English
polster
Polster comes from German Polster ‘cushion’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- ‘bag, pillow, paunch’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰelǵʰ-‘bag, pillow, paunch’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bulstraz‘bolster, pillow, cushion’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bolstr‘bolster, pillow, cushion’reconstructed
- Old High Germanc. 750–1050polstar
- Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350polster
- Germanc. 1650–presentPolster‘cushion’
- Englishearliest quotation 1915polster
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰelǵʰ-‘bag, pillow, paunch’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bulstraz‘bolster, pillow, cushion’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bolstr‘bolster, pillow, cushion’reconstructed
- Old High Germanc. 750–1050polstar
- Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350polster
- Germanc. 1650–presentPolster‘cushion’
- Englishearliest quotation 1915polster
Earliest quotation: 1915, F. J. Smiley, The alpine and subapline vegetation of the Lake Tahoe region: “It is on this rocky surface that one finds…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- ‘bag, pillow, paunch’
budget, belly, fool, bloc, bulge, budge, folly, bellows, follies, follicle, billow, 13 more
through Proto-West Germanic *bolstr ‘bolster, pillow, cushion’
Today it means
noun A clump of moss; a glacier mouse.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- / polster