English
bald
Bald comes from Middle English balled.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500balled
- Englishearliest quotation 1891bald
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500balled
- Englishearliest quotation 1891bald
Earliest quotation: 1891, The Australian law times - Volumes 12-13: “The plaintiff in this case must satisfy the judge…”
The story
From Middle English balled, ballid, bald (‘bald’), of uncertain origin.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain. Probably formed from Middle English bal, balle (‘ball, round object, knoll, head’). An alternate etymology relates it to Old English bǣl (‘fire, flame; funeral pyre’), from Proto-Germanic *bēlą.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘to sound’
bowl, bell, bull, ball, flame, bold, boil, blaze, blush, blur, blizzard, bleach, bolster, budge, sabha, blemish, bola, phlegm, bolero, blithe, phlox, blain, phallus, bleat, baleen, 73 more
through Old English bæl ‘funeral pyre, bonfire’
Today it means
adj Having little or no hair, fur, or feathers.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English balled / bald