Etymograph

English

bield

Bield comes from Old English bieldu ‘courage, boldness’, from Proto-Germanic *balþaz ‘bold’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘to inflate, swell’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰel-‘to inflate, swell’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*balþaz‘bold’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*balþį̄‘boldness’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150bieldu‘courage, boldness’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500belde
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1600bield

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰel-‘to inflate, swell’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*balþaz‘bold’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*balþį̄‘boldness’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150bieldu‘courage, boldness’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500belde
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1600bield

Earliest quotation: 1600, Edward Fairfax, The Jerusalem Delivered of Tasso: “This breast, this bosom soft, shall be thy bield…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘to inflate, swell’

ball, bowl, bull, bell, flame, boil, blaze, bale, blush, blur, blizzard, bleach, bald, bolster, budge, sabha, boldly, blemish, bola, phlegm, phallus, bolero, blithe, phlox, blain, bleat, 72 more

through Proto-Germanic *balþaz ‘bold’

bold, 3 more

Today it means

noun Boldness, courage; confidence; a feeling of security, assurance.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- / bield

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