. Middle Englishballed
  11. English todaybald

From Middle English balled, ballid, bald (“bald”), of uncertain origin. Probably formed from Middle English bal, balle (“ball, round object, knoll, head”). Compare Old Danish bældet (“bald”). An alternate etymology relates it to Old English bǣl (“fire, flame; funeral pyre”), from Proto-Germanic *bēlą. Compare Albanian balë (“white spot on the forehead”) and ballë (“forehead”).

Bald · proper noun2

* As a Dutch and German surname, from the personal name Baldo, or related to Baldwin, where the first element is from the root of bold. * As an English and Scottish surname, related to bald.

Words from the same roots

Proto-Germanic*bēlą all →

bale

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.