bolt English · revision 10392

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 950|origins=gem-pro *bultaz|origins=ine-pro *bʰeld-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bɒlt/, /bəʊlt/ ''(UK)''; /boʊlt/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|ang|bolt|t=short, stout arrow with a heavy head]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Proto-Germanic *bultaz,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) source also of Old Norse bolti, Dutch bout and German [[m|de|Bolzen]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) perhaps originally an arrow or missile, from PIE *bʰeld-, to knock, strike, as in Lithuanian beldžiu, I knock.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) Hoad calls it of unknown origin.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A blunt-headed arrow for a crossbow: about 950 in Barnhart, before 1000 in the OED.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Since Middle English the word has been applied to other short metal rods, especially with knobbed ends:^(Etymonline) a bundle (1266), a length of cloth (1310),^(Barnhart 1988) the part of a door lock (1396, about 1400),^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and a rod for fastening (1425).^(Barnhart 1988) A bolt of canvas is so called for its shape.^(Etymonline) From an arrow's flight came a bolt of lightning (the 1530s, 1535) and ''a bolt from the blue''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021) ''To shoot one's bolt'' echoes the proverb ''A fool's bolt is soon shot'', from about 1150.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) The verb, to spring or start suddenly, is from the early 13th century,^(Etymonline) to run away, of game or horses, from the 1610s,^(Etymonline) to fasten with a bolt from 1580,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and to gulp food from 1794.^(Etymonline) Breaking away from a political party is an Americanism of 1833,^(Barnhart 1988) and the bolt of a breech-loading rifle is from 1859.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 950 – a crossbow bolt.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * early 13th century – to spring (verb).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1396 – part of a lock.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1535 – a thunderbolt.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1580 – to fasten with a bolt.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1610s – to run away.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1794 – to gulp food.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1833 – to bolt a party.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A bar that slides into a socket to fasten a door or gate.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A threaded metal pin with a head, fastened with a [[nut]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A sliding bar in a breech-loading rifle.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A flash of lightning.^(Collins 2023)

+ # A sudden start or dash, as to escape.^(Collins 2023)

+ # A roll of cloth.^(AHD)

+ # A short, heavy arrow for a crossbow.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To fasten or lock with a bolt.^(AHD)

+ # To start suddenly and run away.^(AHD)

+ # To eat food hurriedly; to gulp.^(AHD)

+ # To break away from a political party.^(AHD)

+ # Of a plant, to flower or seed prematurely.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Rigidly: ''bolt upright''.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bolter]]

+ * [[boltless]]

+ * [[boltlike]]

+ * [[bolt-action]]

+ * [[bolthead]]

+ * [[bolt-hole]]

+ * [[boltrope]]

+ * [[deadbolt]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[thunderbolt]]

+ * [[bolt-upright]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Bolt, to sift flour, also spelled boult, is a different word, from Old French bulter, buleter, probably of Germanic origin.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}