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Etymology and origin of the French word bol

bol1 bowl

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1760
Borrowed from
English bowl
Ultimate origin
Old English bolla
Etymology tree of bol1
inherited borrowed derived
English bowl
French bol
From the same root · bol1
English bowler ← bowl
English bowling ← bowl

Pronunciation

Forms

bol m (plural bols)[1]

Etymology

The word for the bowl is borrowed from English bowl, first used in its English spelling (1760) and written ⟨bol⟩ from about 1790.[2][3][4][5] The English word goes back to Old English bolla (about 950) and has Germanic cognates in Middle Dutch bolle, Dutch bol, Old Norse bolli and Old High German bolla (“bud, round pod, round vessel”);[3] Rey places them all under an Indo-European root meaning to swell.[3]

Wartburg derived the French word from the earlier bolleponge (1653), a rendering of the English phrase bowl of punch, but Rey thinks the simple form may have been borrowed again.[3][2][6][7] Littré also considered a Celtic origin for the English word.[8] Wiktionary calls it possibly a doublet of boule.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the 18th century the word was tied to the drinking of punch: the first records, in the English spelling bowl (1760), name the bowl in which punch was served, and the sense “contents of a bowl” is as old.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

Until the middle of the 19th century bol was closely linked with punch, and the Romantic writers liked the word; it was still felt as the name of an exotic vessel before about 1850.[3] It then became the ordinary word for a round, deep cup without a handle, also used for its contents, a use later shared with the derivative bolée.[3][5] The figurative phrase prendre un bol d'air “to get some fresh air” dates from 1909.[3]

Like other names of vessels, bol took the slang sense “backside, anus” (1872), which survives in en avoir ras le bol “to be fed up”, where the word is no longer understood.[3][5] From the same image came the familiar sense “luck” (about 1945), in avoir du bol and manquer de bol.[3][5][1] In Quebec the word can also mean a toilet bowl, as English bowl does, and in African French a dish served in a bowl.[3]

Timeline

  • 1653 – Bolleponge, from English bowl of punch, is recorded.[2][3]
  • 1760 – The English form bowl is used in French, also for the contents of the bowl.[3][2]
  • 1790 – The spelling bol appears.[2][5]
  • 1872 – Slang uses bol for the backside.[3]
  • 1909 – First record of prendre un bol d'air.[3]
  • c. 1945 – The familiar sense “luck” appears.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A bowl, a round, deep vessel without a handle, used for drinking or eating: un bol de faïence.[5][6][1]
  2. The contents of a bowl: un bol de soupe.[5][6]
  3. Prendre un bol d'air: to go out and get some fresh air.[5][6]
  4. Coupe au bol: a bowl cut, hair cut short and rounded.[5][1]
  5. (familiar) luck: avoir du bol, coup de bol.[5][1]
  6. En avoir ras le bol (familiar): to be fed up.[5][1]
  7. (Quebec) A toilet bowl.[3]

Word family

  • bolée
  • ras-le-bol

bol2 bolus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1256 Alebrant
Borrowed from
Latin bolus
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek βῶλος
Etymology tree of bol2
inherited borrowed derived
Ancient Greek βῶλος (bôlos)
French bol

Pronunciation

Forms

bol m (plural bols)[1]

Etymology

The word for the bolus is borrowed from Late Latin bōlus (“small ball, large pill”) (4th century), which is from Ancient Greek βῶλος (bôlos, “clod of earth, lump, ingot”).[9][3][2][4][10] Rey notes that the origin of the Greek word is unknown.[3] It was first used in bol armenike (1256), then in its Latin form (14th century); the short form ⟨bol⟩ is found in Paré in the late 16th century.[9][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is bol armenike in Alebrant (1256), the medicinal clay later called bol d'Arménie.[9][3]

Semantic evolution

From the Armenian clay used as a remedy, the word passed to a remedy shaped as a large soft pill (14th century).[3][9] In physiology bol alimentaire, the mass of chewed food swallowed at one time, is dated 1767 (Cuvier) by Rey and the Petit Robert, and 1805 by the TLFi.[3][5][9] In mineralogy the word still names red, iron-rich clays, used by painters, gilders and bookbinders.[9]

Timeline

  • 1256 – Bol armenike appears in Alebrant.[9]
  • 14th century – The Latin form bolus is used in pharmacy.[9][2]
  • Late 16th century – Paré writes bol.[9]
  • 1762 – The derivative bolaire is recorded by the Académie.[9][3]
  • 1767 – Cuvier uses bol alimentaire.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (pharmacy, dated) A large, soft, oval pill, a bolus.[5][6]
  2. Bol d'Arménie: a red clay formerly used as a medicine, now by painters and gilders.[9][5]
  3. (mineralogy) A clay coloured red by iron oxide.[9]
  4. Bol alimentaire: the mass of chewed food swallowed at one time.[5][9]

Word family

  • bolaire

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 18, 33a
  8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  10. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 1, 428b

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Bol.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/bol. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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