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bullir

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Etymology and origin of the Spanish word bullir

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1200 Almerich, La fazienda de Ultra Mar (in a 13th-century copy) More words from the 12th century
Inherited from
Latin bullio via Old Spanish
Ultimate origin
Latin bulla
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin bulla
French boule
Latin bulliō
Spanish bullir
From the same root
Latin billa ← bulla
Latin bullescō ← bulla
French boulot ← boule
English ebullient ← bulliō
Latin ēbulliō ← bulliō

Pronunciation

  • /buˈʝiɾ/, [buˈʝiɾ], /buˈʎiɾ/[1]

Forms

bullir (first-person singular present bullo, first-person singular preterite bullí, past participle bullido)[1] Old Spanish also had bollir and bolir.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old Spanish bullir, inherited from Latin bulliō (“to bubble, boil”).[5][6][7][1] The Latin verb is formed from bulla (“bubble”).[5][8] Wiktionary calls the origin of the noun uncertain: perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bew- (“swelling”) or *bʰel- (“to blow, swell”), and ultimately imitative.[9] The DHLF notes that the verb has the present in -iō of verbs for noises and cries.[10]

The same verb is Portuguese bulir, Galician bulir, Catalan bullir, Aragonese bullir, Occitan bolir, French bouillir, Italian bollire and Sardinian buddire.[11][4][1] Old Spanish and Asturian had bollir.[4] In Galician the verb has a very wide sense, “to move, bustle”.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Fazienda de Ultra Mar (c. 1200, in a 13th-century copy) says that those who looked into a tomb found only magna que bullie e olio “manna that bubbled, and oil”.[12][13] The BDELC dates the verb to 1220–1250, and the DCECH to Berceo, who uses bollir for scheming and stirring: tanto pudió bullir el sotil aversario “the cunning adversary schemed so much”.[6][5][12] The falconry book Moamín (1250) has métanlo a bullir “let them put it to boil”, of wine.[14]

Semantic evolution

From the start the verb meant both “to boil” and “to move, stir”;[14] Alfonso X's Lapidario has a stone that begins de bollir et de mouerse in vinegar.[14] Covarrubias in 1611 gives boiling water, a mass of worms or lice that seethes, and a square that bulle de gente “teems with people”.[15] He also records bullebulle for a restless person.[15] The Diccionario de Autoridades adds blood stirring in the veins and the babbling of streams.[16]

The Academy's dictionary of 1770 adds “to bustle, never keep still” and the brisk conduct of business.[17] The 1817 edition lists “to stir, turn something over” and “to wallow” as old, and the phrase bullirle a uno los pies for someone who itches to dance.[18]

In Mexico bullir meant “to tease” and, of a horse, to work it with the reins to try its paces.[19][20] In the Canaries the old sense “to stir” lasted longer than in Castilian.[21] In Asturias pescado bullendo is fish just caught.[22]

Timeline

  • c. 1200 – the Fazienda de Ultra Mar has bullie “bubbled”.[12]
  • 1220–1250 – the BDELC's date;[6][5] Berceo uses bollir.[6][5]
  • 1250 – the Moamín has métanlo a bullir.[14]
  • 1533 – first record in the Americas, in Panama.[23]
  • 1611 – Covarrubias records bulle de gente and bullebulle.[15]
  • 1726 – the Diccionario de Autoridades defines boiling, the blood and running water.[16]
  • 1817 – the Academy records bullirle a uno los pies.[18]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (intransitive) Of water or another liquid: to boil.[7][1]
  2. (intransitive) To churn or bubble like boiling water.[7][1]
  3. (intransitive) Of a crowd of people, animals or things: to swarm, seethe: El puerto bullía de pescadores.[7][24]
  4. (intransitive) Of a person: to bustle, move about restlessly and never keep still.[7][1]
  5. (intransitive, also pronominal) To stir, as a sign of life.[7]
  6. (intransitive) Of things of one kind: to happen often and busily.[7]
  7. (transitive) To move (a part of the body).[7][1]
  8. (transitive, dated) To stir, turn over.[7]

Word family

  • bulla
  • rebullir
  • bullidor
  • bullebulle
  • bullanga
  • bullicio
  • ebullición
  • Latin bulliō
  • Catalan bullir
  • Portuguese bulir

Usage notes

It is conjugated like mullir.[24] The colloquial bullirle a alguien algo expresses a strong wish for something.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Boggs, R. S.; Kasten, Lloyd; Keniston, Hayward; Richardson, H. B. (1946), Tentative Dictionary of Medieval Spanish, 2 vols., Chapel Hill, N.C., p. 80
  3. ^ Cejador y Frauca, Julio (1929), Vocabulario medieval castellano, Madrid: Librería y Casa Editorial Hernando, p. 102
  4. ^ a b c García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. 1181
  5. ^ a b c d e f Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 1, 695
  6. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. bullir
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. bullir
  8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. bulliō
  9. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. bulla
  10. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. bouillir
  11. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 1389
  12. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. bullir
  13. ^ Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. bullir
  14. ^ a b c d Kasten, Lloyd A.; Nitti, John J.; Gago Jover, Francisco (2002–), Diccionario de la prosa castellana del Rey Alfonso X, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (electronic edition 2024), p. s.v. bullir
  15. ^ a b c Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 354
  16. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 1, 713
  17. ^ Real Academia Española (1770), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 2nd ed., vol. I: A–B, Madrid: Joachín Ibarra, p. 546
  18. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real, p. 148
  19. ^ García Icazbalceta, Joaquín (1899), Vocabulario de mexicanismos comprobado con ejemplos y comparado con los de otros países hispano-americanos, México: La Europea, p. s.v. bullir
  20. ^ Santamaría, Francisco J. (1942), Diccionario general de americanismos, 3 vols., México: Pedro Robredo, p. 239
  21. ^ Real Academia Española (2021–), Tesoro de los diccionarios históricos de la lengua española (TDHLE): Diccionario histórico (1933–1936), its unpublished slips, Diccionario histórico (1960–1996), DHECan, DHECR, DHEVen, https://www.rae.es/tdhle, p. s.v. bullir
  22. ^ Rato y Hevia, Apolinar de (1891), Vocabulario de las palabras y frases bables que se hablaron antiguamente y de las que hoy se hablan en el Principado de Asturias, Madrid: Manuel G. Hernández, p. 26
  23. ^ Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. bullir
  24. ^ a b Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. bullir

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Bullir.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/bullir. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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