Etymology

bolster

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Today it means: A large cushion or pillow, usually cylindrical in shape. Full definition →

Middle English bolster ← Old English bolster ← Proto-West Germanic *bolstr
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bolster · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*bulstraz“pillow, cushion”
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*bolstr
  3. Old English · inherited frombolster“pillow”
  4. Middle English · inherited frombolster
  5. English todaybolster

From Middle English bolster, bolstre, from Old English bolster (“pillow”), from Proto-West Germanic *bolstr, from Proto-Germanic *bulstraz (“pillow, cushion”). Cognate with Scots bowster (“bolster”), West Frisian bulster (“mattress”), Dutch bolster (“husk, shell”), German Polster (“bolster, pillow, pad”), Swedish bolster (“soft mattress, bolster”), Icelandic bólstur (“pillow”).

Bolster · proper noun2

  1. German · derived fromPolster
  2. English todayBolster

Variant of German Polster.

Words from the same roots

GermanPolster all →

polster

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.