bowl English · revision 4122

+ English has two words spelled ''bowl'': the round vessel, inherited from Old English, and the wooden ball of the game of bowls, from French.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MW Collegiate)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /bəʊl/, US /boʊl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|vessel}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 700|origins=ine-pro *bʰel-}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|bolle]], later bowle,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|bolla|t=pot, cup, bowl]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*bullô|alt=*bullōn]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) the source also of Old Norse bolli “bowl” and Old High German bolla “blister, bud, globular vessel” (German Bolle “bulb, onion”),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*bʰel-|alt=*bhel-|t=to blow, swell]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The Middle English bolle survives in [[boll]], a round seed pod; the spelling -owl reflects a temporary early modern change of pronunciation and confusion with the other bowl.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English bolla, about 700, according to Barnhart;^(Barnhart 1988) a round vessel, wider than it is deep, for liquids, about 1000 in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It was also a large drinking cup, from about 950, hence ''the bowl'' as an emblem of drinking and conviviality.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The bowl-shaped part of a utensil, as of a spoon or pipe, is from 1386,^(OED 1989) the contents of a bowl from 1530,^(OED 1989) and a bowl-shaped natural basin from 1860.^(OED 1989) A football stadium is a bowl from 1913, at first one shaped like a bowl,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) hence the American post-season games named after stadiums.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 700 – a bowl.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 950 – a drinking vessel.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1386 – part of a utensil.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1530 – a bowlful.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1913 – a stadium.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A round, open [[dish]], wider than it is deep, for holding food or liquids.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The contents of such a dish: ''a bowl of soup''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A bowl-shaped part, as of a spoon or tobacco pipe.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A bowl-shaped hollow in the land, or a stadium or amphitheatre.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A post-season college football game in the United States.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bowlful]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|ball}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1400|origins=la bulla}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|boule]], bowle,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|frm|boule|t=ball]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|bulla|t=bubble; round swelling, knob]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) The verb, 1440, is from the noun or from Middle French bouler.^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to [[bull]] “papal edict”, [[bullet]] and [[bulletin]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “A sphere, globe, ball”: about 1400,^(Etymonline) probably before 1400 in Barnhart;^(Barnhart 1988) 1413 in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The large wooden ball of the game of bowls is from the mid-15th century,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and the game itself, ''bowls'', from 1495.^(Barnhart 1988) The verb, “to roll a ball along the ground”, is from 1440, the mid-15th century in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) In cricket, “to deliver the ball to the batsman”, it is from 1755,^(Etymonline) which gave figurative phrases such as ''to bowl over'', “to knock down”, 1849.^(Etymonline) ''Bowling'' is from about 1500,^(Barnhart 1988) and the ''bowling alley'' from 1555.^(Barnhart 1988) In Scots and northern dialect a bool or bowl was a boy's marble.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1400 – a ball.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1440 – verb, to roll a ball.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1495 – the game of bowls.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1555 – ''bowling alley''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1755 – in cricket.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1849 – ''bowl over''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A heavy wooden ball, weighted or flattened so that it rolls in a curve, used in the game of bowls.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A roll or throw of the ball in bowling.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To take part in a game of [[bowling]], or to roll a ball in it.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # In [[cricket]], to deliver the ball towards the batsman with a straight arm.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To move quickly and smoothly, as if rolling.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To knock down; to astonish, often with ''over''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bowler]]

+ * [[bowling]]

+ * [[bowls]]

+ * [[bowling alley]]

+ * [[bowling green]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}