bolas

bo·las
B3O1L1A1S1
/ˈbəʊ̯.ləs/Canada, US/ˈboʊ̯.ləs/Australia/ˈbəʉ̯.ləs/New Zealand/ˈbɐʉ̯.ləs/

noun

A throwing weapon made of weights on the ends of interconnected cords, designed to capture animals by entangling their legs.

OriginPortuguese bola(s) ← Spanish bola(s) ← Old Occitan bola →
UncommonScrabble 7
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Meanings

bolas1

nounbolas (plural bolases or bolas)

plural bolases

  1. A throwing weapon made of weights on the ends of interconnected cords, designed to capture animals by entangling their legs.
  2. A sticky thread whirled around by certain spiders to catch prey.

bolas2

noun
  1. pluralplural of bola

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
boleadora

Origin

bolas · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bew-der.?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰel-der.?
  3. Latinbulla
  4. Frankish*bollā
  5. Vulgar Latin*bolla
  6. Old Occitanbola
  7. Spanishbola(s)
  8. Portuguesebola(s)
  9. Englishbolas

Borrowed from Spanish bola(s) (“ball(s)”) and Portuguese bola(s) (“ball(s)”). First attested in 1843.

Full word history & related roots →

bolas · noun

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with bolas

bolusgladiolusdolus
All rhymes →

Anagrams

bolsabosalSabolSobal
Cite this entry
APA

bolas. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bolas

MLA

“bolas.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bolas. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bolas,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bolas.

Source: bolas on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.